ActiveRain Success Stories

"I have had an AR account for some time and always read the posts. I have been putting my 2012 goals in order and have decided to put my AR blog back on that list. Thanks to all for the great posts that keep me motivated!"

"Cheers!"

"Since when l start use ACTIVE RAIN l am really having a good experience with. There are a lot of people checking this place and it has been successful for my career as a Realtor. I really recommend this place to everybody who is looking to increase their business.
I am so happy with the results and really want to continue using for a long time."

"ActiveRain makes being a broker in this economy a lot easier, especially for me. Ever since I started blogging nearly exclusively about short sales in Nashville on ActiveRain, I have had sellers calling me to list their homes. I am not spending money on mailings. I have 3 listings going live this week - One was a referral from a current short sale client (which is pending) who found me on the internet, and the other two are directly from my ActiveRain blog. I know I am blessed to have found ActiveRain."

"I am a Lawyer."

"I have met many wonderful folks on Active Rain and a few in person . They are the best in the business!"

"Ever since I have started using active rain I have not been disappointed. Replies to every post I put up, answers to every question I have, and last but not least... The most active site ever, investors, buyers and knowledge around every corner."

"Active Rain is an excellent platform to get information out to my colleagues, clients and prospects. I use the blogging feature several times a week. I have my blog linked to my personal corporate websites. I am constantly surfing blogs of the other members and I pickup some great ideas."

"Fortis Consulting Group’s work has helped many people through some of the toughest times in their lives. The team of Fortis consists of attorneys, counselors and a small administrative staff. With our team we have been able to help others with attorney referrals, litigation financing and strategic planning as well as other financial services finding the cash for daily living expenses, medical bills, mortgage or rent payments, attorney fees and the other things in life that may get in the way.

Throughout my career I have continued to invest and raise capital for others and their investment purposes. It seems to be a natural course for me. I am very good at what I do it and enjoy the “ride” that has led me down many roads and into several countries. They have been exciting and rewarding, as far as raising money goes but, also sometimes perilous. I have overcome tremendous obstacles and have come out the other side with a knowledge that most people only read about in books. Going through that has resulted in a company that can help others, Fortis Consulting Group.

I have participated in hundreds of successful real estate and investment transactions that have helped people all over the world. But I have had many that have disappointed me. Through it all I have seen a need in the market for someone to help those that are struggling with how to invest, what to invest in, how to manage their assets, what to do when they are involved in litigation with little or no funds to pursue their case, how to re-modify their home, deed-in-lieu, special workouts and other options that I have had to use or learned about during my career.

I have learned this knowledge by not only successfully investing but also being a part of some very large law suits and learning through it all that the “little guy” can win. But it has not been easy. Which is why I want to share this information with others. So they won’t have to go through what I have.

Having moved to Myrtle Beach in 2004 I jumped right into the real estate market knowing that I had the talent to make a more than comfortable income. I became involved in many activities and found a church family at Beach Church. I almost immediately give my life to Christ and was baptized by Greg Anderson and Charlie McBride. I quickly became a successful realtor along the Grand Strand becoming a top producing agent in less than two years, not only listing and selling but also in investing. I became very successful in a very short time for someone barely out of high school.

In 2007 I was approached about participating in a transaction in Europe. The idea excited me so I agreed. Little did I realize the legal counsel that I hired would get greedy and circumvent my involvement. I had been made to believe the transaction went south. In 2008 I found out that was not exactly the case, but believed I had still missed an opportunity of a life time. In 2009 I found myself traveling to Israel to try to resurrect the transaction. At the same time I learned I was going to be a father and was excited about my unborn daughter. Later we learned that she had a rare genetic disorder and would not survive. On August 7, 2009 Sophie Grace Lemons was born and died. Being a recovering alcoholic, this very nearly pushed me over the edge.

Thoughout this process God used several men of faith to minister to me and love me unconditionally. As a result something rose up in me and I became determined not to succumb or buckle any longer. I found through Christ that I was better than my circumstances. That I don’t need the approval of people to have value and worth. And that I don’t have to be all things to all people. I never would have been able to find comfort and peace through all this had it not been for Christ working through Godly men such as Tommy Britian, Charlie Floyd, Charlie McBride and Pastor Ken Timmerman. Their love and friendship is something I will cherish and covet as long as I live. I am eternally grateful for their patient friendship and loving counsel. They helped to lead me to Christ in a way that I had not understood before. I know I’m not perfect. I’m not really trying to be. Because of their counsel and patient guidance I have been able to surrender to God the things I couldn’t control and pray for determined patience for everything else in my life.

This entire process has been extremely painful for me but I have come to value the experiences. They have made me a better individual; more tolerant, less judgmental, more forgiving. Because of where I have been in my life and the lessons I have learned along the way, I know that nothing is too hard for me. I have also discovered that I have a unique ability to help others that are going through similar tough times. At Fortis I am able to help others use options that the average property owner or investor may not be aware of. I also encourage others to stand up against unfair treatment by overzealous attorneys and not be bullied by the process. I am there to help them through the process if needed. Instead of pushing my way to the top to work with some of the richest people on the planet I am proud to be able to work with the “little guy”. Guys like me, only better.

In 2011 I had the pleasure of accompanying a beautiful lady on a mission trip to Europe and the Middle East for 3 weeks. My beautiful Grandmother allowed me to travel with her to places we both love. Going through Turkey, Greece and Israel with her has been one of the highlights of my life and I will cherish that time with her forever. I also continue to stay involved in Christ United Methodist Church and I have a strong affection for First United Methodist Church. Without their support and love as well as the Godly mentors I now have, I wouldn’t be where I am now. God has given me new energy and a new cause; assist people with a tireless effort for their own life resurrection. After all, it is the least I can do for all He has done for me."

"Just being apart of active rain is a huge success. So much knowledge from so many great knowledgeable professionals."

"I had a client get in contact with me (yes this was a past client whom I stay in touch with), well to my surprise he contacted me through activerain. I ended up selling his home, as well as him purchasing a new one!! activerain works! Thanks for providing us with the wonderful network.

i would also like to mention that I had the pleasure of meeting Jonathan Wasburn in October of last year, he was very informative as to the world of blogging and an all around great guy!"

"I have had many hyperlocal posts go to page 1, #1 of google, a client in the pipeline for one of my husband's agents, and a blog post I wrote for my son's singing teacher got to page 1 of google. Within a couple weeks, the singing teacher had two new paying students. I find it extremely gratifying to help and refer to local experts!"

"Once upon a time we all called travel agents to book our vacations and travel. Now, we go online and book our trips ourselves. Times have changed and so have ways to sell homes.

If you have been selling homes for years and don't think that Home Staging works, then you are falling behind the times.

People don't need agents to suggest listing anymore. Now, buyers can go online and look at pictures and descriptions of the homes themselves. They can go to an agent's site and see how their homes compare to another agent's homes.

Will your listing photos look as good as your competition's homes? People buy on emotion and if your listing cannot sell itself within three seconds of their walking in the door, they will walk out...without making an offer.

Give yourself an unfair advantage! Get your listings staged by a PROFESSIONAL! Not just anyone can stage a home. You need someone with expertise, training and experience.

DO it.
Design Organize
www.DesignOrganize.com
Page@DesignOrganize.com
505-344-2697"

"We first found ActiveRain in early 2008. Honestly, we didn't, or couldn't, see the value in ActiveRain or blogging. Our first sentiment was the website was more of a Myspace for Realtors. We are interested in making money, not socializing with other agents. We did sign up, but didn't take it serious for a while. Our first blog wasn't until January 2009. Even then we were not very active until about May of '09. Once we started posting our blogs, and staying active on AR, our business saw a very measurable increase! Now, we blog frequently, and use ActiveRain's Hit Router. 2010 is promising to be a great year for us!

Update:
Its August, and we're half-way through 2010. Our focus has been on short sales and ActiveRain has enabled us to focus like a laser! We have used AR for quality links, blogging, sharing knowledge with other members and now the new and IMPROVED local pages!

We're very busy and intend on getting more business for the second half of 2010! Oh, and we just hit the 100,000 point mark, making us #1 in our city, #15 in our large county, and #155 in California!

Will we continue with ActiveRain? NOTHING could keep us from it!

Next Update:
Since our last update the new local pages have progressed and optimized. ActiveRain has done a great jog with the Local Pages, and they listened to the concerns of members regarding the Leaderboard. We now have a Leaderboard with links from out member home page straight to the rankings and points. In short, the new Leaderboard is very slick!

ActiveRain has also implemented new Community Pages. The future outlook is for the Community Pages, which are sponsorable, and yes I've sponsored mine, is to replace the Localism Pages, although I believe AR is still optimizing the Community Pages.

We get activity all day, every day from ActiveRain, because ActiveRain works hard towards that goal!!!"

""We make a living by what we get;
We make a life by what we give."
.......................Winston Churchill"

"I have received many referrals over the years from agents across the country and I just recently closed one in my hometown of Hollister! My first one in Hollister, Thank You Shelley and I will always treat any referral with the standards I would expect for myself!"

"Mona Gersky referred a client to me in Stem, NC over Active Rain. It had been on the market twice before I received the listing. Soon after listing the nearly $200,000 home, I had it under contract and closed it asap. Wonderful lead from Active Rain and Mona Gersky was a pleasure to work with as the referring agent!"

"It's only been a couple of days on activerain and I've already seen comments on my blog and I've enjoyed reading the Featured Blogs each day. Very informative and helpful.

Also, Every day I am gaining information to share in my office to help our agents be more productive with our various jobs."

"I was introduced to Active Rain by the great coach Paul Gruber, sitting in a Panerra Bread in Sarasota, FL. He had the vision to understand why this network makes sense. Since becoming an active member, I have been blessed to learn, teach, refer, and make dollars with the vast experieced people on this network. An incredible resource of talented business people."

"Active Rain is all about success for Amber, enabling Amber to stay a breast of new topics in Real Estate to serve her clients better on a consistent basis. Call Amber today 403.200.8386
www.okotokscalgaryhomes.ca or www.amberramsay.ca"