Archive for November, 2009

Why You Need a Personal Assistant



Successful real estate agents are experts at multitasking—juggling open houses, taking calls from clients, and coming up with innovative marketing strategies—all while trying to maintain a balanced personal life. For some agents, the demands on their time become too great, and certain tasks fall by the wayside. In order to restore efficiency and ease the pressure, many realtors today hire personal assistants.

Is a personal assistant right for you? If you’re a real estate agent who has yellow sticky notes and to-do lists blanketing your desk, then you might need a personal assistant. If you can’t find important paperwork within a minute or two, then yes, you need an assistant. If your family can’t remember who you are when you walk in the front door, then you definitely need a personal assistant.

What kinds of things can personal assistants do for you? If they have their real estate license, they can handle many of your regular responsibilities such as showing properties, hosting open houses, advertising the business, going over contracts with clients, and accepting payment.

An assistant that does not have his real estate license is more limited in what he can do for you, but he can still make your life much easier. He can see to the daily administrative tasks such as handling contact leads, answering the telephone, responding to email inquiries, as well as general office jobs such as faxing documents and filing papers. These chores often require focus and attention to detail, which can quickly eat up your time; if someone else can take care of them for you, you can devote that time to generating more income, or to spending quality time with family.

If you like the idea of hiring a personal assistant, but only need help on occasion, consider getting a virtual assistant. VA’s can help you with appointments, phone calls, and time management. Some virtual assistants can even help with the maintenance of your website. VA’s are independent contractors, so you don’t have to worry about offering benefits and taking off taxes from their paycheck. You also don’t have to furnish them with office space and equipment because they perform their work offsite, from their home office.

Make sure that if you decide to hire a virtual assistant you check out their references before handing over critical information such as credit card numbers and website passwords. You want to know the person as well as possible, so that you can feel good about entrusting them with your business.

A personal assistant isn’t just for celebrities or the very wealthy; it’s for anyone who has a successful business and limited time. If you hire an assistant, you not only rid yourself of some of the more menial tasks associated with the real estate profession, but you can also use your newly acquired free time to garner new business, or simply to take some much needed down time. A personal assistant can help your real estate business run smoothly, and enable you to use your time in a more productive way.

Green Building Projects in Jackson Hole



Whether it is residential or commercial, the trend to build green in Jackson Hole, WY is growing at a rapid pace. There are many homes and commercial developments aspiring to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification in Teton County. The LEED green building rating system is a measurable tool that is evaluated by a third party in regards to sustainability and performance. The four different levels of green that you can achieve include: certified, gold, silver, and platinum levels.

 At Teton Village, the newly built Hotel Terra is tracking to receive silver LEED certification which will place it in the elite group of the 5 LEED certified hotels in the United States and the first LEED certified hotel in the state of Wyoming. The hotel’s green features include: low or no VOC paint, dual flush toilets, maximizing use of natural light, organic mattresses and bedding, and many more.

Another green project is Pine Glades, located near Snow King in the Town of Jackson. This high-end, townhome community is being built with environmental preservation in mind as all of the units will be utilizing only five out of the property’s seventeen acres leaving the remaining twelve as open space. One of the main goals of the project is to remove as few trees from the site as possible.  They will be accomplishing this by having the road which takes you through the development located underneath a portion of each structure.

In nearby Victor, Idaho, five homes in the Mountainside Village community were the first to be LEED for Homes Certified in the state of Idaho. In 2006, the Mountainside Village neighborhood received the Idaho Smart Growth Award in addition to being the pilot neighborhood for the US Green Building Council’s LEED for Neighborhood Development program. This community includes features such as walkable streets, bike paths and a convenient mixed-use center.

All of these projects are examples of how green building is on the rise. In a country where our homes our responsible for 21% of our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, building green can greatly help stop the causes of climate change. Not only does it help protect our environment, but it also lowers energy use in addition to protecting our health. The green train is coming and it seems that Jackson Hole, Wyoming is getting on board.

The Edge of Real Estate Agents



In today’s world, people would oftentimes prefer doing things on their own. This is due in part to the effects brought about by the recent financial crisis. There is, however, one area where DIY may see to be a little off – the real estate industry.

Because of how varied and large the scope of the real estate industry is, doing things on your own when it comes to buying or selling your house may seem to be a bit tricky. You cannot just think of a number and set that as the price of the property that you are selling. This is what makes real estate agents important. But, is there really a need to hire one?

If you are selling property, your real estate agent’s educational background as well as experience in selling will be of immense help in getting your property off the market. On the other hand, if you are buying a piece of property, their negotiation skills will be able to secure the best deals for you.

When buying homes for sale in Reston VA, your real estate agent can help you determine just how much you would need to spend. If you are selling properties, however, your real estate agent can guide you on how to properly price your real estate in order to get many quality buyers.

The existing network of your real estate agent can also help you choose from various Reston VA homes for sale. If you are a seller, this would mean getting buyers for your property fast. Your real estate agent can also handle any paper work related to your buying or selling of property. They could also act as buffer and could weed out serious buyers or sellers from among those that are at your door. If your prospective buyer has some questions about your property or you need more information about a real estate that you are eyeing, your agent can help you get it across.

Your real estate agent would not just be a great help when choosing or putting homes for sale in Reston VA. They could also form a long lasting relationship with you and help you in all your real estate needs.