The "BUZZ" w/ Stinger

  BEING A REAL ESTATE AGENT  The good, bad and ugly (PART 2)       THE BAD! A Realtor, You wake Up Every Morning Unemployed. Thinking about selling real estate?  It can be very lucrative     or       not.    In 2021, there were a record number of real estate agents in the United States, according to the National Association of Realtors.  More than 156,000 people joined their ranks in 2021 and 2020 combined  — nearly 60 percent more than did in the two years prior.  Studies estimate that  87 percent of real estate agents will fail within the first five years . That is  success rate of just over 1.3 of 10. So, know going in that it will be difficult. Why do so few make it? There are three primary obstacles to success. 1.  Branding:    It takes time for strangers, friends and family, to know that you sell  Real Estate. I've heard said that every person has 2 realtors...

So Jerry, what do you do?  "I'm a Realtor, I sell Real Estate".  That always perks people's attention and they have questions.  They have always wanted the opportunity to peek behind the curtain and here is their chance.  Everyone at one time or another has thought to themselves,  "I should sell Real Estate.  It can't be that hard, I'm great with people, I would be so successful.  Joe Smith is a Realtor and Lord knows his cruise ship is missing a few lifeboats, if he can do it I know I can"   It's true isn't it, you have thought about it? So to all of my curious friends; here you go.  I am going to BLOG about being a Realtor.  With apologies to Clint Eastwood, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Real Estate.    Part #1     THE GOOD Real Estate is a flexible profession that allows you to often arrange your calendar to provide opportunity to go to your kid's baseball games and other life events. I am not punchin...

My Son Rylan turned 21 a few days ago and my daughter is getting married in a few months.  Time, where has it gone? John Mayer is one of my favorite singer songwriters.  On his Continuum Album he has a song that has come to have meaning to me as I have gotten older.  The song is called "Stop This Train".  The lyrics describe a young (rising in fame) John Mayer who is feeling the pressure of the world and he dreams of going back home to a more simple life but the train he is on is moving too fast, he can't stop the train. He sings "STOP THIS TRAIN, I WANNA GET OFF AND GO HOME AGAIN".  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS2o4q7vRFM As we get older the speed of the train keeps increasing.  I'm sure John Mayer's train was a rocket as his stardom rose.  Everyone wanted  a piece of him and the pressure must have been overwhelming. John Mayer uses the song to describe his understanding that his life is changing, he is getting older and taking on the respons...

  Yesterday, my son and I went to see the movie Father Stu. It's the story of a man that grew up in a dysfunctional family of divorce, alcoholism, death of a sibling and other difficulties. The movie follows his journey in life as a boxer, wanting to be an actor, friend to some and the bearer of a terminal muscle disease, all the while pursuing God and ultimately his ordination as a Catholic Priest.  It is a raw movie that depicts Stu as a real person, a person that did not grow up in the Catholic Church, a person that didn't know God at all. Stu didn't know to clean up his language around religious people and he didn't allow room for religious double talk. Stu pressed in way past the point of discomfort. His pursuit of God was real and honest. it wasn't sanitized, there was no soft-shoe in the dance. It was often a hard movie to watch but the pursuit of God at all cost was so refreshing.  I was amazed that left leaning Hollywood allowed a movie this quality to be m...

Spring is a beautiful time of year in Longview, WA with the flowers beginning to bloom and the cherry blossoms showing off their color with vibrancy.   Longview is a planned city from the visionary Robert A Long. Trees are an important part of our City. In fact, Longview is part of the Tree City USA program. All of the trees in our community are known and cared for by the City of Longview.  The cherry blossoms lining the streets are a beautiful sight in the Spring. Right now, the trees are just beginning to bloom. Check out the video below for a quick tour.

"Jerry, Zillow says my house is worth 3 million dollars, there's no way you can say my house is only worth 850K!" I often hear the words, "Zillow says, the 'Zestimate' is, Realtor.com says." What’s the value of your home? Have you looked on Zillow, Redfin, Homesnap or other real estate search engines lately? These sites can be great tools, but use caution when using them to determine the value of your home. Their home values are generated through algorithms & can often be inaccurate (too high or too low).  In fact, I often advise my clients to look up their home on many different sites & most likely all the estimated values will be different. The best way to get the truest value of your home is to have an experienced real estate agent come over to take a look at your house and put a detailed analysis together. 

And just like that, we're through the month of February. Here's a look at our local real estate numbers from last month.📈 We saw a slight uptick in new listings in the last month. We're still seeing multiple offer situations, with sellers (on average) receiving more than asking price for their home. With interest rates creeping up we may see more homeowners decide it's time to sell.

A  Jack pine  has a "serotinous cone", this cone is covered with a thick resin that must be melted by a forest fire in order for the cone to open and release seeds.  So often in life we are disappointed by  trials and  tribulations.  We get angry and wonder why this negative experience landed on me?  Over the last few weeks my 60 year old surgically repaired knee has been causing me pain.  For too many years now I have been overweight and have placed a lot of strain on my joints, but rather then doing something about it, I waited till there was pain and  consequence.  I'm now hobbling around on crutches and its slowed me down, giving me time to focus on my life and my health and to start making progress toward a better me.  My pain has helped me to make a decision to lose weight (intermittent fasting) and to give up drinking (with all of its empty calories).  I am happy to say I am making progress and am resolute to contin...

You know that your life is evolving for the good when you stop looking at style and instead seek comfort.  Remember your youth and those popular, in style shoes (that killed your feet) but they make a statement that you were a part of that cool group of people, (you know) those people that you mistakenly thought mattered.  You would cram your feet into those overpriced shoes and put on a brave face for the world, falsely stating your importance and your ability to be with that "IN" crowd.  But by days end you were dying, your feet were raw hamburger but the you kept telling yourself the pain did not matter as much as the statement you were making.  Fast forward to 50 years old.  That "IN" crowd of people that mattered don't any longer.  You finally have the freedom to wear shoes that feel good on your feet.  Age does have a few advantages.

 What happened to the NFL?  I am not tuning in to hear, read, or to listen to politics.  We the fans should not have to read the back of player's helmets touting their beliefs, nor should the end zones have politically driven slogans printed on the turf or the goal posts.  This is football, it's not church, it's not a political party or a social activist group pushing their views.  Fans are not tuning in to subject themselves to this ridiculous over step. The NFL used to be about team competition and providing America with a reason to cheer.  NFL, stop taking advantage of your viewership.  You had better be careful, you are about to step out of bounds.  The yellow flag is about to be thrown.  Your viewers are long time fans who are not tuning in to be preach at.  Get back to just Football, stay out of the game of politics and social activism, just "Play Ball".