Just Hockey

Its the greatest/worst thing about the hockey that we love. The best talent can be neutralized with a little good old fashioned discipline and fantastic goaltending. Last night while watching Switzerland send shock waves through Canada it was deja vu all over again. You might say it was like watching a Maple Leaf game , especially after that 2-0 lead was wasted. You have to like the Olympic version of the shootout. Three different shooters for each and because it was tied you could recycle a previous shooter. Canada of course wisely chose Sidney Crosby and he scored the winner. I would love to see this format in the NHL. I could never understand why the NHL feels we have to suffer through a diminishing list of shooters in their version of the shootout. I like what I saw last night, of course the result made it a lot more enjoyable. I think Team Canada got the wake up call they were looking for.

Team Work

It's hard not to notice this while watching hour after hour of thrilling Olympic coverage. It is very clear nobody competes alone and certainly nobody wins gold alone. It's an interesting concert of team work that creates the opportunity for any athlete to succeed. When you think of it, team work is really what life is all about in every sense. In Real Estate any Sales Representative must have great team chemistry with clients in order to succeed. The Sales Representative must have great team chemistry with the Broker and the team behind the scenes to create a smooth transition for the client. For any home buyer or seller its the deal of a lifetime and anything less would be unacceptable. RE/MAX Hallmark redefines all of that on a daily basis. I am very proud to be a member of the "Al Sinclair" team @ RE/MAX Hallmark. We offer you the very best in service. Good ,reliable,top flight service is hard to find in our cost efficient world, and yet we offer it in everything we do as a standard requirement. This is a do it yourself society, but I have to say when it is the deal of your lifetime do not go it alone. You deserve the best help and service available. I would like to apply for the job.

Keep Your Focus

It's an easy thing to do in this world. Forget about the steak and concentrate on the sizzle. I was thinking that, while watching a terrible blown call in a Detroit Dallas NHL game this week. The play in question had a goal scored on a shot, it went right in, the ref missed it and video replay couldn't correct his mistake even though everyone watching the game on TV knew this was a good goal. It has sparked an interesting debate on facebook and many other blog columns. So this is the NHL's problem, after spending millions of dollars and countless days, weeks, months and years to get a system done that will correct mistakes, the errors still happen and because of the mechanism in place the odd error that does happen gets more attention. My old broadcast line still works, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story, or in this case don't let the process get in the way of a right decision. We forget the "Product" is king, nothing should ever be done to diminish the product. We here REMAX Hallmark never let that happen. You are our most important client. Remember that.

My Word is My Bond

Its simple really, say what you mean and mean what you say. That comes easy for me. As a broadcast journalist most of my life I have always delivered on everything I have said. When I made the transition to Real Estate I made it a rule to never change that. My title is Sales Representative and sometimes people think the word sales means more doubletalk than anything. Not in my case. I research as I would when I was reporting. I search for as much information on a property as I can find. There is never a dumb question and when the answers are hard to find I intensify my search. I like the pursuit of a deal. I can understand why clients take some time to make a decision about signing an agreement with me and my hope is, they can understand that the longer it takes them the more it gets in their own way. I am here to help. I leave you with one question. How can I help you?

What's Wrong with the Leafs?

After looking good for about 10 days and coming off 2 straight wins many Leaf fans were thinking the turn around was here and the march back to a playoff spot had started. Just one loss later the question remains, what is wrong with the Leafs and sadly the answer remains the same. Not this year pal. This is team that has started to rebuild in spots but not the whole roster. Massive incoming on the blueline again, this time it looks reasonably good. The young goalie Gustavsson looks like the real deal but he is going to need some time. He covers the lower net as well as it can be covered but gives away the top half. Luckily not everybody has figured that out yet. Veteran Vesa Toskala will have to be moved and hopefully some talent up front will come back. The Leafs have some good role players up front, just not enough top six talent. that sends us to our next question, where will it come from? Not the draft. The Leafs made a monumental give when they handed out two first rounders and a second for Phil Kessel. They have to hope it works out, or we may be asking that question again ( whats wrong with the Leafs) for a long time. If The Leafs could mirror the Real Estate market a lot of people would be smiling today.

The Right Thing To Do

We all do this and there is nothing wrong with it. Every quarter I sit down and look at my business and personal expenses and try to figure out how to be more cost efficient. Why not, my money tree never took root in our backyard. Sometimes the bean counter exercise can go too far, you actually spend more money by trying to save some. I tried to save newspaper money and it didn't quite work out. I sent my renewal cheque into the Toronto Sun a couple of weeks early to fend off the numerous renewal notices . Within days the Toronto Star had a better offer. I phoned The Sun and asked for a refund they said no because my renewal was a promotion, even though that is not stated anywhere on the form. Long story short, I wasted some valuable time by trying to rush things. Had I waited a week I could have saved close to 100 dollars. I am not asking you to wait, I am asking you to think,to consider the service provided as I will in six months when my Sun subscription expires again. The lack of service by not eplaining the renewal process will cost them a customer.
When I visit prospects, they want to know my commission rate. A good question but do not put the cart before the horse. You want to know what kind of service I will provide and what my brokerage adds to the mix. You will find my service to be unbeatable and the same can be said for my brokerage . It is all about service. Sometimes we forget that.

It's Happening Again

Hello Hockey fans from coast to coast, the NHL season is here the Leafs are stumbling, the Real Estate market is hot and for some all is right with the universe. First things first, the Real Estate market remains a hot seller's market. Inventory doesn't stay on the shelf long. A week ago during our office meeting we had three new listings to look at on our Wednesday morning tour and all three were gone by Monday morning. Without getting into numbers the most expensive property sold for 102 % of asking, the next one full asking price and the third one 10 thousand under asking. These three properties were in the 580,000 to 680,000 range. If you want to sell now is the time, if you want to buy do not mess around, be very proactive, find an agent, ( I would like to apply for the job) sign a deal and strike fast. So many people I have met at open houses over the last 2 months feel they can latch onto the listing agent and get a good deal. Not a good plan. Buyers get your own agent and get agressive. That might be something I should pass along to the Maple Leafs.