Maggie Flartry-Kaminski

Broker, CEO - Century 21 Select Group

The month of May is not normally considered a peak time to visit the Poconos.  All the better to take advantage of the wildflowers, hiking trails and panoramic views with out the crowds.   Mountain biking at Brady’s State Game Lands – 25,000 acres or down the Lehigh Gorge trail,  can expose you to River vistas and wildlife.  Reminds me of the time my husband John and I were back in Bradys.  Bikes are quiet,  so it was no surprise when we stopped just short of two young bucks frolicking in the meadow.   We watched them for 10 minutes without being spotted.   Or the time John kicked up a flock of turkeys and managed to cycle down the road in the midst of them – it was awesome. 

 For the sportsman, Spring Gobler is in full swing and ends on May 31^st.  May 7 is opening day for walleye and saugeye.   Trout season kicked off on April 16^th.   Get loads of info and places to fish at http://www.fish.state.pa.us/  

 May 7^th – Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes  8:00pm at the Sherman Theater on Main Street in Stroudsburg. Southside and his band, the Asbury Jukes, worked on growing their reputation as a dynamic live blues band through the late 60′s and early 70′s.   www.ShermanTheater.com

If you are into hiking, check out the PoconoOutdoorClub.org.  May 7 they will be hiking Devil’s Hole.  I was lucky enough to know the people that owned the acreage adjoining the State Game Lands and spent much of the Summer I turned 19 and 20  camping along this pristine Mountain Stream with native brook trout.   Nothing like a group of good friends, acoustic guitars and a crackling fire, not to mention the tale of Devil’s Hole best enjoyed at midnight around a campfire!   What I found most interesting in hiking the stream was following it to its source at the top of a mountain. 

If you are into nature and hiking, check out Monroe County Environmental Education Center’s Kettle Creek Wildlife Sanctuary near Bartonsville.  www.mcconservation.org

May 18 – A Spring Bog Walk through the blooming Tannersville Cranberry Bog will be led by a naturalist from the Monroe County Environmental Education Center from 1:00 to 3:30pm. The bog is special as it is a northern boreal bog, which is very unique for this part of the country. Protected by The Nature Conservancy, the Tannersville bog is a National Natural Landmark.

Ok – I know, this is a real estate blog!   I suppose I should speak to real estate in the Poconos.  Another reason to enjoy nature;  the real estate market has not bounded back yet – so take the time to enjoy your natural playground until sales pickup.    The winter was tough with all the snow and the cold temperatures.  Our Ski Rentals did well and the season went well into March.  But the resale market is struggling.  Thankfully our agents’ “per person production” is double our competitors.    And our core of Full Time, Professional Agents are loyal and hard working.  There is something to be said for a company where each office has a strong Team Spirit.

Two things that I attribute to our great company team spirit:

1.      A strong presence in 10 different markets of the Poconos.  When our sellers need to see their agent, they don’t have to travel 45 minutes – their agent is only 10 minutes away.  What makes a real estate office think they can have one centralized location to handle a geographic area as large as the Poconos?  What if my seller needs a notary, needs to meet with me to revise paperwork, wants to chat and get some advice or just needs to fax something or make a copy?   If the seller is in Blakeslee, do you think he wants to travel to Stroudsburg for this complimentary service, I don’t.   That’s not service – that’s disservice. 

2.  Seeing each other face-to-face.  I know some companies tout that you don’t ever have to come in the office.  That can work OK for the top agents that really roll at their own pace and don’t need a lot of interaction, support and learning.   But let’s face it, each office’s top agents are a select few.  What about the rest of the agent population, sharing and learning from each other.  The middle producers are the back-bone of any real estate company.  And the team grows stronger as they work together. Don’t get me wrong – we are a very progressive and technology oriented group and we supply all the tools to work from home – Forms online, Transaction Management with secured document storage allowing agents to access files from home,   free online training and webnars, fantastic 21online, web based resource center.   Combine that with the face-to-face interactions and you have a dynamic – unparalleled by any of our competitors.  It’s what we all need in a slow market.  I hear that some offices’ morale is really low.  The slow market can do that – but come into our office and find energy and enthusiasm with agents always looking to grow and find new ways to capture the business.

Lucille M. Richmond

Associate Broker/Managing Partner

CENTURY 21 Select Group

Author –  Carla Cross

As the “new normal” real estate market begins to emerge, real estate coach, speaker and author Carla Cross offers tips for Realtors® to be successful. 

Cross, president of Carla Cross & Co. ^[1] in Washington and a frequent speaker at National Association of Realtors® (NAR) conventions, said Realtors® will have to pro-actively lead generate, have an active database and be practiced and packaged with good sales skills and presentations. Cross added Realtors® should devote more than 30 hours a week, coming to work every day to sell real estate because the consumer has rejected the part-timer. 

In addition, Cross said to thrive in the new market, Realtors® need to:

• Become early adopters. In this era of rapid change, Realtors® can’t afford to lag behind. If you’re still waiting for 2007 to come back, you’re going to have a long wait! Instead, list three things you’re going to do for the first time this year and put deadlines on them.
•  
• Work hard. It’s amazing that some agents think they can make lots of money but only work 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. four days a week (and no nights and weekends). In this new market, the person who doesn’t commit 40 to 50 hours a week can’t deliver what the consumer wants.  
•  
• Inspire trust. You can’t sell anything of value to anyone without inspiring trust in them. The California Association of Realtors®’ 2009 survey of buyers showed the overall satisfaction rating plummeted in just six years. We need to recognize trust in real estate agents has eroded greatly. As a Realtor®, you need to have specific actions to re-establish trust with your would-be and present clients. People are looking for someone they can count on and we’re in a personal service business. What we have to offer our clients is invaluable. Develop, nurture and value your trust quotient.

“This is an opportunity to take a fresh look at how you do business,” Cross said. “Re-commit to excellence and mastery and you will re-vitalize your career.”

Here are a few tips for updating the look of a listing to refresh its content and grab the Buyer’s attention during the Winter Season;

Pictures say it all!

A great way to have a Buyer not “click thought to the next” listing while they are browsing online is to update the pictures shown with a listing to reflect the current season.

A great effect that can be used is after a fresh snow fall, at dusk, when there is still a little light outside,  turn all the lights on in the home that are visible through the windows from the outside. Take an exterior shot of the home to show a warm and cozy invitation to view the home further. Make sure to turn off the flash while taking the picture and use a tripod to reduce blur. Also, open up all the blinds and curtains to show glimpses of the inside – create curiosity.

 If nothing significant in the home has been changed then updating interior pictures is not necessary. However a fresh look at the rooms in the home may renew interest in a Buyer that has viewed the home before.  New pictures will also help increase the traffic to the home’s listing by providing fresh content for internet search engines. Be cautious though, pictures with holiday decorations may put-off a Buyer and if they are not managed in a timely way can date the look of the home. The written description of the home on website listings should also be updated regularly to increase views of the property on real estate websites.

While showcasing a home during the Winter season creates an “in the now” effect make sure to still include pictures of the home, deck, porch and garden during the warmer months – create anticipation.

Drive By Showings

A drive by showing of a home may happen with or with out the Seller or Agent’s knowledge. It’s an easy way for a Buyer to narrow down which houses they want to view completely from a long list they may have compiled from browsing websites. Buyers will decide which house they want to view based on their first impression of the outside of a home.

Here are some Curb Appeal tips to make a home it’s most attractive in the stark landscape of Winter;

In Winter time most potential Buyers will be viewing properties just before, during and just after dusk. Make sure to have the driveway, paths, decks & porches clear of snow and ice. Use clear outdoor flood lighting to accent interesting architectural aspects, evergreen landscaping and outdoor entertaining areas.

Get the Buyer thinking of Sunnier days and Summer entertaining by keeping the deck and outdoor entertaining areas “set up”. Use outdoor friendly fabrics on weather friendly furnishings that mimic the decorating scheme from inside the home. Landscape lighting can add to outdoor spaces even in winter time if it’s pointed to high light an evergreen or sculpture item.  This extra touch will make a wonderful story like effect when viewing it from inside.

Evergreens come in may shades and textures adding interest to a sleeping garden. A winter garden does not need a lot, just a few bushes, topiaries or small trees can add interest and depth to an otherwise blank space. Since it’s too late to plant an evergreens now see about using potted evergreens, remember, just a few, keep the grouping in odd numbers and the impact will be immediate.

Color used wisely can add wonderful touches to the outside of a home. Make the front door a focal point with a Winter wreath made of willow and evergreen with touches of deep purple. Stay away from holiday themed wreaths as they can not be left out through the whole of the season. If there are window boxes use evergreen cuttings and add in some foliage items from the cabbage family to add a wonderful deep purple touch. If purple isnot a favorite color check out Winter color palettes to find a color that will pop but remember to stick with colors seen in nature.

With these tips and regular attention you can create a wonderful winter setting around a home and market it for all four seasons!

A friend, moving into an assisted living arrangement and clearing out his home of all kinds of stuff, gave me an old book, copyright in 1978 –The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette.  It covers everything from home, weddings, funerals and business.  Some of the business rules seem to apply to an office that runs like “Mad Men” and I doubt that many operate that way in the modern world.  Things like “Be a Neat Smoker.”

But under the heading “some Office Do’s and Don’ts”  I found some common sense items:

DO:

• Offer to do errands for others if you are going out
• Be creative in helping others in the office
• Send a handwritten note to the home of an associate who has received either good news or bad news.
• Do think of the night cleaners
• Keep the rest rooms neat and tidy

DON’T

• While on a business appointment, don’t stay too long. One should arrive on time
  state one’s case and be gone.
• No one should chew gum in the office
• The constant muncher looks very jarring
• Don’t borrow colleagues things from their desk
• Don’t drop by another person’s desk to chat just because you are not busy at the moment. That person may be too polite to tell you he is meeting a deadline and must be left alone.
• Don’t read magazines at your desk if you are not busy.  One can always pass free time learning more about company operations instead of finding out about the latest fashions.

A statement on letter writing was very poignant (remember this is 1978!):  “We are not living in a world of letter writers, but rather of fast communicators, with no motivation to pursue the beauty of expression.”  “There is nothing more pleasant than receiving a beautiful letter.” 

And these comments on Christmas cards seems very meaningful to me:

  “The only real card in the spirit of Christmas is one signed by hand or one with an engraved or printed name combined with a brief message.”  And “When the sending of Christmas cards begins to take on gargantuan and impersonal proportions, the time has come to reconsider the entire project.  If others notice you have stopped sending cards, they will probably cross you off their over-swollen lists with relief.”

Maggie Flartey Kaminski, CEO, CRB

Toll Free 877-646-7584 ext 31
CENTURY 21 Select Group
Blakeslee, PA; RM -419176
www.century21selectgroup.com

CENTURY 21 Select Group hosted their Annual Awards Luncheon at the Lake Naomi Clubhouse Restaurant to celebrate the achievements of their agents in 2009.  It was a tough year in the real estate market and Maggie Flartey-Kaminski spoke of the resilience and strength of their agents who weathered the storm.  More than 25 agents were recognized for increases in production from 2008, an outstanding fete considering the down market.  In addition to the individuals who exceeded their prior production of 2008, the Hazleton Branch and the Brodheadsville Branch were recognized for increased production in 2009 over  2008. 

The individual award winners included Dot Gallagher, Pocono Lake – Top Listing Units Agent, Daniel Seip, Blakeslee – Top Closed Units Agent and Buddy Vail, Hawley, Top Closed Volume.  Janet Pottieger, Blakeslee – Top Referral Agent.  Team Van Hine was recognized as the top Listing Units Team.   Rose Sawyer was recognized for earning her Associate Broker license.  Hope Fogarty and Neal Van Hine were recognized for earning their Accredited Buyer Representation Designation. 

Maggie Flartey-Kaminski added, “The strength of our company is reflected in the achievements of our members.  All of the owners of Select Group are so proud of their associates whose sincerity, hard work and integrity allow the company to remain a leader in the Pocono Real Estate market and the real estate industry. ”

Vince Caputo of Century21 Select Group of Broadheadsville is embarking on a state of the art way to reach out to new clients and the community at large beginning February 11^th and every Thursday night there after with the airing of ?Pocono Homes Live? via the internet. Vince will host the LIVE call in show which begins at 7:00 PM. The hour and one half hour weekly presentation will combine live call in customers and online text chat panels giving all participants the opportunity to ask questions about area real estate issues or possibly building on a new buyer/seller/realtor relationship.

The communication between Vince and all new clients will be predicated on abiding with all Real Estate laws and required Consumer Notices and also be restricted to those who are not already working with a realtor. With that said, even those customers of other realtors can call in to obtain very general and non-specific answers to questions.

Vince will also have a guest speaker each week from area businesses who?s services closely relate to home ownership and maintenance. The guests will cover various topics including security, home renovation tips, energy conservation and mortgage and financing questions. The website can be accessed at 6:55 PM on Thursday evenings at

http://www.stickam.com/poconohomeslive 

 The live broadcast will begin promptly at 7PM. Feel free to log in at 

http://www.Stickam.com

 Anytime prior to the broadcast to obtain a FREE user screen name should you wish to use the online chat panels.  

( PA Lic# RS311561)

 BLAKESLEE, PA : Sharon Ruggiero celebrated 25 years
with CENTURY 21. She was honored with a surprise party at the Blakeslee
office. Sharon started out as “OUR GAL FRIDAY” and did it all from front
desk, assigning leads, typing (ha ha) contracts and leases, bookkeeping and
receptionist. She recalls lugging in firewood to keep our woodstove going.
And she laughed about the “typing test” she had to take to get the job.
Sharon has been a loyal and hardworking employee over the years and there is
no way to truly thank her for all she does. Now she manages the accounting
for Blakeslee, Lake Harmony, Hazleton and Brodheadsville. Plus she is a
Super Relocation Director for our Relo Department for Select Group.

Sharon came on board when she was 18. We shared in celebrating her marriage
and birth of her two children Dylan and Cheyanne who are now 16 and 11. Boy
does time fly.

Congratulations to a great woman and a wonderful employee.

Brian McCardle, manager of the Hazleton branch stopped in to celebrate with
Sharon as they both started with the company around the same time. So we
gave him a little celebration too and crowned him.

Add real estate as a medium for the growing trend of Internet scams.

Several Pennsylvania REALTORS® have recently discovered their names being used by Internet scam artists, particularly on the popular site Craigslist.com. The scammer often “adopts” a REALTOR’S® identity and uses it to trick unsuspecting consumers into sending deposits for apartment or home rentals.

The sophistication level of the scams continues to increase as these con artists lift property photos from the REALTORS®’ web sites, load them onto Craigslist and try to lure consumers into sending them deposits.

Nils Frederiksen, spokesperson for the PA Attorney General’s office, said, “The office has seen every form of financial scam more than double in the last two years. People are getting burned as both buyers and sellers.”

Fredericksen said if a REALTOR® is using the Internet to do business, he/she should make it a priority to find out what’s on the Internet about him/her. “These days you have to not only market your listings online but almost counter-market your information,” he said. “It behooves you to do a Google search on yourself to see if someone’s blogging about you or if someone is falsely using your name or information.”

Adding a watermark to photos, perhaps the REALTOR’s® web site, also makes it harder to use the photo illegally, Fredericksen advised. “You want to make it as difficult as possible for someone else to copy your information,” he said.

Fredericksen said if a REALTOR® suspects someone in his community is conducting this type of crime, they should contact their local law enforcement. Many times, however, this type of Internet crime involves people overseas and that makes it a federal crime.

If a REALTORS® discover their identity has been falsely used, they should file complaints with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).

The PA Attorney General’s office tracks such crimes and REALTORS® may file complaints online or call 800-441-2555.

If it appears that an item posted for sale on Craigslist may be part of a scam, e-mail the details to abuse@craigslist.org including URL (or 10-digit post ID number) in the message. Craigslist advises contacting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) online or at 877-382-4357.

With a last name like mine, STRZELEC, it is a shock to see it any where in print or advertising. Most of the time I only see it on monthly bills or at the “Bottom of the Eye Chart” in the Doctors office, and then it is not always spelled right.

 You can imagine how shocked I was to learn that I am actually quite famous…in Poland!!!

Several years ago my kids started researching our family tree and one thing lead to another and we were all shocked to learn our roots can be traced back to a “Beer Brewery” that is still brewing Beer to this day.

 Well no more “Miller Lite” for me, I had to have a STRZELEC BEER. The search was on. My kids and I tried everything to get STRZELEC BEER with no luck. Years of writing the Brewery in Poland, contacting importers and searching collector clubs……no STRZELEC BEER.

 About a year ago I sold a home to a Polish couple who have been in America for about 15 years and asked them if they had ever heard of STRZELEC BEER. “Of Course” they said, “It was one of the biggest breweries in their country.” I told them that I had been trying to get some STRZELEC BEER for years with no luck and they just smiled and told me that they had not seen it since they left Poland.

What happened next was a shocker. I got a call from my Polish clients to come see their home and all of things that they have done to it. So I packed up the HEN…oops….Wife and off we went for a visit to their home. We walked in the front door and there on the table were 5 cans of STRZELEC BEER. We were floored. It seems that their sister was visiting from Poland and they thought enough of me to ask her to bring some STRZELEC BEER with her for their favorite Realtor.

 Some things you just can not put a price on. My clients thoughtfulness was hard to match with the STRZELEC BEER, my kids are already making plans for their STRZELEC BEER and everyone in our family is excited. Only got 5 cans that is all their sister was allowed to bring through customs. My kids will have to fend for themselves.

That's a Tall One

Facebook isn’t exempt from advertising rules
Social Media and Networking Sites *
(Facebook/MySpace/LinkedIn/etc.)

Is a REALTOR®’s Facebook profile an advertisement or a real estate communication? That answer would have to be determined after looking at the purpose and use of the site, and would ultimately be decided by the State Real Estate Commission or an ethics hearing panel in response to a specific complaint. Although there really is no “case law” to go on at this point, a good rule – using an abundance of caution – would be that if any part of the purpose is to promote the REALTOR®’s professional services or listings, then it is covered by these rules. All of the rules.
Any real estate communication on these sorts of sites should comply with the relevant rules for websites, including the appropriate inclusion of the broker’s name and phone number, and the licensee’s state(s) of licensure.
This will need to be accomplished differently for each application depending on the functionality of the site.
For example, Facebook has a spot under your profile picture to “write something about yourself.” This text field could be filled in with information stating that you are a real estate salesperson who works for XYZ Real Estate and can be reached at the following telephone numbers.
The law/regulations/Code don’t provide exclusions for using applications that don’t easily accommodate the rules, nor do they recognize an exception based on the claim that “nobody else is doing it.” If you can’t figure out a way to comply with the relevant rules, the safest approach is to not use that medium
To the extent that you are unsure of the best way to handle compliance in a particular application, be sure to check with your broker and brokerage counsel.

I guess you know how much we are promoting Facebook, Linked-In and internet Social Networking.  For those of us that don’t want to spend our life on the computer, there must be an alternative.  And I am certain you’ve read some real estate articles that talk about getting back to basics. 

Where does all this fit together? 

I believe internet social networking may occasionally bring you a buyer or a seller.  It is also something that allows you to do it on off time, at home 

Then there is physical social networking.  This seems to be something we rarely hear about anymore.  Yet is an integral part of our business, always has been.  

 I have been pondering it and thought back to Brian McCardle when he worked out of the Blakeslee office.  Brian uses the internet minimally and rarely does social networking online.    However, while in the Blakeslee office, Brian was one of our top agents year after year.  (He is still doing well at the Hazleton location) 

Brian was never at home.  Brian spent little time in the office, usually in the evenings to do paperwork.  And he stopped taking floor time years ago.  

What is my view of what helped make Brian successful in generating sellers and buyers? 

He never had coffee from the office. He walked across the street to get a cup and talk to people.  He never brought a lunch or went home for lunch.  He ate out every day, not take out – but someplace where he could sit and talk to people.  If he wasn’t showing houses or listing houses, he was out looking at potential houses, knocking on FSBO doors, driving through neighborhoods, talking to neighbors.  Can you see a pattern here?  He got up, got dressed and went to work.  He didn’t do it once a day, it did it every day.  And he didn’t do it sitting at home or in the office.  

It is a tough year.  And I would like to suggest that you step up your networking a notch to get out and about and meet people.  

• Always wear career apparel with the company name or at least the name badge. 
• Get magnetic car signs.  You never know when you pull into a grocery store if the person parking next to you just found out they have to move and they need a Realtor. 
• Go to a different store at lease once a week in our marketplace – even if it is just to browse.  The dollar store, CVS, Aharts, Auto Supply Store, anyplace local. Be sure you have a magnetic car sign and a name badge on.
• At least one or two days a week, Get Up, Get Dressed and Get to Work – your workplace is the marketplace. Drive around to check out houses listed by the competitors – you might see a neighbor you can speak with. See a house that looks vacant, ask the neighbor about it.  
• Eat lunch out at least once a week, alone or with an associate.  Sit at a counter and speak with people.  Chat and Chew, Da’s Pub, Murphy’s Loft, Terra Cotta, Nick’s Lake House; not a take-out joint and not a private booth. 
• Continue to do your expired listings and FSBO’s on a daily basis, but maybe know on the FSBO door. 
• Join a group. Church Groups.  How about a charitable organization.  Business groups or your Realtor Associations.   

The bottom line is that sitting at home or sitting at your desk in the office is not putting your face in front of enough people.  This is a people business and without people there is no business