In my ten years in general residential brokerage in the Lake Norman area of North Carolina I've seen a major change in the way I need to plan my business. In our region, which includes the Charlotte area, we did not experience the "bubble" to the extent that of other areas of the country did except for the Lake Norman waaterfront community which had a 29% price increase in 2007. Generating business in multi million production numbers was accomplished if one stayed focused & directed and generally just worked the leads you generated. Over 70,000 people a year were relocating to the Charlotte/Lake Norman area from less "sticky" states & North Carolina was lucky to be a"sticky" state in itself...not too many people were leaving for other destinations.
As a Realtor who relocated to this area myself, I felt I was in a great postion to both guide clients throught he process & gain their loyalty as future referral sources. This plan worked very well until the Fall of 2008 when deals began to fall apart right before my eyes because of lending issues. Thankfully, I did have those former client referral sources to keep my business going!
In the past two years I've been in the position to he;lp 2 former clients obtain loan modifications on homes that I helped them to buy...rewarding but also troubling. How many other homeowners needed h elp & did not know how to get it? In my journey to both help distressed homeowners & creat a business model that would work in the current market I needed education!!! So, I began to work on a new "map" with a different "compass" to guide me.
In addition to learning about loan modifications & assisting homeowners with that process I obtained my certification as a Certified Short Sale Specialist - a designation recognized by both the NC Bar Association & the NC Real Estate Commission since it is specific to North Carolina. EArning the designation gave me alot of insight into the mortgage industry as well as tips, techniques & concrete practices for navigating the short sale.
I'm ready to use the new compass to both build my business & help homeowners stay in their homes in 2011! I feel that if I can help a small number of homeowners avoid foreclosure I will have a small effect on our overall economy. wouldn't it be great if we hada ripple effect as a group of realtors making a difference in the new way to do business, not only helping people to buy a home but to stay in that home as well!
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