Twice a month we bring you the best links from around the internet to help you with your real estate career. Here’s the latest batch.
Read: Do you know the signs of human trafficking?
As a real estate agent, you’re in and out of private homes in a way few others are. Human trafficking is prevalent across the U.S. and if you know the signs you can play your part to help watch for suspicious situations and take action to stop this injustice. You can report suspicious activity anonymously to a national hotline.
This article gives you all the information about the signs and how to report them.
Here are just a few tips from the article, which has a great list:
- Look for interior locks on windows and doors.
- Are there a lot of people coming and going from one unit?
- Are there members of the household who seem to know little about the neighborhood or whose appearance and hygiene doesn’t match the others?
- Are there many adults sleeping in one room, with several beds set up?
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Watch: Everyone’s talking about Tidying Up with Marie Kondo
You’ve probably seen a link or status update about this show in your Newsfeed over the last few days. Based on the tidying habits of Marie Kondo, who rose to fame with her book The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, this series follows people with cluttered homes as they straighten out the mess.
It’s full of very helpful tidying tips that might be of use for some of your clients — especially as they prepare for a move or clean up their space before an open house. If you have clients who tend to be messier directing them to this show or book could be a tactful way to nudge them in the right directions.
Listen: Will there be a 2019 real estate market shift?
This 10-minute podcast by Ricky Carruth talks about what could happen if the market starts to turn down in 2019. Like others, he’s not too sure which way the market will go, but he doesn’t seem particularly worried either way.
Here’s where he gets into the strategy of how he navigates downturns in the market.
- 2:36 Carruth talks about adjustments he made in 2017 when transactions slowed in his market.
- 3:01 Adjust your game plan when the market changes. Take advantage of the opportunity in the market.
- 3:32 Spend January evaluating the market. Is there pent-up demand after a slow December.
Follow: Marie Kondo on Instagram
Marie Kondo the flavor of the week, but not only that — she has some great tidying tips. These cannot be underestimated when you’re dealing with clients who simply don’t understand how to get their home in shape to hit the market. The crisp visuals will also make for a joyful scroll through your feed each day.
Act: Set your Quarter One race plan
If you haven’t officially planned for Q1 yet, now’s the time to put pen to paper. The real way to get ahead in this business is to set goals, track your spending and make sure you’re constantly following through on your main objectives. If you’re having trouble with strategic planning check out the book Scaling Up by Verne Harnish that acts as a textbook manual for business planning.
