John Wagner, RIP

On Thursday, we lost another long-time member of the Klinge Realty family – John Wagner.

John grew up in Wisconsin, and was a die-hard Packers fan – he and his brothers would go to at least one Packers game together every year.  He was a helicopter pilot in the Marines, and served in Vietnam.  John had been visiting with his brothers in Arizona this week, and was driving back when he had a heart attack.

John worked with us from 2004 to 2011, and was an integral part of the team.

I’ll never forget the time when we were both lamenting about the state of our current business, and he suggested that we do Pizza Night – where we get together in the office and call everyone you know until you find some new business!  That night we grabbed a pizza, and started dialing.  We both came away with people who ended up buying a house!

He had the biggest heart of anyone, and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to help people – he genuinely cared about his clients.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to Lynda and family in this most-difficult time.

Getting Into Real Estate Sales

Generally speaking, the realtor community is a nice bunch of folks who welcome newcomers into the business and offer encouragement…….while muttering under our breath, ‘They have no idea what they are getting themselves into’.

New agents bounce around like a pinball for a year or so, while the business is happening to them.  The more hours invested, the quicker the education, and the potential is truly unlimited.  It’s why agents stick it out as long as they can, in hopes of success being right around the corner. But seven out of eight don’t make it.

Last week we talked about getting your license first.

Next, recognize the hard truths about the business so you can position yourself accordingly:

The majority of your sales will involve another realtor you don’t know, and most of them won’t share your selling skills or desire to succeed. You want/need to be a chameleon and meet them on their level – and you will learn something every time.

You want to spend money on your business. Keep an eye out for the best options.

Get comfortable with failure – it happens a lot.  You’ll learn to live with losing fair-and-square, but there will be multiple times that the human condition will disappoint you. The majority of the time it’s inadvertent; where agents get in such a rush to sell something they forget about everyone else, including you and their seller.

Listings are the name of the game. If you want to minimize the negative impact of the things above, then concentrate on getting listings and everything else will take care of themselves.

Coronavirus Market Check

We’re doing fine here at headquarters – how about you?

We’ve primarily worked out of the house for the last 17 years, so we aren’t experiencing any disruption just because we’re stuck at home.  We’re still having two listings being prepped for market, and haven’t had any escrows fall out yet.  So far, so good.

Our boss suggested that we don’t do open houses for the foreseeable future, and to use gloves and sanitizer for individual showings.  Tours via FaceTime or Skype are encouraged as well.

Here’s a snapshot of my hotsheet this morning – an equal compliment of new listings, price changes, solds, and new pendings (six each):

The volume will be light, but as long as we keep seeing new pendings, the market is working!

More Pie Photos

This was our test run of having an event at the resort office, and we were very pleased with the results, so we’ll be having more in 2020. I want to have a series of home-buying and home-selling seminars!

Bill Rice took these photos – he has been our photographer for years and is a great guy.  Check him out if you’re getting married or doing family shots!  Fun fact – his busiest month for weddings is October!

https://www.billricephoto.com/

Free Holiday Pies

It’s the holidays and many of the local food pantries are providing meals for those who are less fortunate.

We want to assist others who are struggling or could use a helping hand.  We have teamed up with Mama’s Kitchen who provides full meals to their clients who are too sick to cook/shop for themselves because of medical illnesses such as HIV or cancer.

Their primary fundraiser is Mama’s Pies, where local restaurants, bakeries and caterers donate thousands of pies that are then sold to others.  Each pie sold provides 8 meals for the clients of Mama’s Kitchen.

Help us, help them!

Apple, Pumpkin, Pecan and Crunchy Dutch Apple sell for $25 each, and the first one is on us!

For your FREE PIE, email us at klingerealtygroup@compass.com and let us know what flavor you want – Apple, Pumpkin, Pecan or Crunchy Dutch Apple.  Then on Monday, November 25th, come to our office at the La Costa Resort to pick it up.

If you want or need more than one pie for your Thanksgiving Dinner, you can buy additional pies through us so Mama’s Kitchen can serve more meals this holiday season.  All you have to do is click on the link below to order your additional pies.

How to Purchase Additional Pies:

  1. Go to https://mamaspies.org/seller/klingerealtygroup/
  2. Click on BUY A PIE
  3. Choose your pies flavors
  4. Select TEAM – Klinge Realty Group
  5. Pick up location – Private Location – Compass office at the Omni La Costa Resort
  6. Enter your payment information & you’re done!

We need your Free Pie and additional Pie Orders no later than this Friday 11/22.

Can you please join us as we Give Back – One Pie at a Time?

We hope to see you next Monday!

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