Hello girlfriends, in case you don't hear from me as often, the reason is that I am in real estate school. Yup, that's right. I am adding another A to my resume of artist, author, advocate, Agent. I am in school from 9-4 daily for a month, plus drive time. And only time enough to study at night! I am in the courses required to take the RE exam to get the license to be a broker in CO. I miss you all already! PL

You go girl! What a great "A" to add to your list of accomplishments. I've always enjoyed roaming through other people's houses and often thought that being a real estate agent could be interesting. I'm looking forward to hearing how it goes for you. Best of luck - and come back here whenever you get the urge to play hookey!

Lynn, you have all that it takes to be a great broker. Wishing you all the best.

chick

Isn't she something? GO PRINCESS! You are to be admired....keep us up to date when you can and break a leg!

Yea! Have a wonderful time!

Cool Lynnie! Now you can sell condos with Saundra in Florida!

By the way, are in the part of Colorado that's been buried in snow? One of my suppliers, Wicking J Sleepwear, is in Evergreen just outside of Denver. They've had over 3 feet of snow, with berms and drifts of up to 10 feet. Kids have been out of school more than three weeks now, what with the holiday break and all.

Hello colleague! Welcome to Donald Trumph's world! Good luck in your exams.

Lynnie, that's awesome! I used to have my Hawaii
RE license years ago, until I had to move. I might
renew it one day : )
Cindy

Good luck, Lynnie! Wishing you all the best!

Good for you, Princess! It's funny because I was thinking of posting about annoying realtors. Like the one who just asked to show the house with less than 2 hours notice and then cancelled 5 minutes after they were supposed to be here. GRRRRR.
I know you won't be one of those rude ones...

Hi Blue, it's been a while.
Are you moving...duh, I guess you are.
Out of state? closer to me?

chick

Congrats Lynn. Be sure to visit Hannelore's site. She's a realtor in Germany.

Thanks for all the repsonses. There is one guarantee in life now, and that is the support from my BWS sisters! You are all so full of love and light that you shine on me, and my wee Princess tiera! Blue, are you selling and moving? Kathy, I am south of Evergreen, which is a beauty of a town. We have snow in CO springs, but not so much. Cindy, RE in Hawaii must be a great job to have: go for it! Lola, one has to practically be an attny or attached to an attny what with all the "errors & omissions" clauses as a realtor! Yes, I want to check out Hannelore's site. And to all of you, you are the best. Oh, I passed my 1st prelimanary school exam today. Another one on Friday. We are expecting freezing rain on that day. The RE school has been very professional.

We are selling the house but just because we want to rent a little closer to downtown Pagosa. I would NEVER leave this place!!! Well, never say never, right?

Since you're now a Princess, will you have any good deals on royal castles?

Wow. Another item to put on your long list of talents. Proud of you! Hope you make a fortune.

Oh, yes Lynnie...the inevitable and delightful clauses and sub-clauses in the sale of a parcel of land...

Hi Bluebird ! No wonder we have't been hearing from you. Have you started packing yet? Will you be downsizing? That's hard. Best of luck to you, and hope you get the price you want!

Lynn, one of the guys I work with now is getting his license in about a month. He wants to be able to sell the timeshares instead of marketing them like I do. Good luck!

I finished my first week of courses, and passed the exams. Lots to study. And yes, I'd love to sell castles! I hope I make a fortune too. My grandmother is 101. Looks like I got a lot of years ahead to finance!

Princess Lenora; believe it or not, I actually have sold a castle. It was the Bavarian summer residence of King Ludwig the fourth or fith, or one of those. It was harder than you can imagine, because I had a lot of unserious customers that just wanted to tour. It took almost two years till I sold it. Finally an artsy film director bought it. I get invited to all his big vernissages and fantastic parties that he throws about once a year. Let me tell you Lynn, there's tons of writing material in this business...keep your note book handy..

Congrats Lynn, you're well on your way. Is there any such thing as a 'downsized' castle?

chick

Thanks you all. Hey, I wonder if I visited that castle? When I was in high school I took a trip to Germany, among other countries, with a group. We went to castles in Bavaria. It was fascinating! I hear that a lot of castles are converted to schools or universities or some other venture in order to pay for maintenance and taxes. That's better than letting them go to ruin.

Hannelore, how cool is that to be sell and be invited to parites at a castle. I'd love to hear about those parties...and the guy who is in the film industry.

Dotsie, the parties aren't what you think they might be in a castle. No white wigs and sparkling crowns…Not even a moat.Sorry JJ.

The people are very artsy bohemian types. I always feel like I'm being set back into the hippy years when I'm there. The owner of the castle is so cool and lay back. He mainly does documentary films, (excellent movies). I hope to get enough paintings together to do a vernissage there. I've often noticed that the really rich rich people are often more down to earth that the rich people…if you know what I mean.

The castle itself is in a French baroque style. Their kitchen is darling. All blue and white with beautiful blue and white plates hanging around as decor. They still have the huge old fashioned sink and oven too.

Does it have a moat?

No,... no moat here in Germany. It's said you can't get any alligators in these parts...They're supposed to be all floating around on their backs, sunning their bellies in some Queen's moat….feeding on the hired help…..

Congratulations, Lynn. I hear those tests are REALLY hard. Of course, you'll make sure we're all invited to those castle parties won't ya. Does da Queen have alligators in her moat? I thought it just had water in it.

Hi all, I'm missing my BWS friends. I want to read and respond to everything but I don't have the time. yes, the exam is hard. It is not that the concepts are so difficult but that the questions are poorly worded and convoluted. I have another week and a half of school/study, then on to take the exam. In the next week or so I will be interviewing with brokers to see what agency I want to go to. Talk with you all soon! L

We'll still be here missing you too. Study hard and do well, Lynn.

chick

Hi girlfriends, I miss you! I am still studying. But I thought I'd quickly share my first "interview" experience with you. More to follow when I can, PLI've got to get into the "game" again re: corporate world. I had an interview yesterday with a managing broker guy aged about 35, if that. I felt old and obsolete, and I did not sell myself well. I'm a touchy-feely warm fuzzy intuitive kind of girl and he was a data driven kind of guy. This $10 million producing (individual sales!) power broker asked me for my "business plan." What? My plan is to help people get into their dream houses one sale at a time. Or get out of their old houses one listing at a time. I did it before, when I was young and stupid, so I can do it again, and this time with the wisdom of "maturity" to guide me. He asked me what distinguishes me from the 3,800 other realtors in the Pikes Peak region. Hey, if I can survive all that I did, I can survive in the competition of real estate. After all, it isn't chemo-therapy!
Then, to make myself look really stupid, when the interview was over, I lost my car keys. It was dusk. I got to my car, couldn't find my keys, and dumped my entire purse on the front of my car. There I am searching through my wallet, tissues, lipstick, etc. thinking, "I hope this youngster doesn't see me and realize what an idiot I am!" Sure enough, he comes out, sees me, then asks if he could help. Oh well, I'm always good for showing that I'm only human! But I do have to get into the corporate mind set (and wardrobe) again.

Lynn, it sounds like the perfect interview and a very good story! I hope this guy is smart enough to hire you.

Congratulations. It takes a special person to do what you do. Only a special person is going to sell homes with a feeling that the buyers will be looking for.

This is interesting as I was just going to post to see if anyone is a real estate agent. I talked my Mom into getting her license when she was 65 and she did it. I should have talked myself into it back then. Now I'm going for it, a 50th birthday present to myself. I have been working in sales for over 20 years but work in an office by myself and am getting really burnt out. I sell advertising and am constantly bugging people. It's not easy. I know there are draw backs to every job but it will be nice to be with people who actually want to buy something, instead of having to talk people into something that they may or may not want.
I love houses and am always watching the real estate shows.
I plan to keep my job while getting my license which I can get by correspondence. I hope to start off slow, get my feet wet before taking the full time plunge. I can't quit my job as I have no other income and three kids to support. I think it's time though as my youngest two are teenagers.
Would love to hear how it's going for others.
Kate

Kate I've been selling real estate now for 15 years. I think that's very wise to keep your present job, and do real estate on the side. It's a 'when it rains, it pours business, and when it's slow 'it's really slow'….so it's good to have that steady income in the background. But there is a lot of money in it…Good luck in your new endeavour!

Kate, how is it going for you? How does your mother like RE? I'm finding that there are a lot of costs involved in getting started, more than when I was a realtor in Arizona 20 years ago. I PASSED the state exame! Yeah! Now I am looking for an agency that I want to be involved with. Nothing is harder than selling my book about child sexual abuse and domestic violence, so I ought to do OK with selling houses! Hannelore, I don't know how it would be to do RE in another country with another language.

Congratulations Princess Lenora! I know that exam isn't easy. Go girl!

Hi Lynn,
I just started. I am doing mine by coorespondence. My Mom is not in real estate anymore, she is 80. She moved out west to be close to me and should have continued but she had to get her BC licence and didn't want to go through the test again. If she knew then that she could have done it by coorespondence she would have done that, but did not know at the time. It does cost quite a bit other than the licence part. There are fees for belonging to boards, desk fees, advertising. I plan to take it slow and find an office with the lowest fees. My boyfriend works for Remax but he has been in it for a long time and gets a high commission rate. He advised me to go to a smaller office first until I get established.
Kate

Lynn, congrats. Are you having fun reinventing yourself?

Kate, how's it going?

Lynn, I'm so happy for you...knew you could do it! Have fun and sell, sell, sell!

Lynn, it seems like only yesterday when you told us you were going for this. Congratulations! Best of luck in sales.

chick

Good luck, Lynn. You'll fid the perfect sales home for yourself and then sell others the homes of their dreams.

Congratulations, Lynn! I'm so delighted for you - and proud for you too! What an amazing accomplishment for you. I'm so looking forward to hearing all about your first sale...

Lynnie,
This is wonderful and you are a smart and talented person and you will do well in the world of real estate . There are a lot of new homes going up in CO and at the ski resorts people buy Condos . Also, being a Social Worker you will have a good intuitive personality of people and what they want in there first home or there second home.

How excited I am for you . Keep up the good work and keep us posted when you sell you first house .

Go for it

Blessings

Thanks for the support, girlfriends. Yes, Dotsie, that's a good way of putting it: I am re-inventing myself yet again. Kate, if your BF is at Remax, then I hope he can help you get started. Renee, a friend of mine in real estate told me that there are a LOT of former social workers in RE because as we know social work pays so little. A person can do only so much with the heart and soul. In this world, with people living longer, we need a way to fund our old age. So it's back to work while my body is still able.

Congrats! and Knock 'em dead!

Congrats Lynn! Now start selling those castles!

Lynnie,
I am going to go volunteer at the Alz assoc and she were that will take me and how I like it . I want to do something for myself now . Just don't know where this will take me , but I am going with the flow .

Blessing

Renee, with your knowledge and sincerity and empathy you will be a great asset to the ALZ association. That's great to start volunteering to see where it will lead you.

Lynnie,
You have inspired me to go out there and find myself . The last year had been a ruff one on me with husband in and out of the hospital and with one surgery last year and another one this year an with my mother's death . A case of shingles and learing to let it go . And finding a new church helped and new friends . Older ones at that .

My old friend I grew up with , we have become even closer now she is in Richmond VA . It is nice to know that you are there also only an email away . You have helped me sort out my life and still doing it . I am very thankful for your friendship too. For this I am truly grateful .

Blessings,
Renee

Renee, you re-connected with a friend from childhood? That's great! I must say that this transition to real estate, which is a former profession of mine, has not been easy. The business has gotten so complicated, which is ok because that protects the public. What was once a 3 page contract is now 12 pages of legaleze. Another hard part is the technology. I had to buy a lap top PC compatible with the office network, a handy dandy super fancy cell phone, and a calculator suitable for a math wizard. It's been over my head to take on this kind of technology. The good part is having a mentor. She was away last week, leaving me in the office by myself. I felt lost and lonely without her, which made me realize how lucky I am to have a mentor! My licensing application is not complete yet. The real estate board keeps kicking it back to me for one thing or another. It took 2 months for my fingerprints to go through the FBI (a requirement of licensing in CO to make sure I am not a felon.) After the 2 months of waiting, the real estate commissin said they did not like my fingerprints and they wanted a new set. Also, I have to prove I am legit American via birth certificate. It took the commission 2 months to tell me this! Wow, if anyone knew how hard it was to get into real estate, then there would be more respect for brokers. Wish me luck!

Lynn,
You're getting there! I'm so proud of you for taking the plunge! You rock!

Remember Princess, you have been and continue to be an inspiration to all of us here, AND to others who might be lurking about the boards but not posting. They come, they read, and they are inspired. Like Jane said, YOU ROCK!

You will get there and look back on this, one day, as just another stepping stone towards your new life. I know, too trite.

Keep moving forward, Princess. And try to enjoy the ride. Oh, heck, I know you are already enjoying everything.

Believe me the name of the game in this business, starting from day one, is "patience." Wait till you start selling...I haven't sold anything for almost six months...and this week it looks like I've sold 4 houses! It's so crazy. And when the sales come in Princess...remember to put some money aside for those months where nothing comes in. That little trick separates the agents who can stick it out through the hard times from those that are forced to quit.

Thank you girlfriends for the encouragement. HL, you may have sold 4 houses this month! That's great, after a long cold winter. I do know that most brokers drop out because they cannot get through the economic hard times. I just know this is the right thing for me to do at this time, and I can still pursue my other passions and missions. Oh, JJ, thanks for the "inspiration" comment. Just a couple of years ago, I went back to college to get my degree in social work. I met another woman about my age who was also getting a degree in SW. My intentions were to go on to get my masters degree to do counseling with women. Her intentions were to get only her bachelors, and do adoption counseling. Well, I got cancer and got derailed, just got my bachelor's and no energy for masters. She could not find a job at the bachelor's level, so spent more time and money on her master's degree. She got jobs with her MSW but she is very unhappy with the high stress and low pay, lack of intrinsic reward, and red tape she deals with. So, she is quitting her master's level job, and going into REAL ESTATE! My goodness. It's a sad state the way social workers are not rewarded in our society, yet they do most of the mental health counseling. And like I said, I'm going back to work because there is no money in advocacy. But social workers are relationship people, and a real estate business is built on relationships. Any comments about this line of thinking?

That's funny Princess, my major was in sociology as well, and here I am in real estate. I got to admit I only chose this proffesion because there wasn't much else I could do in Germany without a German college degree.

What real estate comes down to is selling. To get the contracts to sell, you need to sell your self, or putting it better, convince the home owners you can do it better than anyone else. That's where the psycho comes in, and where I think my college background has helped a little. But when it comes to sales...the buyer just has to love that house. You might point out a few nice things about it, but he really doesn't care about you. It's all about sales.

The house, yes, is what the buyer is wanting, but unless they can trust you, they won't stick with you very long. Social skills are invaluable when it comes to sales. I think your background will be a definite asset to your new career.

My father was a broker and land developer and trust me, he does NOT have a good personality. He is a hard worker tho.

I was trying to remember realtors we've used and there was only one I didn't like. When I went with him to look at houses it was fine but when the hub joined us, I was forgotten. Good old boys network sort of thing.

I agree that it's the house that matters, not the realtor. I know you'll be very successful. Another thing we have in common...I used to work in real estate.

I am just saying hi. I miss all my boomer sisters. Today I went to a presentation on WELLS and SEPTIC TANKS and also on FOUNDATIONS. Next week I get to learn about MOLD and METH! I'll be well educated. Now all I need is a client to impress with all my education! Dianne, I wonder if we were both in RE in AZ at the same time? I can't imagine what it was like for you to work with him after all the involvement he had with the DQ and it was not pretty. BTW, Dianne, I saw your article in Lavendar Power! You go girl! I'll be back this weekend to catch up with my girlfriends here! PL

I think it was 74 or 75. This was way before the DQ but still, in my spirit, I knew I should never get involved with him in any form but did it anyway. The things we do before we heal.

My, what exciting presentations. Especiallly the septic tank.

Lynnie,
If you read in the thread remember it was not a happy reunion and my mistake go read . I must have been nuts . Anyway I am so happy for you . I am taking a some classes on Floral arrangment 1 and now 2 . Love it so much. Talk more later .

Lynn, glad to see you back. I didn't realize all the stuff you have to learn to be in real estate.

Lynn...get your mind out of the sewer...LOL...

Dianne, what is Lavender Power? Tell us girl!

Jane, always the jokester. I'm laughing.

Keep up the good work Lynn. We miss you hanging out with us.

It's a newsletter. I'll see if I still have it and email it to you.

Hi y'all. Real Estate is much more complicated than ever. There is much more responsibility for ethics and accuracy of the agent/broker these days. Dianne, the first time I had my license was in 1976 or so. Who knows? Maybe we met back then in AZ and just didn't know! Interest rats (rates) were 16 or 17% and deals were all about assumables. I had no guts, no gumption, and no support. Actually I was in a dv marriage and didn't know it dv for what it was. I was in a C21 company. I had PTSD and didn't know it. How that translated to work is this: I would be in a sales meeting on a Tuesday morning and I would have no comprehension of anything that was being said. I was also afraid of men, and mostly the profession had men who would say to me: "When you got it baby, flaunt it." I let that license lapse. I let my brain lapse. I let my spirit lapse. Then I got a license again in 1984 (for 2 years) and had more wherewithal. Then I moved to California and I was too afraid of competition and rejection and traffic to try again. It seems strange that 20-30 years later I am into real estate again. I think it is a job that I am spiritually being directed to do at this time in my life, allowing me time for victim advocacy as well. At least I have the guts, gumption, and comprehension to carry on for good this time! 3 times is a charm!