Susan's Blog

Hey everyone!  Welcome to the progressive Thanksgiving party.  The "rules" (easy ones) are below in Mike's original invitation, and the last one to comment to this post tonight will be the host tomorrow.  Join the fun!

This weekend is one that my husband and I look forward to, because we love Sasuma mandarin oranges!  It is time for the annual Mountain Mandarin Festival in nearby Auburn, California.  Ths festival is held annually the weekend before Thanksgiving, and it celebrates the harvest of the Owari Satsuma Mandarin oranges that are grown in Placer County, right next door to Sacramento County.

In addition to the great taste of these delicious little fruits, the USDA has extolled the wonderful health benefits of them.  If you will be within an hour's drive of this great celebration, I recommend you come on by.  It is a lot of fun.  And if you spot me there, stop and say hello.  I'll be bouncing from vendor to vendor, and sampling the wares of the dozen or so orchards that will be represented, checking out the crafts, and picking up so new recipes that include Mandarins.

There is something for all ages, including for everyone, some great cooking demonstrations by professional chefs (and sampling of the food prepared), a cooking contest, and booths, booths, booths!

Proceeds from the Festival fund three scholarships presented each year by the Newcastle Area Business Association.  Crowds have grown from 1,500 in 1993 to 40,000 in 2008.  Don’t miss the opportunity to attend this major agriculture festival.


November 20, 21 and 22, 2009
Gold Country Fairgrounds, 1273 High St., Auburn, CA

Admission:  $5, Seniors $3, children under 12 free.

Saturday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; Sunday: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
For more information:  (916) 663-1918  

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Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

This is the list I go over with my sellers, but this is the first time I have seen this video - very well done.

It’s time again to get ready for Christmas in the Village of Fair Oaks, California.  This year the celebration will be on Saturday, December 5^th, and it is a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season.

Festivities begin at 1:00 pm with Santa and Mrs. Claus on hand for children to visit.  They will be available until about 3:30.  Meanwhile, from 1:00 – 2:00 and again from 3:00 – 4:00, there will be holiday music filling the area.

And don’t forget to check all of the vendors of arts and crafts, holiday decorations and gifts and some business services.  Those booths will be open from 1:00 until dusk.  A good place to do some of your Christmas shopping.

The Village Amphitheater will be putting on a production of “Winnie the Pooh” beginning at 2:00.  Admission is FREE with a can of food, which will be donated to the needy.

At 4:00 the parade begins for more great fun, followed by the announcement of the award winners in the merchants’ decorating contest.

Then comes the grand finale at 5:00 – the tree lighting ceremony and singing of Christmas carols.

This is great fun for the whole family, and something that those of us living in our “small town” look forward to every year.   And admission to everything is completely free.  All events will go on, rain or shine, so make your way to the Fair Oaks Village and join us in Plaza Park for Christmas in the Village of Fair Oaks, California!

Directions:   From Sunrise Blvd, go east on Winding Way one block and the park is just south of you, at Fair Oaks Blvd and California Avenue.  The street to the park will be blocked off, as the vendor booths and other activities will be both in the park and in the street.  There is free street parking on surrounding streets.

For more information, call (916) 967-2903.

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Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

It isn't always the beauty contestants who say things that make you say, "Huh?"

I have to giggle at myself once in awhile when I hear something I have just said and have to rearrange the sentence a bit to make sense!

Here are some real goodies.  Enjoy!

Good news! First time homebuyers tax credit extended and expanded to existing homeowners!

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted by an overwhelming 403–12 margin to approve the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act (H.R. 3548) that included, as an amendment, the extension and expansion of the Homebuyer Tax Credit. The bill already passed in the U.S. Senate yesterday, so now it will advance from Congress to the White House for President Obama's signature. The Administration already has signaled its support of the Homebuyer Tax Credit amendment as well as the President's intention to sign the bill into law.

Many of us called, wrote and emailed our Senators and Congresspersons to urge the extension of the credit, and some of those who weren’t sure the first time homebuyers’ credit should be continued had argued that nothing was being done to help those buyers who weren’t first-timers.

The terms of this extension will not only extend the first-timers’ credit to the end of June, but will also provide existing homeowners a tax credit when they buy a replacement residence.  To qualify, the contract must be dated by May 1 and it must close before July 1. There are many homeowners who have thought of downsizing and some who have wanted to buy a larger home while prices are down.  Those buyers will now be helped to move to the home that will fill their needs.

And the extension of unemployment benefits will help prevent even more families from becoming homeless while they search for new jobs.  Unemployment checks are not as good as a full paycheck, but certainly better than nothing, and a lifesaver for many families.

Our voices were heard in Washington, D.C., and we should be proud that our government is taking strong action to help our industry and the economy. Having an extended and expanded Homebuyer Tax Credit available to qualified home buyers in the first half of 2010 undoubtedly will benefit our business and the U.S. economy.

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Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

These are such great saftey tips that I thought it was worth reblogging, even if it is late to inclulde them in this month's newsletters.  Keep your kids and those in your neighborhood safe.

I have one to add:

Please back into your driveway today so that if you have to leave, you won't back out over scurrying children in costumes that may restrict their vision and your ability to see them.

And Happy Halloween!

When you run out to get that last minute bag of candy for the trick-or-treaters, pick up a few batteries too!

Halloween night is the night to turn the clocks back an hour, and it is also the best time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors.  I had someone ask me why the batteries should be changed on the specific days that the clocks are changed forward and backward. 

There really is no reason to do it on those days, except that we change the clocks every 6 months, and you should change your batteries every 6 months.  Changing the clocks is easy to remember (or if you forget, you will have an unpleasant surprise when you show up an hour late or an hour eary for church or an appointment the next day).

It is harder to remember to change your smoke detector batteries, yet that could be a matter of life and death, so why not tie it to something you will remember?

Please don't ignore this - the family you save will be your own.

And Happy Halloween!

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Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

"Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the
success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult
task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy
in overcoming obstacles."
-- Helen Keller (1880-1968)

This is so true.  I have gone through some pretty tough times in my life, but I have worked my way back each time.  I am able to take pride in my achievements because to some, my predicaments or situations may have seemed hopeless.   Whether dealing with health issues, financial disasters or the losses of loved ones, I allowed myself a brief time to feel sorry for myself, but not so much time that I couldn't pull myself back up.  It sometimes took scratching kicking and fighting against depression, but I never sank into it and continued to put on a happy face and keep on keeping on.  I am so happy now, and could never have imagined how good I would feel now or how comfortable I'd be.

I do feel sympathy when others are going through little disappointments from day to day, but I have to confess that a part of me wants to say, stand up and get over it.  Keep your eye on the prize and get past this.  Most times, though, if I ever said that sort of thing aloud, it would probably be perceived as being unfeeling or uncaring.  Far from it.  I just don't want anyone to let their problems take over their lives and give up on their dreams.  What Helen Keller said so eloquently is what I would like to share with others.

Think of what Helen Keller's life was like.  She was completely deaf from birth, completely blind from birth, never learned to speak, and yet she learned American Sign Language and learned to understand what people were saying by putting her hand on their throat when they spoke.  She "heard" through her fingertips by interpreting vibrations.  She learned to type, was a prolific and inspirational writer, and taught other blind and deaf children.  If she can overcome her obstacles, there is nothing we cannot do if we simply decide to get it done.  We will stumble and fall along the way, but if we keep getting up and moving forward, we will reach our goals.

Don't let any failures and disappointments define you or discourage you.  If things come easy to you, you will not appreciate them half as much as you will appreciate and want to celebrate the hard-won victories.  You will find joy in overcoming your obstacles.

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Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

I just read a great article by sales coach John Mayfield on Realtor.com that asks "Do You Have the Right GAS in Your Tank?"   The premise of the article is that you need to fill your tank with the right GAS to reach your destination, which is success.  I never thought of using the word "gas", but it does fit perfectly with my beliefs and the way I used to teach when I was mentoring some entrepreneurs.  So I'll use his GAS acronym to explain my own philosophy.

The first ingredient of GAS is setting GOALS. 

This is something we all know, even if we don't think much about it.  I have long been a proponent of setting goals, writing them down and using them as a roadmap to move me in the direction I want to go.  Clearly if you don't know where you're going, it will be hard to chart a course to get there, and you will miss the important road signs.

It is important to make your goals specific and set a date for reaching them.  That will keep you moving forward and planning your time and energy to reach the deadline you have set.  You might say that you want to make $200,000 this year.  This is not a bad goal, but it needs to be meatier.   To accomplish this, break it down to its components.

For example, to make $200,000 in commissions, how much in gross sales will you have to close?  Don't forget to estimate the deductions from your commission before you receive it.  If you have desk fees or share commissions with your broker, have E&O, risk management or other costs taken out before you get paid, make allowance for those. 

When that is done, look at the average sale price of homes you sell, so that you will know how many homes you will have to sell to meet your goal, then you can figure from there how many you have to average per month.  If you can meet or exceed your monthly average, the annual income will take care of itself and tackling monthly goals allows you to know where you are at all times on your road to success.

The second ingredient is ATTITUDE.

The one thing that we can control is our attitude.  We might not be able to control the ups and downs of life and the disappointments that may confront us, but it is up to us to decide how we handle them.  I have found that putting on a happy face, as the song goes, will encourage others around me to smile and be upbeat, and before I know it, my smile is an accurate representation of how I feel.

If I were to mope around and react grumpily to those around me, I would infect those around me with my grumpiness and have a lousy day.  I don't need any lousy days, so I won't do that.

By the same token, I don't surround myself with grumpy people, naysayers, and those who may try to tell me "for my own good" that I am not going to reach my goals.  I believe in myself, and if others don't believe in me, I'm afraid I can't be around them.  My attitude is too important to my professional and personal success and my physical well-being.

If you have trouble with this, try reading uplifting and motivational books, a chapter each night as you calm down for bedtime, and think about what you read as you go to sleep.  Think about Robert Schuller's motto:  If it's to be, it's up to me.   And realize that you truly are the only one who can control your attitude.  Don't let others govern how you feel about life and yourself.  A positive person will always be more successful, as others want to be around you.

The third ingredient of GAS is SELECTIVITY.

This actually fits very well with the discussion of attitude, as you select those with whom you associate.  Remember your parents warning you not to hang around with the troubled kids or you'd wind up troubled too?  It's the same concept.  If you surround yourself with unmotivated folks, you will have a difficult time keeping yours strong. 

If you watch some television shows, hang with certain people and read certain books and newspapers, you will be convinced that the world is "going to hell in a handbasket" and there is nothing you can do about it.  That is depressing.  Immerse yourself in positive thoughts, surround yourself with positive people, and you will believe that anything is possible, and for you, it just might be!

This is a long post, but is only a small part of how important I feel that these three ingredients are.  They are not the only ones, of course, but Mayfield's use of the GAS acronym inspired me to discuss these three factors.

So, are you putting the right GAS in your tank?

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Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.