Austin's Blog

Half-empty or half-full? Ethereal vengeance or a blessing in disguise? Whatever your view of the industry’s recession, know this: Those who can, will. Those who can’t will cease to be. And simply put, those who can are the agents who are most effective at self- and time-management. Economic dures...

In 2007, Forbes Magazine published a list of the 9 most commonly aroused fears. Included on the list were spiders, snakes and bats (oh my!), confined spaces, heights, and public transportation. Surprisingly, there is something else that most people fear more than death: public speaking. Apparentl...

     When I began plotting out this week’s post, the topic I had in my sights was a how-to on home staging. But then I remembered, “Hey, it’s Christmas tomorrow. Nobody wants to hear about something that might resemble work.” Sadly, by the time I had this realization an hour of research had been ...

     Yesterday, just before we here at Goomzee had had enough for one day, our Business Development Manager, whom we’ll call Joe, shared an interesting story. A few years ago he and his wife hired a contractor to build their new home. Instead of hindering the process with forests worth of paper, ...

            Albert Einstein said: “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.”  These words are especially comforting in the present day, what with the suffering economy, rampant lender bankruptcy, bailouts and falling sales volume.  But my purpose of today’s post is not to point out eve...

    Yet another product of our faltering economy is the rise in the rate of foreclosure throughout the country.  But how do we go about fixing it?  I don’t know about the rest of you, but I support the concept of extended terms and reduced interest, as opposed to billing me, the taxpayer, for the...

  Not being a listing agent myself, I could only guess at what most of you felt yesterday after reading For Sale By Owner’s falsified press release detailing NAR’s betrayal.  According to the release, Realtor.com is now featuring FSBO listings thanks to the pending antitrust settlement from May o...

I recently joined Technorati under the impression it was an as yet undiscovered (by me, that is) blog hosting site. But after creating my account, i couldnt figure out where my blog is (if it exists), much less how to post on it. I was wondering if other Technorati users could help me out:  - Am ...

I was having a discussion with my father (RE/Max, Missoula, MT) last night about the agent’s responsibility to ensure their buyer’s financial well being.  As Steve Dawson commented on my last post (How to Negotiate and WIN), agents are bound by ethics to the ‘fiduciary responsibilities’ of a clie...

  Watching this year’s election coverage, I was once again reminded that speech is an art form.  Be it a political debate, a sports related dispute, a dinner-table discussion with your family, or a real estate transaction, the words we speak and the way they’re stated go a long way in determining...