It is easy, just do the right things.It is easy, write down what you need to do.It is easy, fake it ’til you make it.It is easy, believe in yourself.It is easy eat well, sleep well, stay focused, that’s all.It is easy.or is it?There is nothing easy about commitment. There is nothing easy about discipline. There is nothing easy about, faking it. There is nothing easy about, There is nothing easy about,taking care of yourself and getting things done .Or is there?Easy is a muscle, you have to build it.  Easy is a mindset, you have to let go. Easy is today when you get things done.It is easy with easy steps and you can win today.  Bits and Pieces from this time of pandemic, Covid-19. The plague, the dark ages the time creating butt marks in our sofa's and couches. If this gets us at least t... 03/31/2020

Kelly Catallo community activist and industry leader PODCAST. Kelly Catallo is the CEO of Cosmopolitan Realty in Medford MA. She grew up in Medford and has spent her life time being involved in all sorts of community activities and organizations.  Her resume speaks volumes of her passions for helping. In 2016 she won the Good Neighbor Award from both the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and also the Greater Boston Association of Realtors. I was on that award committee that gave her this award and in reading all the worthy candidates from that year Kelly stood out.Like all successful Realtors® and Broker/Owners Kelly uses her skills to promote herself and her firm as well as she does her community and it's organizations. You will hear how one of her designations, the CRS (Certified ... 03/30/2020

Nailing the interview, mastery Michael Neece tells us how in this Podcast Know all the right answers before you interview PODCAST Michael Neece opens up about the tools to control the interview. Last week's podcast on Broker-Talk.com was a great one for anyone who is in front of people who hire. Whether you are a job candidate, or self employed in the real estate business making presentations all the time Interview Mastery provides you the on line tools to be a success.  It turns out that success does leave clues and Michael Neece CEO and Founder of Interview Mastery has done the work for us.As one of the top Tech HR people in business Michael spent a good portion of his career doing interviews with thousands of people at all the top firms in the world. He is a nerd and a tech guy so he... 03/29/2020

PODCAST March 19, 2020 Italian Real Estate Agent Marco Tirelli Shares his Covid-19 Impact. Italy has more deaths and may have had the first cases of the virus before China. Travel from your sheltered locations is prohibited. There are no real estate transactions happening right now. The government is doing their best, the hospitals are overwhelmed. Here in the US we are in our first week of this pandemic. You can visit Tirelli Properties hereThey have been locked down for a month. Marco has the feeling that life has no guarantees and so he is not personally worried.  That said, he is focusing on maintaining  his relationships with his agents and his clients and prospects.  They are not able to show property. While they are using  video to show property it is his believe, one I share, th... 03/26/2020

Negotiating in good faith stories of success come down to a sense on both sides that a win-win situation means everyone gives a little to make the whole a successful transaction.  There are some guidelines, rules some might say, for this process.  Low ball offers are rarely in the interest of the Buyer because they can just start the negotiating process off on a bad foot with the Seller. A Seller should realize that a low ball offer is not an insult, just a valuation. The Seller should counter with what they believe is the correct valuation for sale among these parties.  If there is no meeting of the minds at this level it will not go forward. Getting a counter offer is always the first step in a good faith negotiation.  The Seller might say the full priced offer is the first step but t... 10/29/2018

Mindset blues to mindset whoohoos! Life is in shift right now, there seems to be challenge, strife and opportunity everywhere.  There seems to be people predicting the end of our world and people saying it couldn't be better so where do you sit?  Is it raining, grey and glum in your world today? Is that in your mind, or is it in the weather. Is it possible to be happy and fulfilled when there is daily struggle?  Is your tire flat, or do you have an extra few minutes to compose yourself and rearrange your day as you wait for triple A?Everyone struggles and a few succeed, what is the difference. To me mindset seems to be the key.  Mindset and beliefs are intertwined in a manner that one can positively affect, or negatively infect your daily results.  When looking for a home it is easy to ... 10/08/2018

Mortgage Interest Rates are Still Going Up… Should You Wait to Buy? This is the headline, but shouldn't it be Should you wait to Sell?  Interest rates affect both the buying and the selling of real estate, they are intertwined now and forever.  Let us take a step back away from the rates for a quick minute and just look at the product, the house.  A house sells for the price a ready, willing and able buyer is willing to pay for it. The Seller, nor his Agent dictate the price, they base it on existing sales and perceived value; it is the buyer who determines the price.  Mortgage interest rates, as reported by Freddie Mac, have increased by close to a quarter of a percent over the last several weeks. Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and the National Association o... 10/04/2018

No Mojo Big Problem Day 33 of 90 in a Realtors® life. We all have woken up with no energy at one point or another.  For me that was yesterday. When my mojo is gone I slip into bad habits, how about you? It is easier to slip than to slide into action, it seems.  Being mindful of where you are at the moment is important to bringing yourself back to the moment you are strong and focused and at the work of achieving the goals you established.What do you do to change your state of mind? For me it can be reading something that reminds me of what I want. It can also be a simple as getting up for the desk or chair and stretching.  Taking a walk, or doing some other exercise works. When it is a deeper lack of mojo I may call it a slow day and try to keep myself from doing anything. This reverse ... 06/04/2018

Communications Bonanza Day 32 of 90 in a Realtors® life. Call, text, email, facebook, pinterest, instagram, snapchat, whatchamacallit and somethingelse today's means of communications is a bonanza and can be overwhelming. To be a good listener you need to understand how someone best communicates.  We all know that face to face, in person conversation is the most direct and sometimes that is not possible. We all have our choices for what goes next, personally I don't like email. As an agent my contact information must be available to the public, this also means the marketers and that means lots and lots of spam.  Text is going that way too and here is the thing. It doesn't matter what form of communication I like, it matters how best my clients prefer to communicate.  I wasn't an early a... 05/22/2018

Its called work for a reason Day 29 of 90 in a Realtors® life. Looking up the definition of work I find, fulfill duties regularly for wages or salary.  When you are being paid for an activity there is some expectation of effort, completion, skill and consistency.  I find the consistency the most difficult.  Knowing how to prospect is not actually prospecting each day.  The effort to be consistent with this work is the one thing I find that differentiates average from good and good from great.  No one has an innate ability to withstand all the rejection that comes from calling people you don't know to solicit from them information and an opportunity to serve.Like banging you head against a wall, work feels good when it is over.  This is the wrong mindset. A better mindset is remembering... 05/18/2018

Change the Story Day 25 of 90 in a Realtors® life. Stop me if you haven't heard this story. There is no inventory. The market is crazy. People don't want to talk to agents. I can't door knock in my town. I hate cold calls and now I have to cold call to be successful? Everyone has heard this, but is it true?  Well, yes and no, in the words of Henry Ford, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right." What you are saying to yourself, what you are feeling inside is manifesting itself in your life on a daily basis. I know this because I struggle with this.  Surround yourself with good people is what we are told so I did that yesterday. Knowing what I want and not getting it demands I change. I knew this several days ago and I have felt it for a month. That is why I hire... 05/01/2018

Day 22 of 90 My Best Practices Real Estate 2018 and let's not discuss "best" practices.  Best is such a loaded term that demands definition.  Being number one, the best, is a designation thrown around a lot without much qualitative support.  It is a marketing term and I want this blog to be about how to be the best you can be, I can be. We all face the same professional trials each and every day. The good ones get their work done because they have defined that work and the habit is to get it done.  I don't want to talk about the best, I want to discuss the other end, the minimum standards. When not having a great day, your best day what is the response?  Do you throw your arms up and say, I quit, I am having an off day?  Do you shut down and major in minor activities?  Really what do yo... 04/24/2018

Day 19 of 90 My Best Practices Real Estate 2018 real estate best practices for me today started last night at a meeting I went to.  I learned something about EFT and Tapping.   This is a technique created by Gary Craig EFT is an acronym for Emotional Freedom Technique.  It allows the practitioner to jump through issues that stop them with the physical tapping on your accupuncture points and releasing the negative forces.  You don't need to ask more than a couple of agents if they have stress in their lives around job, family, life to know we can all use some techniques to quiet the silly voices in our heads that are not assisting us with growth, joy and productivity. I do meditate in the morning and this centers me in our universe, it does not help me with the babbling voices in my head... 04/19/2018

Day 13 of 90 My Best Practices Real Estate 2018.  Back in 2010 when I was first licensed I worked for a firm that had "up time" which is when an agent has to answer the phones on incoming calls.  It was my first week, it was my third call.  "I'm trying to get in touch with Brad," I heard him say.  Brad wasn't in the office, Brad didn't come in often.  It turned out that Brad also didn't return his calls or his email and the caller was pissed.  Sensing his frustration and knowing that communications is a key complaint of agents I stood up for Brad and said, "I can help you today, if you would like and we can let Brad know."   Bryant wanted to buy a house.  He had been pre-qualified and had done some research and knew the towns he was looking in, the price point he wanted and the neighbor... 04/11/2018

Day 12 of 90 My Best Practices Real Estate 2018 and all real estate best practices are implemented by people. People have families and life.  My life was altered last week in the beginning of the middle of my second full week.  My 93 year old mother in law was the focus of our family. She needed the attention of all of us to help her transition from assisted living to nursing home life.  This is an immense change for anyone and one that awaits us all should we be lucky enough to live this long.  We all need help from time to time and understanding that and then taking action to help others is what makes us truly human. My own needs and goals took a back seat to someone else's needs and wants.  This is not unlike our profession.  The best practice of every agent is to know when to turn o... 04/10/2018

Day 10 of 90 Best Practices Real Estate 2018. When do you count a real estate deal a success, or should I ask, when do you consider yourself a success with real estate.  Our work is so varied with so many moments of up and down, we truly live in a career that delivers success and failure each and every day.  Do you count it a success when you get a listing appointment, when they sign the listing agreement?  Both are important moments and do have a measure of success to them.  Do you count it a success when it goes on the market?  It is a success when you get an offer, or do you wait for the purchase and sale?  Is it at the P&S that you allow yourself to think about the commission that will be yours at the closing.Or is it a success when you close and get your commission check?  I am in... 04/05/2018

Day 8 of 90 Best Practices Real Estate 2018 Monday's are not inherently bad or worse than any other day, not at all.They are another day to pursue your dreams, your job, your family, your lifestyle. That being said, it is also true that not all days are "up" days.  Some days you have to grind a bit to get done what is necessary.  The great week last week, the holiday and this aftermath Monday are more of a challenge. Exploring all the reasons why I choose to not do all I can do to be who I want and who I am on the inside is perhaps the wrong thinking.  Perhaps the better thought is to pick up some books, finish my meditation, listen to a fantastic webinar to rekindle the juices needed to be productive.  My reading is always in the realm of real estate best practices, human best practice... 04/03/2018

Day 5 of 90; Becoming the best Realtor®.  Last night, with one of my real estate partners we took another listing.  For those  counting I have accepted two new listings this week because I am changing my mindset.  In those listings there are two others sales and this is good.  There is no resting on laurels here.  What has not happened is the building of the system that will create this kind of growth on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. Real estate professionals come in all types. While the barrier to entry is not high and the ability to keep your license for many years is rarely challenged the difference between great and all the rest is immense.  Using the 80-20 rule you will witness that the vast majority of deals are done by the select few.  But just like in photography anyone can t... 03/31/2018

Milton MA 02186 Single Family House for sale Open House Sat 11:30-1, Sunday 11-1 Overview Maps Photos Features Description Neighborhood Open House Market Stats $624,500 Single Family Home Main Features 4 Bedrooms2 Bathrooms1 Half Bathroom1 UnitInterior: 1,723 sqftLot: 16,813 sqftYear Built: 1979MLS #: Coming Soon! Location 187 Brook RdMilton, MA 02186USA Larry Lawfer YourStories Realty Group with Keller Williams(617) 774-8292LarryLawfer@gmail.com */http://www.yourstoriesrealty.com   Listed by: YourStories Realty Group with Keller Williams Our recent listings Value Priced Park View SF BurlingtonSingle Family Rental In Wayland MA 017781391HydeParkAveMilton MA Home near Tucker Elementary School for Sale12 Mosgrove Ave, Upper, Roslindale, MA 02131 Subscribe to our listing feed Nearby prope... 10/07/2016

187 Brook Road Milton MA 02186 house for sale Milton MA Home near Tucker Elementary School for Sale Overview Maps Photos Features Description Neighborhood Market Stats $624,500 Single Family Home Main Features 4 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 1 Half Bathroom 1 Unit Interior: 1,723 sqft Lot: 16,813 sqft Year Built: 1979 MLS #: Coming Soon! Location 187 Brook Rd Milton, MA 02186 USA Larry LawferLarryLawfer@Gmail.com YourStories Realty Group with Keller Williams (617) 774-8292// http://www.yourstoriesrealty.com  Listed by: YourStories Realty Group with Keller Williams Our recent listings 1391HydeParkAve Single Family Rental In Wayland MA 01778 Milton MA Home near Tucker Elementary School for Sale 12 Mosgrove Ave, Upper, Roslindale, MA 02131 Ground Floor New Condo Roslindale   Subscribe to our listin... 10/05/2016