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Leanne Smith
The Grit and Gratitude Agent Who Goes the Extra Miles as Life Begins Where the Pavement Ends
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Golden Valley, AZ Real Estate News

By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
In life we all experience the quiet times, relishing in them, playing catch up with paperwork or just enjoying a book and then suddenly out of the blue chaos happens. The phone rings and as you are speaking with one person another call happens. You are working on cleaning up emails and suddenly 10 new emails come in with at least half demanding your immediate attention. Then your smart phone receives several texts with even more requests.Yikes!"When we learn if we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change." Wayne DyerChaos allows us to learn how to better manage what we can control. To have processes and systems in place to respond both efficiently and effectively to all those requests.Today started out quiet. There was a mild breeze through the office window. I hea...
Comments 7
By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Funny thing about rural real estate, not everyone knows the differences, but some agents think they do. A recent posting in a Facebook group by Active Rain Member Candice A. Donofrio highlighted why not everyone should be selling rural real estate.“(cited property) has been on the market for awhile, Can you provide insight into whether the extended listing duration is related to the water allocation issue?”When reading this and knowing the property is vacant land, the agent who sent this correspondence to Candice doesn’t know vacant land does not necessarily sell quickly. On average, here in rural Mohave County, AZ vacant land averages between one and two years. Yes there are always exceptions. Also this real estate agent and REALTOR may not have read the listing and is making presumpti...
Comments 8
By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
In business including real estate, salespeople, think real estate agents, share their business cards with prospective sales leads or potential clients. When I was an active executive coach specializing in small businesses, I always asked this question:Whose business card does your customer, client or sales lead have?The answer was always “Mine.”The next question was:Are there any other names on the card other than the company’s name?The answer was always “No.”I just read an article about the 24 reasons to be on a “mega real estate team."  For me from my executive coaching experience, my personal experience when selling our home in Valparaiso, IN and now a licensed real estate professional, I have yet to see a business card with the actual names of other team members. What I have read is...
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By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Living here in NW AZ Mohave County, I have traveled many rural dirt roads here in Golden Valley, Kingman, White Hills and Yucca while listing and showing vacant land to residential properties.   Very few of these dirt roads are county maintained. Most of these county dirt roads are non-maintained. Residents often hire folks with tractors to make the road more accessible. Other times residents prefer leaving the road with difficult access as such access keeps strangers away.Additionally, Mohave County Road Department may show on its maps that a dirt road exists, but in reality the road was never cut in. Given GPS takes its information from the county map, LOCAL real estate agents who actually travel these rural dirt roads often will write the following “DO NOT USE GPS" as they care about...
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By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Imagine my surprise and out loud laugh when I saw this sign posted on a rural dirt road.  Golden Valley, AZ for the most part is zoned "Agricultural and Residential."  What this means is livestock is allowed.Over a year ago I spoke with a potential rural property buyer who really loved a home  located on over an acre on a rural dirt road and in an area zoned agricultural and residential. The buyer after touring the home told me “I don’t want any horses near me.”Again, I informed the buyer Golden Valley, AZ as well as much of Mohave County, AZ outside of the city limits is zoned agricultural and residential.  Someone could buy vacant land property across the dirt road and have horses, cattle, sheep, goats, chickens and other fowl. He decided not to buy the house and that was OK.Most peop...
Comments 4
By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
President Teddy Roosevelt said “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” The reality of these words continue to resonate with me even more so in real estate, let me explain.Here in Golden Valley, AZ often buyers of vacant land parcels are living in travel trailers or recreational vehicles parked at local RV parks. Then these individuals start looking for vacant land parcels and sometimes even residential properties. Often these potential buyers may have a computer, an i-Pad or tablet with most having a mobile device.  However, more than likely, these buyers do not have printers.One of my standards of practices is to print out all documents and give these hard copies of these buyers without computers or even the Internet.  My buyers are often surprised by this s...
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By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Years ago, I read some research conducted by Pitney Bowes about response time respective to making initial contact with sale leads.  Those who responded quickly within 5 minutes secured a greater likelihood of converting those sales leads to  customers. Further more as the minutes clicked by or grains of sand dropped sales success diminished at a rapid rate.The reason I share this is because a potentially new client told me yesterday she called a real estate agent recommended by a local lender (not me) and left a voice mail. This potential client called back a few days later and left another voice mail. A month passed and finally this referred real estate agent returned the call.During our conversation, this potential client shared her disillusionment with real estate agents. However sh...
Comments 2
By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Coming into the real estate industry, I was familiar with sales presentations.  My past standard of practice was always to lean toward the facts and by having the presentation be educational.  This approach allowed me to build trust especially if the potential client had shared previous negative experiences with other sales people.Entering this new industry, I read a lot about sales presentations. Most of these article focuses on glamour, glitz and all about the real estate agent saying “Look at me, I am wonderful.” The presentations were truly marketing marvels, but for me lacked data, facts, authenticity and differentiation. What I did over the course of several years was to create a “presentation packet” which I now just refer to as the packet.  I purchased the old school 3 prong fol...
Comments 5
By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
When it comes to hiring a licensed real estate professional, often buyers play the “Dart Game.”  Throw the darts and see which one lands nearest the bullseye.However there may be a better way .First, read the reviews of local real estate agents.  Reviews may provide a sense about the professionalism of the real estate agent you are considering to hire to represent you in the most expensive transaction in your lifeSecond, remember satisfied and happy clients invest the time to write positive reviews. Or course, human nature being what human nature is, negative reviews do happen without any encouragement.Third, invest the time to interview a real estate agent. Yes, you are busy. Buying a home or a piece of vacant land is an investment. Doesn’t it make sense to invest the time to discover ...
Comments 13
By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Here in the high desert of Golden Valley, we have designated flood plains.  These designations are updated on a regular basis not only by the EPA but by our local county flood officials. Professional real estate agents will secure flood plain letters confirming the existence or non-existence of flood plains.Now some real estate agents believe this is the due diligence of the buyers and these agents take a hands off approach. For me I request this flood plain letter for all sellers and buyers here in Golden Valley, AZ, Mohave County.  This way I have it loaded into the MLS and removes what I call a potential sales obstacle.My first due diligence response is buyers do not know what they don’t know.  With time is of the essence in many instances, being able to send off an email and get a r...
Comments 3
By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Once again a headline created a pause for concern and several pondering thoughts. The leading sentence to this article from a national real estate website shouted:Women in real estate are already earning 60% less than their male counterparts.” (Source: Forbes March 2024 Gender Pay Gap Study)My sense there is more to this story or as Paul Harvey said:Here is the rest of the story.The first thing comes to mind is all fees are negotiable.  If a woman real estate agent decides to charge less than her male counterpart this is entirely legitimate. Also, possibly some women in real estate do not know how to negotiate given the lack of training, I have observed, on this necessary sales skill set.More importantly from my experience and research data about motivation, women are often not driven b...
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By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Victor Hugo said it best:“Perseverance, secret of all triumphs.”To be successful, to triumph in life, in business and especially in real estate sales, one must embrace perseverance on a daily basis. Now, in 2024 for real estate agents given what has happened within the real estate industry, is not the time for the weak of heart or of mind to give up, to resign to the status quo.“Perseverance is a virtue that cannot be understated.” Bob Riley“Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th." Julie Andrews“The key to success in action, and the essential in action is perseverance.” Sun Yat-sen“In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm…in the real world all rests on perseverance.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Feature Photo Courtesy of Leanne M Smith, sunset over the Blac...
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By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
A couple of years ago I was the buyer’s agent for this 3 bedroom, 2 bath with inside laundry room manufactured home located at 327 S Higley Rd, Golden Valley, AZ. Being on rural water and real power this one acre plus lot was also zoned for horses or livestock. There was plenty of room at the rear of the parcel for horses, a new garage, etc.My clients, the new owners, invested in a new roof, new laminate flooring, new windows, new AC unit and new stove. Then life changes happened, and my now clients asked me to sell this home.After refusing a couple of low-ball offers, the current owners accepted an offer that was successfully closed this week.  As I love selling dirt, this was the only home that I had currently listed. All my other listings are for vacant land parcels,  dirt, ranging f...
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By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Some recent data from NAR suggested 81% of the sellers and 71% of the buyer’s only interviewed one agent whom they subsequently hired.  Possibly the reasons are several such as referrals from family and friends, a property down the street just sold or a for sale sign caught the consumer’s attention or they met the real estate agent at a local event.With these staggering statistics, how do you leverage your opportunities to make a positive impression with potential clients during your first interaction? And that is the question to be answered.First, do not spew what you do.  People buy from people they know and trust. Professionals do not spew that is what unlicensed unprofessional salespeople do. Second, demonstrate emotional intelligence while educating the potential client or clients....
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By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Yesterday when walking a 40 acre parcel with a buyer, we exchanged numerous laughs as we looked for the ribbon markers at the property corners.  Unfortunately, we only found one, but it was sooo tiny we would have missed it. We both laughed together wondering if the listing agent could have made the ribbon any smaller. Being able to laugh with a client and have that laughter acceptable is very gratifying.The word sweet has synonyms which include pleasant, pleasing, agreeable, delightful satisfying, gratifying, acceptable, entertaining, and inviting.Thinking of past experiences many of these words have always been present.My goal as a professional real estate agent is to be sweet. This weekend I am driving 105 miles to the next county to the south to meet with a seller who is elderly. Th...
Comments 8
By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Yesterday, I was at a friend's family gathering and another real estate agent for Dirt Road Real Estate said she just wanted something to do part time and quickly realized real estate is not part time.  I totally agreed with her as I had the same thought when I considered becoming a real estate agent.  Fortunately, my broker at that time Judith Ritter  and my current broker, Elise Harron  both smiled at me and kindly gave me a reality check that real estate is not part time.During the last week, I added up all of my “part time” hours and those hours well exceeded 40. Here is a recap of the last week.Sunday began a very quiet week. From reading emails including articles pertaining to real estate, the economy, etc., I answered a few phone calls and submitted two articles to Active Rain. T...
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By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Here in Golden Valley, the sunsets over the Black Mountains change on a daily basis. Some evenings the sky is filled with bright orange and yellow colors while other evenings just blue to gray.  The lack of sameness is also prevalent among real estate agents or REALTORS®. NOTE: Not all licensed real estate agents are REALTORS®, but all REALTORS® are licensed real estate agents.After being a licensed real estate professional for eight years and a salesperson for over five (5) decades, I once again realize the significant and rather obvious differences between real estate agents or REALTORS®. Living here in the high desert of Mohave County, AZ which is the fifth largest land county in the contiguous US, I have learned there of these significant differences.  These obvious differences surf...
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By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
Yesterday I traveled nearly 100 miles drove over some questionable roads (thank heavens no flat tries), walked four (4) different parcels ranging in size from 1.18 acres to 20 acres,  snapped over 125 photos, noted specifics to each property and then begin developing a competitive analysis for each of the four properties here in Golden Valley, AZ that I physically visited. There was only one, 20 acres vacant land parcel that I could not find more than one  property marker. This vacant land parcel was on a hill and the terrain was quite rocky.  As my real estate life became crazy, I have not had time to tag all the photos. However, my goal is to have the photos tagged by Sunday.Now some agents may think my due diligence efforts went beyond the norm and I totally disagree. I know that to ...
Comments 5
By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
For many moving to NW AZ, Mohave County especially Golden Valley there are 5 other major reasons for buying a home: Building wealth because owning a home and even vacant land is an investment Hankering to have elbow room and not see into your neighbor’s bedroom window Needing to have less government restrictions and policies Desiring warmer weather and without all that white stuff aka snow Having lower taxes allowing limited incomes (usually retirement) to go farther For Veterans being around other military retirees and veterans especially Vietnam Veterans Moving to NW AZ is becoming more and more popular for citizens from other states.Yes, moving closer to family and friends as well as just owning a home are two important reasons. Yet for others, these five (5) additional reasons or si...
Comments 5
By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
In any business, the customers or clients differ.  This difference is called demographics.  In real estate there are a plethora of “WHO's.” There are real estate certifications and designations that address the specific "WHO" do real estate agents love.For example, retiring or relocating military personnel are one “WHO.” I have a Military Relocation Specialist (MRS) designation because here in Golden Valley, AZ we have a very large population of retired military personnel as well as veterans. Many of these veterans including my husband served during the Vietnam conflict. (Officially, the military effort in Vietnam was never declared a war.)With many individuals retiring and relocating to where the cost of living is lesser, there is the Seniors Real Estate Specialist® or SRES®. States su...
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By Leanne Smith, The Grit and Gratitude Agent
(Dirt Road Real Estate)
This month's Active Rain Challenge by Wanda Kubat-Nerdin - Wanda Can!  was to share one's dreams, one's vision of the future via a Dream Board or Vision Board.What I now to be true after all these years on this year,  when one is much closer to the end of life’s path, dreams continue change and evolve. My first dream and vision is to have my incredible husband with me for as long as possible. We have just shared 33 years of married life without one loud, very vocal fight. Of course, we have had our differences but those differences were discussed with mutual respect. Our daughter said her greatest wish for her marriage was to have one like ours where there wasn’t any fights.Ken is an avid historian. He recently purchased this helmet (a replica) from WWI. Also he is the cook for 98% of o...
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