Top-producing real estate agent Sam Miller, who serves Mount Vernon, OH and Knox County, OH, recently shared with me an excellent list of tips on what to do to stay alive in today’s real estate market.

1.  Keep costs in line and eliminate any waste.

2.  Carefully monitor your sales production and pending sales.

3.  Share staff or virtual staff when possible.

4.  Make group purchases so that when you need supplies you can buy in bulk and save.

5.  Prospect, Prospect and Prospect some more.

6.  Back to basics...getting belly to belly with buyers because buyers control the market of today.

7.  Follow up systems that eliminate anything from falling through the cracks.

8.  Invest and make bonus money/equity when opportunities arise.

9.  Be the solution to the client’s problem.

10. Business plan.  Then work your plan and stay focused on your plan.

11. Make sure your goals and your business plan align with each other.

12. Reward yourself when goals are met. 

13. Education - fine tune your skills.

14. Tweak your other income streams.

15. Focus on adding market share while others are losing market share... because someone always grows during challenging times.

16. Re-read these books NOW:  The Dip by Seth Godin, Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, and The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn.

17. Mastermind and brainstorm with each other and help each other often and no less than once a week.  Lesson:  Every single day for the past six years I talk to Kevin Hildebrand from Cincinnati, Ohio.  We spend from one to fifteen minutes on the phone discussing business, life, goals, challenges, kids, entertainment and our dreams.  Having someone you can talk with daily is very empowering for both of you and it helps you work through mental blocks and you become cheerleaders for each other while raising the bar. 

**reprinted with permission from Sam Miller, RE/MAX Stars Realty, 710 South Main Street, Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050. Sam can be reached at 740-397-7800. His Web site is www.sammiller.com.

Coming to you live from the trade show floor of the NAR Convention, where Tricia Andreassen, Founder of Pro Step Marketing and I are enjoying connecting, and reconnecting, with literally thousands of people.

Diagonally across from our booth is the Fujitsu ScanSnap, with their 510 office model. This master machine can scan up to 50 double-sided pages at a time, at a blazing speed of 18 pages per minute! When's the last time you had to go to the copier, copy the back side of your 60-page real estate contract, and then insert the pages in to fax it to a client? Talk about a time waster.

For the best deal, go to nextag.com - it's $100 cheaper than Fujitsu's retail of $495, and with a $50 mail in rebate, you can get it for just under $350. What a bargain! Santa, bring me a ScanSnap.

Stellar Agent Rachel Weinberg sent a phenomenal piece in her October e-newsletter that she's graciously agreed to shared with you all. Be sure to thank her at Rachel@MovinginBoulder.com!

8 Reasons to Buy a Home Now! 

1.    It’s a buyer’s market!!!

2.    Rates are in the 6 percent range, STILL at historically low levels.

3.   As we near the holidays, homes will still be for sale, but many buyers will cease their property searching activities until after the holidays. This means you will have less competition and sellers that are motivated.

4.   There is no way to time the bottom.  Even though the sales in our area have decreased, prices have still been increasing in most areas. An important concept to know and understand in real estate, as well as the stock market, is the concept of “Time in the Market” trumping “Timing the Market”.  You will never know when we hit the bottom until sales have already begun increasing and as a result, we will see appreciation levels return to the high single digits and low double digits we saw in the 1990’s, prior to Colorado’s correction years of January 2001 through today.  Getting into a home now ensures a good price and good rate AND a piece of the market before our next major upturn.

5.   Owning a home is one of the best ways to build wealth. The U.S. Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances showed home owners had an average financial net worth of $184,400, while renter’s net worth was just $4000.

6.   If you are a renter, you have probably seen your rents raised in the past year or two and if you haven’t yet, this is sure to come.  With foreclosures and a slowing economy, more people are being forced into or are conservatively choosing to rent. Rental rates are influenced by supply and demand, and therefore, as demand increases, so will rental rates.

7.   Tax breaks!!!  If you are single, don’t have children and/or don’t own a business, chances are you see little to no money back each April on your tax return.  Owning a home provides great tax benefits including deductible items such as mortgage interest (both on your first and second), PMI or private mortgage insurance, and others.  Check with your CPA for more tax-saving home ownership information.

8.   It is a great move up market.  In other words, it is a great time to sell your current home and use the equity you’ve built to buy your next home or dream home!

You Can’t Afford Not To Buy a Home Now! 

Rachel Weinberg is a broker with Stellar Properties in Boulder, Colorado.  She is an expert at serving clients and investors with their buying, selling, and relocation needs in Boulder and Broomfield Counties.  She can be reach by phone at 303.442.4882 or via email at Rachel@MovingInBoulder.com.  For more information about Rachel or the Boulder area, visit www.MovingInBoulder.com.