This morning I had the opportunity to hear from one of the passengers who was on USAir Flight 1549 that crash landed in the Hudson River.  He spoke about understanding why he thinks everyone survived and reminded us to think about the important things in life by being better husbands, sons, fathers, brothers and dads.

I look at what I have in my life; my family and my business.  He reminded me to be grateful for what I have and never take it or anyone for granted – not that I ever do.

Stephen Grellet wrote, “Do It Now”:

I expect to pass through this world but once.   Any good thing, therefore ,that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now.  Let me not defer nor neglect it; for I shall not pass this way again.

This weekend I fly to NYC and back.  I wonder if I’ll be thinking about what I heard today? 

Two hours later the evening goes from good to out of this world!  Here I am a 59 year old baby boomer who remembers the 70′s like it was yesterday when the only thing I had to worry about was hanging with my best girl.  Well I married her and last evening we went to the best concert that I have ever seen and will be for the rest of my life! 

On Saturday night, two icons – Elton John and Billy Joel – rocked the house and for 3 and 1/2 hours! I felt like I was in my twenties again with not a care in the world.  I didn’t worry about lost homes, lost jobs or making that extra sale.  Yeah, I did look at my e-mail every now and then but I swear just for a moment and then I snapped another picture, sang to the music and remembered when It was great again.  They are two of the most amazing entertainers I have ever seen and I know because ’60′ is suddenly around the corner.  I may never get a chance again to see a concert like this, in a great city, at a wonderful venue, with people that bring back my youth so magically. 

So when you have nothing to do, see what’s happening in Charlotte and as the song is titled – bring your “uptown” girl uptown!   Tell me if you were there and share your thoughts!

We continue to pour money to bail out AIG, banks, auto industry and the like.  Instead of doing that, why not give every adult over the age of 18 a stimulus in the amount of 1 million dollars? That would be far less than we are pouring in to failing companies with no end in sight.  What would happen if my company fails tomorrow?  Would the government bail me out? 

Look, I love my country.  I’ve raised and educated my children, taught them how to be model citizens and not expect that they are entitled, rather they must earn their way in this world.  We are telling generations to come that it is okay to fail because someone will bail you out if you do.  In fact they will bail you out so much so that they will even pay you when you do fail.  Is that a crazy concept or what?  Don’t worry, if you fail we’ll give you money and prop you up.  

If there is no fear of loss there is no fear of failure!  Am I the only one that feels this way?  I’d like to hear your comments as well.  What happened to the american work ethic?  I know – we’ve sent it overseas!  

One of my past clients has introduced me to his company, The Victory Junction Gang.  The purpose of this organization is to “enrich the lives of children with chronic medical conditions and serious illnesses by providing life changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering in a safe and medically sound environment.”  It’s in quotes because I didn’t want to miss a word.

I know these are troubled times and sometimes I wonder how or when things are going to turn around.  Then I look toward doing something to help others and try to not have a pity party because my life is so much better and so much fortunate than others.  I feel good knowing that a small contribution has made a difference.

Learn more about The Victory Junction Gang and then volunteer! 

The Home Builders Association of Charlotte is protesting provisions in the $819 billion economic-stimulus bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week.
The organization will deliver more than 1,000 petitions to members of the U.S. Congress outlining its objections.
The group says the bill doesn’t sufficiently help home buyers and the housing sector because it fails to expand the $7,500 tax credit to all home buyers.
The association says the bill should increase the tax credit to at least $10,000, extend the eligibility period from June 30 to Dec. 31 and allow the credit to be used at the time of closing.”

The article went on to say that:

The building industry is one of the hardest hit in the country,” says Michael Hinshaw, president of the association. “If home building continues to be curtailed, Americans will no longer realize the dream of home ownership and hundreds of thousands of men and women involved in our industry will be unemployed.”

Is this more of the same – going down the road of artificially stimulating the housing market by putting folks into homes that under the traditional model wouldn’t qualify, or is this a stimulus that will work with no negative affects?

We had an interesting turn this week with our listing in Providence Country Club.  We put a link to the virtual tour site on Twitter.  Almost 10% of the traffic this past week on that house was via Twitter.  We knew that the various web applications and social media were important, but I would have never thought that posting a home on Twitter would generate so much traffic.  Of course that shouldn’t have surprised me since the reason our web traffic was up almost 100% in December was due to a blog post about Christmas lights!!

I believe that we are at the beginning of an information revolution that will vastly improve the quality of our lives while at the same time taking everything we know and turning it on it’s head.  What an exciting time to be alive!

The snow was falling early this morning

Yes it does snow in Charlotte!  Proof is in the pictures I took this morning as the flakes were falling in Southeast Charlotte, cancelling school and causing many to stay home from work. Many who didn’t grow up in this area like to laugh at Southerners who appear to panic at the first flake and stay home as long as anything white remains on the ground - but their feelings are justified as more often than not, snow in Charlotte comes with ice in Charlotte.  Driving on ice is NOT the same as driving on snow.

Regardless, it’s the perfect combination for all – the snow is pretty, kids get a day off from school, and then within a day or two it’s all gone and we’re back to dry streets and yards.  No slush or dirty roads to deal with.  What more could you ask for?

These pictures were taken this morning from my house.  As of 11am, it is still coming down, although tapering off.  I’m sure that by later today things will calm down and we’ll be back to normal.

So don’t laugh at us – if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!  Take the day off and find a nearby hill and have fun with the kids.  We don’t get too many chances to enjoy this!

Snow was clinging to the trees

Early morning snow in Charlotte

One of the most paralyzing conditions that we, as Realtors®, have to deal with every day.  We must be out to make a quick buck.  The lowest of the low.  Scum of the earth.  How can we live with ourselves? How dare we charge a fee for standing around looking pretty while someone chooses a home to buy! I can sign those forms myself without your help, thank you very much.

We understand your feelings and preconceived notions about the real estate industry and those who choose to work as Realtors®. However – our ethics, attitudes, and concern for your investment (a home is a very large investment) may surprise you. Hard as it may be to believe, we value your thoughts, and want nothing but your satisfaction in the end.

• We are not your average real estate agents.

• We did not choose to sell real estate because it was a fun part-time job.

• We don’t spend countless hours with clients hoping they’ll buy a home – any home – just to have a sale.

• We don’t patronize our clients by allowing them to make bad investment decisions.

• We will tell clients things that they may not want to hear, but it will be something that they need to hear.

• We do take the burden of the closing process off of a client’s shoulders, and take full responsibility in seeing that the transaction is a success.

• And we value quite highly the satisfaction that our clients feel when the last document is signed.

Our client’s satisfaction is our greatest reward.  We realize that we can’t please everyone, but we do our best to make that happen.  We love our job.  Meeting people, showing them around our favorite city, allowing them into our lives for however long it takes for them to see that we aren’t smoke and mirrors – what you see is what you get.  And what you get is nothing short of amazing service, dedication, and unparalleled loyalty.

We are –

Top Charlotte Agent . . . for a reason!

As technology continues to evolve, it seemingly affects all areas of our lives.  Christmas light shows have become increasingly complex and wondrous to see.  It’s no longer enough to simply drive around and admire the lights.  For some of the larger displays, parking is almost required so as to enjoy the entire spectacular show complete with music! 

This particular display (alas, not in Charlotte) was the winner of the Planet Christmas contest in Frisco, TX in 2005.  It would be hard to top this one.  Has anyone seen anything spectacular and worth a drive in the Charlotte area?

What’s it going to take to turn the housing market around?  We have to believe that it will turn around and how soon depends on you!

Day in and day out I continue to hear how bad it is.  I’m just tired of it.  People still need housing and why not purchase your own home.  Renting is a waste of time and resources.  Interest rates are low, but not at an all time low.  In most cases it is still a buyers market.

The only way that our economy will turn around is we have to invest in it and spend money.  Look – life is a risk.   So help yourself and others by going out to eat, taking that vacation, buying a new car or even purchasing a new home.