Online Newsletter for the Week Ending February 11, 2011

Quote:“Always remember the amount of fruit we produce is just an outcome and measurement of how well we are nurturing our root.” Jon Gordon

MAYBE MAKING IT BIGGER WILL WORK! THE LISTING ADDENDUM: Not sure how much easier I can make this. The Listing Addendum is REQUIRED by the Market Center on ALL listings, residential, commercial, RENTALS, and land, no exceptions. It keeps YOU in compliance, affords ME the use of the Paperless system to accept the listings and gives me a document to compare what the MLS indicates as a COOP commission and what you intended it to indicate. I get at least three listing folders a week where there is no Listing Agreement Addendum.


TALK ABOUT CONFUSING, 10-YEAR LITHIUM BATTERY SMOKE DETECTOR, notes from LREC that are a little different that some recent article/announcements:

Reminder on Ten Year Lithium Battery Requirement

Act 163 of the 2009 Regular Legislative session which requires one and two family dwellings at the time of sale or lease to have a ten year battery smoke detector, went into effect on January 1, 2011. There are no penalties or fines if the seller fails to comply with the provisions and it will not stop a real estate closing from occurring. The law also states that a real estate agent shall not be liable for the seller's failure to comply with the provisions of this section. (Gymbeaux Note: It requires but it doesn’t require, what kind of language is that? Is it required or not? Apparently not even though it appears on the Seller’s Property Disclosure, go figure.)

The 2011 Property Condition Disclosure document reflects this law on Page 3 Question 28 which will alert your sellers to the requirement. We are also asking you to educate your home inspectors as well of Act 163. Here is a link to the law (PDF file). If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact Norman Morris at 800-266-8538.

HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEWS ON AUSTRALIA? Received this from an Internet friend often featured on this Newsletter, Lew Smallwood. I asked him where the international outcry for help was in regards to all that has recently happened in Australia. “This last twelve months has been absolutely unbelievable. We had Cyclone Larry and now Cyclone Yasi. And following an unprecedented seven year draught, two seperate and severe floods in the three eastern states which are still working their way down various river systems, a lucust plague in two states, drought in the western part of Austalia, plus significant bushfires in outlying areas surrounding Melbourne in Victoria where I live.” I had asked him where was all the requests for public help to support the thousands affected by these events like they have here in New Orleans after Katrina and Hatti after the earthquake and other places?  Lew said that the Red Cross would be a great place to make donations if you are so inclined.

PRESIDENT BUSH LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER AND I MEAN NEVER SEEN HIM BEFORE, THIS MAY THE FUNNIEST VIDEO ON YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1tZ0zevR2c

SO YOU THINK YOU ARE A MARKETING EXPERT? REALLY? This is such a great article written by Scott Friedman. If you think as I do, tell him so. Better yet, buy his book. The article is posted on http://www.slidellcalendar.com/ in the Document Section in the Marketing Folder. As for the Gymbeaux Notes included, the Devil made me do it.

FOR THE LOVE OF SALES; NOT FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY. Great article by Jeffrey Gitomer. The book, Acres of Diamonds he references is available free on http://www.slidellcalendar.com/ in the Ebook folder of the document section: http://www.gitomer.com/articles/ViewPublicArticle.html?key=ajcdMibak3O6PbCMumFLUQ%3D%3D

ELECTRONIC BOOK READER. If you have ever wanted an electronic book reader but did not want to pay the over $150 to get one and I hope you have, check out Bed, Bath & Beyond where they are selling Sharper Image’s Literati. It is on sale for only $39.95 and there are plenty of coupons around and even on line to get 20% off that price. Best yet, it is in COLOR. I bought one and it is unbelievable for the price, includes WI FI. At that price I would imagine that supplies are very limited. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17494791

NOMAR HAS A NEW AND REALLY GOOD LOOKING WEB SITE; Check it out at http://www.nomar.org./

ONE AMAZING VIDEO, YOU SIMPLY WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING. Keep the Excedrin bottle handy you will need it after watching these two girls and what they do with a box. http://www.jokeroo.com/bin/player.swf?5f9f_f369

TAX BENEFITS OF HOME OWNERSHIP: This should be must reading for every real estate agent, from Lowe’s: http://lowes.inman.com/inmaninf/lowes/news/136175

THE ROOT OF SUCCESS, this week’s quote comes from this article written by Jon Gordon, who else would have written it? Short but really to the point. Remember this as well, “An education is what you get when you read the fine print, an experience is what you get when you don’t.” Only wish I knew who said that. Nurturing the “root” in education, profession, spiritual, and physical. Are you forgetting your root(s) of success? Read the rest of the article: http://www.jongordon.com/newsletter-020711-root-of-success.html

22 Ways to Become Spectacularly Inspirational

By Robin Sharma, author of the #1 bestseller "The Leader Who Had No Title", a really great book so says Gymbeaux!

1. Do important work vs. merely offering opinions.
2. Lift people up vs. tear others down.
3. Use the words of leadership vs. the language of victimhood.
4. Don't worry about getting the credit for getting things done.
5. Become part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
6. Take your health to a level called superfit.
7. Commit to mastery of your craft instead of accepting mediocrity in your work.
8. Associate with people whose lives you want to be living.
9. Study for an hour a day. Double your learning and you'll triple your success. (I had to embolden this one, Gymbeaux)
10. Run your own race. "No one can possibly achieve real and lasting success by being a conformist," wrote billionaire J. Paul Getty
11. Do something small yet scary every single day.
12. Lead Without a Title.
13. Focus on people's strengths vs. obsessing around their weaknesses.
14. Remember that potential unused turns into pain. So dedicate yourself to expressing your best.
15. Smile more.
16. Listen more.
17. Read the autobiography of Nelson Mandela.
18. Reflect on the words of Eleanor Roosevelt who said: "Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people." (Gymbeaux, she also said this, my personal favorite, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams!” The problem really is that most of our dreams are simply too small.)
19. Persist longer than the critics suggest you should.
20. Say "please" and "thank you".
21. Love your loved ones.
22. Do work that matters.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM AN ATTORNEY

ATTORNEY'S FREE ADVICE

This is NOT A Joke!! Even if you dislike attorneys you will love them for these tips. Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice! A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company:

1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put - PHOTO ID REQUIRED.'

2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the 'For' line. Instead, put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

3. Put your work phone number on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never print your Social Security Number on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

4. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.

I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us by stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

Unfortunately I am attorney and have firsthand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week the thieves ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more.

Here is some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

6. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.)

7. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name.

The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.

By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, if it has been stolen:

1. Equifax: 1-800-525-6285 1-800-525-6285

2. Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742 1-888-397-3742

3. Trans Union : 1-800-680 7289 1-800-680 7289

4. Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271 1-800-269-0271