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Go Green Tip
July 18th, 2009 8:05 PM
This weeks GO green tip. The sound of an idling car. It may seem like idling uses less gas than turning your car off and on again, but it usually doesn't, and the pollution idling causes is a lot less entertaining than betting on which Idol winner is gonna get dropped by their record label next. The Benefits Less air (and ear) pollution. An idling car creates twice the emissions of a car in motion. Saving money. Idling 15 min per weekday can cost you up to $100 in wasted gas over the course of a year. Saving oil. American drivers use more than 2 bil gal of fuel each year while idling. Personally Speaking School parking lots are notorious for idlers, so most of us probably sucked down a lotta fumes waiting for our parents to pick us up after school, except for Jenifer, who had to walk home...both ways, uphill...in the snow... Wanna Try? Turn your car off if you're gonna stay put for more than 10 seconds, and BTW: Driving warms up your car way faster than idling. EPA - resources for starting an idling-reduction program at your kid's school district.
Posted by Barbara Tretola on July 18th, 2009 8:05 PM

Are you helping or hurting us sell your home?
July 22nd, 2009 7:08 PM

Why is it that some homeowners say they want their home sold, but then go out of their way to work against you? At first you haggle over the listing price and say, let's try this price for awhile. Since the price is not horribly off, you agree, well we will see and after a month is up, we will need to reduce the pricing if we get no showings. This is agreed on. We also mention, it is important the home be as accessible as possible.You take the listing in spite of misgivings because it is a well maintained beautiful home and you know it will sell.

So we market the home and set up the open house, and this was also a hassle. Excuses are:" Well this weekend we are having company, next weekend is ok, but 3 hours is too long, and it needs to be earlier in the day and shorter." The open house comes and goes, too few buyers because of the timing in the day ,not one bit of interest, all comments wind up being, nice home , too high. We pass this along only to hear, well it is too early and they do not know what they are talking about.

The month passes, and only one showing and agent showing it had to jump the hoops to get in. Grandma is home alone and gets scared, we can only show it when someone is with her. Again feedback is, nice home, too high. Mind you a home you listed at the same time has already had 2 dozen showings and 2 offers.And this is a home in need of major work, but reasonable sellers. Now we go back armed with all sorts of regional data showing how prices are still dropping we need to be in line with the trend. 

We mention a NEW home in the area is the same price and older homes can not compete.You hear excuses like well the local newspaper says prices are not falling, and our home has xxx features, and oh by the way why aren't you bringing any buyers, only one person has come.

 We show financial news and reports.

 Bottom?

Mortgage Bankers Association: 2011 "The housing market may not stabilize until the first quarter of 2011."

Business Week: 2012 - "With any luck, three years should be long enough for the U.S. economy to recover and for the nation's housing inventory to shrink to more normal levels."

FHFA Price Decline Study: 2010 - "Indexes suggest that the time from peak to bottom tends to be about 3¾ years, whereas the median recovery period (from bottom to prior peak) was 6? years."

Case Schiller Future Price Index (as of 6/09): May 2010

And then come the questions and comments: Did you put up signs directional showing the way to the house?(???????? even a new agent knows to do this.)Why don't we get any feedback. (Every feedback that has come back negative is ignored or refuted) You of course can not be doing a good job, people should be flocking to this home. In response, you bring up other home listed at the same time, that was marketed the same way with different results (now in contract), but you hear, well it is a different area, you can not compare. We think it is too soon to drop the price we will wait another 2 months.

Two months pass, 3 showings, one a repeat. Get feedback from showing agents (when they actually return you calls or emails).Wonderful home, to high because it needs updating. You ask us to ask the agent to ask the buyer to justify their comments. (Hmm they saw a house down the street for less, just as nice and more updated.)

We even go so far as making a buyer survey asking each buyer that comes thru the door about condition and price, all say the same. Too much money, lovely house, but overpriced. Now you want to why they said this and maybe we should call them and make them justify the comments.

 

We send them more data, local reports, newly solds and listed on MLS, and no response.

 

Sellers Tip August

Money Magazine told their readers on 6/30/09:

"To sell your home fast, you're going to have to dip 10% to 15% below what comparable homes in your neighborhood recently sold for. You still may not be able to compete with foreclosures and short sales, but at least you stand a chance of getting buyers to notice your listing."

Talk to your agent about your price today!

Are you really sure you want to sell this house? If you are then you need to know:

Agents do not control the Market, Buyers do.

You are competing with other sellers.

Home must be easily accessible.

Listen to your agent.

Don't be stubborn about the price, or your house may sit for months and months with no offers. The longer it sits on the market, the staler it becomes.

You want to sell your home in a buyers' market? Then listen to the price your agent suggests, even if you think it should be higher.

 

 

Posted by Barbara Tretola on July 22nd, 2009 7:08 PM

Are You Living Your Purpose? - By Bruce D Schneider, Ph.D., MCC
July 15th, 2009 12:57 AM

Are You Living Your Purpose? - By Bruce D Schneider, Ph.D., MCC

 

"Whatever path a man travels, it is my path. Wherever he goes, it leads to me." - Unknown

Though we are all one energy force, one mind, and One Spirit, each soul incarnated into a specific form on earth for a unique purpose. We are here to experience different situations and similar situations differently, and to share these experiences with the Universe, our total consciousness. There are many different journeys to share. This is why there is more than one soul experiencing this world.

Your journey is now and exists at this moment, whether you realize it or not. It will be more enjoyable if you consciously pursue your spiritual purpose to bring the world to Love. You do this by expressing Love in whatever you do, and most easily express it when doing what you do best. Consciously following your spiritual purpose brings you ultimate joy, balance, peace, freedom, and happiness.

You have seen them. He is the conductor exuding power and poise as his orchestra performs a beautiful medley. She is the lawyer who fights for her client's life as if it were her own child on trial. She is the waitress who serves customers with as much enthusiasm and caring as her personal friends. And he is the gas station attendant who still cleans your windshield even when his co-workers won't. Who are these people? They are spiritual beings who breathe life into their work. They are people who express themselves in what they do, and not simply for financial reward. They do it because they couldn't do their job any other way. They are living their soul's purpose and consciously doing what they do with Love, and they are happier than most.

Have you ever felt something missing in your life? If so, this could be the reason: The soul has a twofold purpose in each lifetime: (1) the universal purpose to rediscover itself as Love, and (2) an individual purpose to experience a specific role it can do better or differently than any other soul in a given lifetime. The latter enables the soul to help itself and other souls more easily rediscover Love. In other words, your individual purpose is the best way to promote the universal purpose.

There are no "ideal" jobs. Not every person should be a healer or a teacher. We need conductors, lawyers, waitresses, and gas station attendants. Each person lives his or her purpose by performing his or her job in a spiritually loving way, which reaps the many rewards of a purposeful and relatively stress-free life.

We are special

Each of us can do something totally unique. The challenge is to discover your spiritual "niche" on earth, so you can realize your potential for happiness. If you live untrue to this niche, your energy will be unaligned with the Universal Energy, and you are likely to feel something missing in your life. You'll experience a feeling of dissonance, which can lead to disease.

Let us suppose, for example, that in this life you can best serve the journey of Love by expressing yourself as a salesperson. But because of your free will, you did not choose that line of work. This can cause "disease" in the form of unhappiness or even physical illness. Disease is a sign you aren't following a connected life, body, mind, and spirit. Clients who discovered this and how it was best for them to work, achieved more gratification in their lives. Some actually healed their physical conditions just by making certain changes in how they perceived their work. By understanding and living their individual purpose, they filled the void created by a disconnection to the Divine and removed the feeling that something was "missing."

Application: Hit the lottery and know your purpose

One of the surest ways to know if you are living your purpose is to imagine winning the lottery and having all the money you'll ever need. If you'd choose to continue doing what you do, it is surely your purpose. The rewards of living your soul's purpose go far beyond money. If you think you'd retire, you may just be burned out. If you do hit the lottery, take a vacation and then do what you do with Love, instead of just going through the motions. You never need to retire from Love. You can always serve your purpose and enjoy what you are doing and how you are doing it for a lifetime.

When you are connected to your spiritual purpose, your life becomes easier and more satisfying and rewarding. Why? Because you are no longer operating as an isolated individual out of tune with the Universe. Instead, you are working with the Universe, consciously connected to the Universal Mind and utilizing the vast potential of the energy around you. When you find your true purpose, the Universe has no choice but to help you by providing information and energy.

Adapted from "Relax, You're Already Perfect: 10 Spiritual Lessons... to Remember"
 


About the Author:

 

Bruce D Schneider, Ph.D., MCC is a Master Certified Coach, licensed psychotherapist, Reiki Master, founder and director of the Institute for Professional Empowerment Coaching, and author of "Relax, You're Already Perfect: 10 Spiritual Lessons... to Remember." Go to http://www.IPECcoaching.com


Check out the Experts page for Bruce Schneider, the SelfGrowth.com Official Guide to Coach Training.

 

 
 

 



 


 

If you have a question on our website, our newsletters, or virtually anything at all, please contact us at either expert@selfgrowth.com or at 732-617-1030.

 

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Morganville, NJ 07751

Posted by Barbara Tretola on July 15th, 2009 12:57 AM
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