Fran Rokicki Realty, LLC Blog: August 2008

Remember when school started after Labor Day Weekend?  It was the true end to summer vacation.  We used to take one more trip to Martha' s Vineyard and enjoy the beach, boating and fishing.  Just one more time.  This year our local towns are starting school next week.  School will be half day sessions for two or three days, depending on the town.  Then, they will have the Labor Day Weekend off and go back to full time days for the rest of the week.  Luckily, the weather has cooled off.  I can't imagine having the students sitting in the classrooms in hot weather.  We don't offer air conditioning in all of our schools. 

Our Governor in Connecticut, has made this week tax free week for back to school shoppers.  It will allow you to purchase items, up to $300.00. without paying our 6% tax fee.  These items may only be clothing or footwear.  In years past, I thought it was for school supplies, too? 

Have you been to our local mall?  The sales are in every store.  Truly, between the tax free shopping this week, and the sale prices throughout the stores, you can save monies in your budget!

So, just a reminder from Fran, get out and go shopping for your school clothes & footwear!  The merchants will be happy to help you through the maze of, how much will my child grow by Christmas! ?  That was always one of my favorite questions to ask the sales associates.  Children seem to grow so much, right after school begins!

Enjoy the time you have with your children shopping and I hope you find some very good buys!  Try to make the weekend a short vacation.  Remember, some assignments may be, what did you do on your summer vacation?!

It's a Good Life!

Oh, you're really going to love this one!  Is your seller a person who called in to your office?  Did they ask for you, in particular?  Was it an email correspondent?  How about, did they come to an open house that you held?  Were they referred to you by another Realtor, out-of-state or out of your demographic area?  Did they find you through your family or friends?  Did one of your present or past clients give them your name to call when they said they needed a good agent?

Which way that lead came in to you, makes a huge difference in the trust factor.  Having been in this profession for over 22 years, I can tell you, I have been contacted by sellers, in each one of these ways and several times.  If someone finds you through an ad, an open house, or a floor call, it makes your job much harder.  Are you in competition with other agents for this listing?  What tools do you offer to help that sale?  Are they willing to listen to your direction in the pricing and marketing?  You will need to build a relationship with this homeowner to accomplish a successful transaction.  You will need to build their trust and work with them through the many stages of the sale.  Not a bad thing, just, more work, if you procure the listing from your competition.

If this seller was referred to you, by a friend, your family member or a client of yours, most of the mystery  has been removed before you even meet with them.  The person who gave your name, did so because they trusted you, liked the professional way that you presented yourself to them, loved the way you served them while working on their transaction.  It becomes part of the golden rule.  Treat people the way you would want to be treated.  Once you have established yourself in serving others, people will notice.  Realtors that you meet at conferences, events and when you may be travelling, or if you belong to some of the prestigious designations, CRS, ABR, SRES, GRI, or Certified Mentor.  Education matters! Don't spend your monies on marketing yourself, spend it on your education for this profession. Spend it on your clients. They will be spreading the word about you and your good service to everyone that they come in contact with, who mentions real estate or Realtor.  No competition, no worrying about calling too little, calling too much, and following up.  They know you will, absolutely, do so. Marketing and price reductions are much easier, too.  People know you are trained and experienced to do the best for them!

My last referred client, sent me a lovely note.  It simply said, I am so glad we found you!  Thank you for your hard and good work.  That client was referred to me by a Realtor in North Carolina.  She and I belong to Buffini and Company Coaching.  We sold that home as a team.  Her good recommendation and my good service, sold that man's home.

So, when you have a client or an agent that you know was pleased with your good service, make sure that they know that you would be happy to serve their friends, family or clients who would appreciate you.  It truly is an amazing process.

May I ask you a favor?  If you come across someone who is looking for help with real estate, would you please give them my name?  I would be happy to follow-up and take good care of them for you.  I am never too busy for any of your referrals!

It's a Good Life!                                                              

You have a buyer contract with Mr. X.  You have him pre-approved and off you go to look at properties.  Setting up appointments within his time frame and yours.  Yes, there are many listings to see.  So, let's try to narrow down what this buyer really wants.  I, actually, made forms for buyers to fill out these "wants in my next home."  On that same form, I ask for their birthday, anniversary (in case they are a couple), favorite restaurant, favorite song, color, etc.  It gets me to know my client in a faster amount of time, on a more personal level.  By doing this, I have come to learn some wonderful information that has enabled me to understand what they are really looking for in a home, and in a community. 

I try to plan my route around that favorite restaurant (if it is local) so that, when we find something they like, we would go to that restaurant.  Often, I write the offer for purchasing the home, right there at the restaurant, while we are waiting for our meal.

After the sale, I am sure to send flowers that I know are their favorites.  They all do have an anniversary after their home purchase, so, I write down that date.  On that one year anniversary, I send out a card or again, flowers from their favorites list. 

Once I have a client, they become part of my community with my other clients and my vendors.  We host workshops, events and we all participate together in fund raising projects for local schools, clubs, and the Children's Hospital. 

So, remember, when you meet that new buyer or seller, learn everything you can about them.  They will become a bigger part of your community in years to come.  If you would like to become part of our community, as a client or vendor, please contact us with your information.  You'll Love Working with Fran!

It's a Good Life!                                                      

Middlesex County Towns
Chester, Clinton, Cromwell, Deep River, Durham, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Killingworth, Middlefield, Middletown, Old Saybrook, Portland, Westbrook

Here is the list of towns for this county.  I have sold homes and properties in some of these towns over the years.  Cromwell, Middletown and East Hampton (where I am earnestly showing lake homes on Lake Pocotopaug.   My clients are looking to purchase a vacation home for their family.  They grew up on this lake and are excited and looking forward to this new venture.  It is a beautiful location for family fun!

 When you appear in court, to serve on jury duty in your county, the town that you reside in determines which county courthouse you will be attending.  Your homeowner's and vehicle insurance are determined by the county, also.  I found these lists online through the Google site.  I thought this would be useful information to the public, though we all do use Google:)  Some of the towns listed are part of another town, a suburb or downtown area.  Such as, Elmwood, it is part of West Hartford, Collinsville is part of Canton, and Burnside is part of East Hartford, etc.  It's interesting to note that some of these communities joined each other to become one town for community services and/or tax purposes.

Towns Of Hartford County - CT