finding a good real estate agent

Whether you’re buying or selling homes or properties, real estate agents are very important for any profitable and secure real estate transaction. In many cases, property agents are only known through word of mouth. Perhaps you know these agents because they are recommended by your family and friends who are satisfied with their services in past transactions. You can also find real estate professionals through advertisements in classified ads or through the Internet.

From the moment that you advertise your intention to buy or sell a home, it would usually mean that you will be opening your door to property agents. These agents will be very persistent in trying to represent you; after all, they make a living through buying and selling properties. They are also willing to do the extra mile just to help you achieve your dreams and goals.

A good agent is known for his credibility, so don't be shy to ask questions. You can ask and get yourself educated on the many aspects of buying and selling property. Every agent has a responsibility. Expect him to do more than just driving clients to various homes and properties that are for sale. Helping his clients with negotiations, inspections, contracts, and closing processes are the major parts of his job. The best property agent must continue to educate himself in order to keep up with the laws involved in buying and selling property. Moreover, he needs to be knowledgeable about the market trend.

When choosing an agent, you need to choose a licensed one because he is legally required to stand by the Code of Ethics. With a licensed agent, you can be sure about his qualification, capability and dedication to sell and to help in the buying of properties. Of course, it is also important to verify that this agent has a good reputation and a proven track record.

If you have plans of buying a good home, contact real estate agents who are within the community first since they are likely to know the price range of the property that you intend to buy. It should also be the same way if you intend to sell your property in the same community. An agent who is in the community should be knowledgeable enough on how to properly price and market the property you are selling.

Finally, don’t forget to look at how well the agent represents all his clients. It is never a bad idea to visit some of the open houses that he has organized. You can snoop around and check whether he is able to explain everything about a client's property with confidence. This is a good way to gauge his ability and skills which will help you decide if you can trust him to represent you in front of sellers or buyers.

on walking our talk

We are probably not aware of it but most of us are guilty of not walking our talk. There are times when, even when we have already set our own principles and standards on what we believe to be the right thing to do, we would find ourselves settling to do the wrong thing.

Why is it just so hard for most of us to walk our talk? Why is there discrepancy between words and actions? Perhaps it is because it is tempting to backslide or to do the opposite especially if this would mean convenience on our part or something that can keep us out of trouble. But hey, why should we complicate things? Let's not make a wrong thing seem right just because almost everybody is doing it and it is something that we all can benefit from. Just saying. :-)

written over a cup of coffee (note to self)

Change. We all want to change for the better but, at times, it is such a struggle to be able to successfully do so; but once you finally found the courage to take the first step towards the process of "change", everything else will soon follow... hopefully, with God's will and guidance. However, it is always possible to find yourself falling into the trap of going back to the previous state you are in. You might feel tired about your failed attempts at changing because you would always find yourself back at square one rather than progressing towards the finish line. And you will then start to wonder and ask yourself, "Why did I mess it up, again?" Of course, it is easy to figure out why you failed because you will be able to assess the consequences of your failed attempts. On the brighter side, you can always start again - 'more intelligently', as Henry Ford puts it.

Today, with the help of God, I am changing. I am starting again more intelligently today. No more procrastination this time. And if I should go back to square one and try again with a different approach, I will not complain and happily do so. After all, this walk through life gets more and more exciting when I have trials and failures to overcome.

Really now? Hehehe :-)

something rare and durable

Didn't you realize how quickly the days go by? I began to realize that it's almost Christmas time when we officially started our Kris Kringle this month. Definitely, it’s time to buy gifts these days. It’s really fun and exciting to be receiving a little something each week. I am looking forward to the revelation part where we get to know who’s been giving us the gifts we’ve been getting each week.

Speaking of gifts, I have also been planning to give something unique as a Christmas gift to my hubby. Clueless on what to give, I started to browse online for gift ideas and this led me to seeing pictures of Tungsten Rings, particularly the wedding rings. Oh, I would have loved for us to be wearing beautifully designed wedding rings made of rare and durable metal like Tungsten to symbolize our rare and enduring love for each other; however, we already have our wedding rings because we've been married for 4 years already. So, I'll just have to suggest that my friend in the U.S. get this type of ring on her wedding day; that is, if she and her partner would want to deviate from gold or silver where wedding rings are usually made of. Hopefully, their church wedding in the Philippines pushes through next year.

my ever thankful heart

I just love it when the U.S. celebrates Thanksgiving holiday. I am loving this holiday more this year especially now that I just got back from working in traditional office. The company I work for follows the American holidays in determining our non-working days. This is why I was fortunate to have enjoyed a two-day respite from work. In fact, I'd consider it as a four-day vacation from work if I were to include Saturday and Sunday. Yey! Thank you, America! :-)

In connection with the Thanksgiving holiday, I told my husband I am going to post again something about gratitude. I always have a lot of things to be thankful for in my life. Overall, life has been great. Despite a few setbacks here and there, I feel like the Lord has been very kind to me and my family. With God's help, there weren't troubles that me and my husband weren't able to endure together. I think I've said or written this somewhere. Why do I feel like I keep repeating myself? *grin*

In terms of work and career matters, one of the things that I am thankful for is having met wonderful employers along the way. I am referring to both my previous and current employers. There is only one word I can describe both of them - they're "heaven-sent"!

It was a little hard to say goodbye to the previous company I have worked for. In fact, I had initially thought about keeping it (it was a full-time online job) while also working in traditional office. However, I know it would be a point against my integrity if I don't let my previous boss know about my career plans. Besides, it would be hard to serve two masters full-time since I obviously don't have a bionic body. To make the story short, ex-boss wished me well in my career move. In fact, he sent me a wonderful and touching message that I will forever cherish and I will share them to you here, my few readers! :-)


Now, I am not so sure if I deserve ALL those words from him.. Husband has only one advice for me - cherish these things in your heart and not in your head.... :-)

I also have nice words to say about my current boss and the company I am now working for in general. I would like to thank them, especially the big boss, for taking me back without hesitation. I promise to work harder in order to meet or exceed (hopefully) their expectations.

There will be more gratitude posts to follow.

work and career matters

After careful consideration, I have decided to go back to working in traditional office. It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made considering that I have always wanted to stay and work at home so I can also be where my daughter is. Among the many plausible reasons I have, recent health concerns in the family added more weight to the decision that at least one of us should be back working in traditional office setting so that the whole family can have health insurance as part of the benefits. Anyway, I am not going to be working in the office the whole day and my Saturdays and Sundays are always free.

Indeed, even as a freelancer, work-at-home employee or a casual worker, it’s really important to have an amount set aside for contingencies such as health setbacks and other emergencies. Sometimes, we tend to put these things off (if not forget) hoping that we would stay healthy all the time and especially since we’ve always known ourselves to be not the sickly type.

However, we can’t always tell when ailments strike. We can never be assured that we won’t get sick because we are taking vitamins and other health supplements. As these things do come in unexpected moments, we need to be prepared so that we have something to use when our health needs proper medical care and attention.