I’ve had 24 hours to ponder this news, and the more it sinks in, the more humbled and proud I am of my team for all they have accomplished during these last three, very difficult years in our industry.  We are not the oldest shop in town, nor are we the largest; but we are the hardest working, the most passionate, and the most creative.  That, I can assure you.  Give us tenure and the same ongoing work ethic, and we will become the oldest and the largest. 

For now, as we wrap up our 5th year of business, what’s important is that we are a TEAM.  And that can’t be said often in this crazy, vicious business.  

An office is just a building that houses people, and it is the people of TeamZ who won that award; not on the strength of one, but because of all.  And that spirit was evident today at our company award’s rally when our 2011 sales leader and top-performing rookie took the stage.  In a day-to-day world where Realtors snap at each other like sharks in a tank, TeamZ chose to cheer their friends on like we were one, big family. 

Congrats to Jeremy Page and Joni Bennett for their accomplishments last year, but congrats to the rest for encouraging them, snapping pictures and high-fiving them for their successes! 

Success comes and goes.  Each year is different.  Every year someone new will cross that stage, triumphant for having outsold or outlisted their officemates,  but THANK YOU to everyone on the team for valuing your friendships, for servicing and befriending your clients, for furthering the Carpenter brand in our community and making us proud, and for focusing on this year with determination in your eyes.  It’ll be fun to see who’s on stage next year!

Kudos to TeamZ for winning the award, but thank you for earning it!  You truly are “Zionsville’s Best Real Estate Office!”

There are serious competitive advantages to expediting your thinking process.  For starters, our local inventory level is unbelieveably low.  Right now, we only have 264 houses on the market in Zionsville.  That’s it.  Across all price points, neighborhoods, townhouses and free-standing, farms and townies.  Unbelievable.  And every sub market across Indianapolis is like that from Traders Point to Irvington. 

Serious buyers have limited inventory to choose from, and who knows when the wind will blow another fresh batch of inventory onto the market for competition.  In the greater Indy market, we have 14,609 homes for sale.  Sound like a lot?  Think again, we peaked last year at around 24,000.  The second half of 2011 brought a major sell-off, and the rest of them just got frustrated and gave up “for the holidays.”  They’ll probably all come back up “in the spring.”

If you really want to stand out, choose to shirk the seasonal boons and go live sooner rather than later.  Odds are that before you close, the spring inventory ramp up will have begun, and you’ll be able to select from a vast stock.  Just thinking out loud, here.  

All the stats are looking up.  2012 IS rapidly becoming a good year in the real estate market.  If you want to know what to do to prepare your home, call me.  Today.  Let’s do this!

There is a good reason to put an end to this eternal stream of junk mail, and it is far more important than attempting to save the trees or simplify your daily routine. Your credit score may be at risk!

Financial service firms check your credit score over and over and over to ensure that the “preapproved offers” they send to you are still legitimate based on your current credit score. Heaven knows, they wouldn’t want to waste more postage than necessary! (There is irony in that, isn’t there?) So, in being on these lists that the consumer credit reporting companies sell to their financial service customers, your credit rating is constantly compromised by their marketing research.

Now, it is true that these marketing inquiries carry less impact to your credit score than an application for a home mortgage or a car loan might, but numerous “soft” credit inquiries add up over time and can have a significant impact on your credit score. It is not at all uncommon in my line of work to hear of would-be home buyers thwarted due to credit scores that are just a hair under the minimum requirements (generally, 640 for the government loans like FHA and VA). And in this new world of score-based pricing on conventional loans, allowing other parties to impact your credit score is simply no longer acceptable. Their marketing efforts could cost you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your loan if your score is a couple points lower than it should be to qualify for the lowest possible interest rate. One loan officer told me that she’s seen customers’ credit scores come up 20 or 30 points in as little as 30 days once they put a stop to all these “soft” credit inquiries.

So, why let financial service firms effect your credit scores if you’re not interested in their offers? My thoughts exactly!

The new Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows consumers like you and I the right to OPT OUT of solicitations via mail. It is true! We can get rid of a BUNCH of that junk mail, spare the trees AND save our credit. Just by filling out one little opt-out form online. Hit this site if you wish, and thank me later! www.optoutprescreen.com

Here, you can opt-out electronically for a period of 5 years. If you want to make it permanent, you can begin the opt-out online, but you do have to follow up with a written, snail-mailed request. There are instructions on the site. It’s free, it’s fast and easy, and it’s brought to you only by your favorite Real Estate Agent as my public service announcement for the day. You are welcome!

I bought a Ford Flex a couple weeks ago from Tom Wood.  It was a great experience!  I told my sales rep BJ that I wanted a late-model RED Flex with a sun roof and leather, with low miles, that looked and smelled good.  I planned to trade in my Chrysler 300, and I gave him my budget.  That was a Monday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, my new Flex was en route from Louisville with an appointment for a sunroof install Wednesday morning.  I picked up the pretty little thing, which I now call Sexy Flexy, on that Wednesday evening.  Almost immediately, I realized there was a problem when I accelerated.  It didn’t feel like a transmission problem, more like a lack of fuel going to the engine.  It would skip a beat and then keep on rolling just fine.  It happened when the car was cold or warm, on short drives or long, usually between 40-50 mph.  At first I thought it had just got a bad tank of gas, but obviously, I was concerned.  So, I drove it for a while and then refilled the tank a couple times.  No improvement.  In fact, it seemed to get worse.  I was not at all pleased that I had to take my new-to-me ride into the shop, but I decided not to freak out immediately and just called up the dealer and scheduled a service drop.  I figured the best course of action was to find out what the problem was BEFORE I freaked out, THEN take up the fight.  So, that was last night.  This morning, a rep from Tom Wood called and told me it was a bad spark plug coil (or some other such techy car thing).  I wasn’t paying much attention to that part of the conversation, it was the $700 cost to repair it that got my attention.  Okay, not devastating as far as car repairs go, but I was none too pleased.  HOWEVER, I remained calm, we had a pleasant conversation, and before he got off the phone, he explained that my buddy Brian Moore, who works for Tom Wood, had got wind of the problem, argued my case all the way to the top, and that it was now in service, would be ready by the end of the day and that there would be no charge.  I was floored.  First of all, spark plug issues are not covered under the warranty.  But beyond that, I hadn’t even called Brian to freak out (yet.)  As far as I knew, he didn’t even know the car was in the shop.  Now, ladies and gentlemen, as you know, it’s not often one can get online and brag about a car dealer or the service you get from one, but I feel this is a message I had to share.  Not only was my vehicle fixed, free of charge, and ready in less then 24 hours, they sent a driver to pick me up at my office, washed it inside and out and filled the tank with gas.  AND they fixed the bend in the lovely Carpenter Realtors license plate that I had so proudly hung on the front of the vehicle just a week ago (right before I went through the carwash and got it all bent up).  I was just amazed.  I was amazed at the offer, and I was amazed that in a company as big as the Tom Wood group, that my buddy Brian would even know the car was there?  Wow!   I’m sure I can’t expect comped service every time I have a problem, but just this one time is good enough.  At least I have the vibe that they’ll take good care of me when I need to go back in the future.  All of us in sales should take note.  And if you’re thinking of a new or new-to-you vehicle purchase or are in need of service, Brian and the Tom Wood Automotive Group get my recommendation!  Just amazing.  And if you need Brian’s #, I’ll hook you up.  Thanks guys!   www.TomWood.com