Laury Gardner's (northgarealtor) Blog

I was browsing the online frontpage of my favorite news site this morning.  A report that a movie, in it's second week of release, is a "flop" not because of critical review but because it "only made $5.3M last week" caught my attention.  Really?  Let's pretend that an average adult movie ticket ...

If you're home is on the market, or if you are a real estate agent, then you know how difficult it can be to sell a home in most areas of the country.  Real estate agents are constantly advising sellers to SELL LOW.  After all, you'll make it up on the buy side in this Buyer's market. Right?  RIG...

Whether you work for a large franchise or small independent, your company has a brand. And while the brand of your company can boost your image, you can stand out from the crowd by branding yourself apart from your company. Think of three words you'd like your clients to use to describe you.  Doe...

I have a good friend who is in the process of looking for a house in the Dallas area.  She found a house with the help of a great buyer's agent. However, during the inspection, undisclosed water damage was discovered. Subsequently, my friend withdrew her offer.  After a few days, the sellers call...

I used to ignore all calls (except those from my young daughter) when out with a client.  I don't anymore.  Clients today want immediate results to inquiries.  I check my email every five minutes from my TREO and answer every call.  I don't stay on the phone longer than taking the general informa...

Most of us can agree that this market shift has us looking hard at our own business models and making changes to stay ahead.  I've been reading everything from The Dip by Seth Godin to any of John Maxwell's books to sharpen my skills and focus on 2008.The other night I was watching something on t...

Last week I wrote a blog about agents not returning calls. Now I'm one of them.  Yesterday, I got a message from an agent inquiring about a commercial property we have listed.  I had really bad reception (that's why I missed the call in the first place) and when I retrieved the message, I wrote d...

 There are few things as frustrating as calls that go unreturned.  From real estate agents.  You know, people who make their living on the phone.  When you take the time to call an agent and make an appointment to show their property (and many agents in my area don't even bother taking those call...

With all of the bank-owned properties and "must sell" homes flooding the market right now, people who have their homes on the market without having the "need" to sell are getting frustrated.  Prices are being driven down by short-sales and foreclosures and agents are having a tough time explainin...