On September 11, 2009, I attended a fundraising event for the Susan G. Komen foundation. The event was called “I Survived Real Estate”; hosted by TNG of Riverside CA.
At the Nixon Library, a panel of eight (8) well- respected real estate professionals gathered to discuss the current real estate market and possible solutions to the perceived issues of the industry. This symposium talked briefly on each of their subjects and then sparred in a lively discussion. The team consisted on the head of the mortgage bankers association, a former NAR President, a principle at Beacon Economics, a VP of the CA Builer’s Industry, a 2008 President of the National Auctioneer’s Assoc, a VP of the Appraisal Institute and the Sr. VP of Realty Trac.
This is my second year of attending this breast cancer benefit. I enjoyed the honest opinions of what is happening in the housing market, how they are dealing with this challenging market and how they are navigating their team of people relying on them for answers.
Please click on the link below to hear this worthwhile program. It is in three (3) segments which will allow you to digest all the meat of the discussions. (Allow 4 hours to hear the total event.) IT IS WELL WORTH IT!!!!
http://www.thenorrisgroup.com/blog/video-blog/i-survived-real-estate-2009/
GRI stands for Graduate REALTOR@ Institute. To become a GRI, the realtor must spend 92 hours in live lecture courses designed to improve marketing and negotiating skills, learn the latest in technology, provide an understanding of the new disclosures and legal aspects of real estate, and become familiar with the latest trends in financing. The goal of these courses is to aid the program graduate in providing the best service to the client. GRI is a nationally recognized professional real estate designation and less than 6% of all realtors in the state of California hold the GRI designation.
Because buying and selling property has become increasingly complex, as a sophisticated consumer, your transaction deserves the knowledge and professionalism of a GRI. Only members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) are eligible to use the term “REALTOR” and they can only earn the GRI designation. Click the link below to assist in locating a GRI…
http://www.grinetwork.org/locateGRI/city.asp
Interestingly, my first BLOG comes on Labor Day; a day to honor the laborer. As I sit at my home office, I can’t help but think back to my first job and see how technology has changed this day. My first Labor Day, as an employed individual, was working as a bank teller at a local savings & loan in Southern California. I was excited for the 3-day weekend, but first we had to handle all the clients standing in line on a Friday night to cash their checks. The holiday lines were at least 10 deep, full of blue collar workers, construction folks, ladies in dresses/skirts, guys in polyester suits, and several customers with lighted cigarettes.
Yes, waiting in long lines at lunch hour and after work on Fridays to cash your check was “normal”. In fact, one could use their entire lunch hour traveling from/back to work and waiting in line to cash a check. Savings & Loans were NOT open on Saturdays, so it was Friday or Tuesday. If it was the first of the month, the lines were even longer to accommodate the folks getting government checks.
Would we have the patience now to wait in those lines? Wait without cell phones, i-pods, and pocket calculators? Automation has allowed us to to do banking whenever we want, or do it at home on the computer. Tellers had to balance their drawer with an adding machine tape, pen and paper, and could not leave until it was balanced. It is now so much easier and home offices are convenient! Technology has simplified aspects of our lives, but has it made our lives easier? We would complain about the lines today, complain about the balancing, but have laborers lost jobs because of it? Would we give up technology if it would add back the jobs?
