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Thank You for Supporting HAR’s Pinnacle Performance
In light of the transitions the American real estate industry is undergoing, it’s important for readers to recognize the benefits that REALTOR® membership provides and the potential of REALTOR® organizations to represent their interests moving forward.
This month’s article focuses on a new program designed to provide participating state and local REALTOR® associations with advanced training...
What is the Condition of Your Home – Energy Wise?
By Allen Griffin, GMB, CGR, CGP, CAPS
The curbside appeal of your home contributes much to its perceived value, but what you don’t see can be equally important and will be more important in the coming years.
In its original version the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (h.r.2454) called for energy audits of real property. Meaning that; any home put on the market would be required to...
Signs in the Public Right of Way May be in the Wrong Place
by Vince Ryan, Harris County Attorney
Bandit signs.
You see them at many of the thousands of intersections in Harris County. They pop up overnight, particularly on weekends. They advertise goods and services ranging from credit repair to cash for gold to home improvement loans. They sometimes advertise homes for sale or rent. They may be hand-lettered or professionally printed, but if they are on...
Rethinking Your 2012 To-Do List
It’s not too late, you know. Remember that first draft of your 2012 To-Do list was created in the hustle and bustle of the year-end business cycle and the chaos of the holiday season. Before we slip out of the first quarter, there is still time to take another look at the reality of the day and make a few adjustments. This piece has been created to give you some ideas.
First of all, remember that...
Don’t Go There!
There is an axiom that cautions one to be careful what one wishes for. That advice has never seemed more relevant than today with respect to the continuing transition of the American real estate brokerage business model.
A bit of history. The current business model traces from 1947, when the dirt peddler of 1939 returned from World War II to discover the post-WWII economic boom and the beginning of...
High Performance Agents Wonder How to Fit Into New Industry Models
This article is about an interaction that is growing more and more common throughout the industry. A call for consultation from three “30 something” high performance ($12M+) agents. It’s a pre-dinner exchange at a posh bar and a vegetarian dinner with a giant mushroom on the plate where the ribeye used to be. These are blessed moments.
The conversation starts out slowly because it wouldn’t...
Be a Student of Our Industry
One of the many joys of my work is being able create and innovate with some of the most intelligent men and women in the country. I was so engaged one afternoon last week with a group of real estate professionals in Tennessee when one of my companions uttered what in retrospect seems to have been a genius observation. As the group labored its way through a particularly strenuous discussion regarding...
A Letter from HISD
October 17, 2011
Dear Houston REALTORS,
HISD is committed to raising academic achievement and preparing all of our students for college and meaningful careers. High-quality schools are an important factor for families looking to buy a home, and HISD has some of the best schools in the nation. We landed 93 schools on the latest National Center for Educational Achievement list of Higher...
Excuse Me. Would You Like a Program?
By Dave Yelovich
Green is the buzzword that has captured the industry. So how do you answer the question, “Is this house green?” In order to properly answer this question we must first come to an understanding of what “green” really is. To some it simply means the house is energy efficient. To others it goes beyond energy to include features like efficient water fixtures, how the site was...
Whoops, There Goes Another Rubber Tree Plant
What does an ant that is trying to move a “rubber tree plant” have to do with the contemporary real estate marketplace? For that matter, how does a ram that wants to topple a “billion-watt” dam figure into our current industry landscape?
Well for starters, both of these references come from that famous song “High Hopes” first popularized by Frank Sinatra, with music written by Jimmy Van...
