You may or may not have noticed that I have the letters B.Sc after my name in my marketing, but what you may not know is that graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor’s degree in science and I went back to school to specialize in research dealing with freshwater fish.  I also spent nearly a decade working in the field of natural resources mostly involved with fisheries, throughout much of Northern Ontario, Manitoba and Western Canada.

People who knew me before I became a realtor always ask if I miss my previous career, and tend to point out how much different being a Realtor is from being outdoors catching fish. Truthfully it was just like any other job - it had its pros and cons, and while there are fun things that I miss, there are just as many things that were not so pleasant, constantly smelling like fish for instance, which I do not miss.

So, I thought I would take this time in my blog to talk about the 3 major reasons why I absolutely love being a realtor.

1. Learning about houses and construction

I have always been a person who learns so much better by doing something, and in the past 5 years I honestly can’t tell you how many houses I have toured, how many home inspections I have been part of and how much wider my knowledge of house construction has grown.  You see, I had a good idea of how houses were built from my father.  While not a journeyman in any specific construction field, my dad was trained by an electrician and plumber when he was a young man, and although he didn’t pursue that path for a career, he built most of the home my parents still live in by himself (and friends and family) in the 1980’s.  The fact that he did this before there was internet, YouTube and Google to figure it out still astounds me.  Growing up in that house he always included me, my brother and my sister in new projects and working to make improvements in the home. But it wasn’t until Jen and I purchased our first home in Winnipeg in 2008 (a former grow op, and a story for another day) that I really learned to respect the work put into a home and the effort it takes to maintain it.  Suffice it to say that the inner workings of home construction and planning started to grow in my mind. Now 5 years into my real estate career I still find interesting facts from homes built in different time periods, differences in materials and new changes as the building code evolves.  All of these things are fascinating to me and I love increasing my knowledge of it.

2. Meeting new people

I am 100% an extrovert.  I love meeting new people, rarely shy away from a conversation and can usually talk to anyone, even someone I barely know for at least a short conversation about mutual topics. Real estate allows me to meet so many new people, whether that be clients, other real estate agents, experts in home construction, home inspectors, you name it, we meet a lot of people.  Some of the best days have nothing to do with real estate, even if we are touring a home or negotiating a real estate offer, there are so many times that I just get lost in the conversation and find that I really just enjoy meeting these new people and getting to know them and their families.  Learning about peoples lives, and motivations for their real estate goals really increases the level of the relationship.  Truthfully one of the hardest parts of real estate for me is when clients do find their home, or their listing sells and we no longer spend a few days a week together.  It’s a running joke in our house that all of my client appointments run long, not that I am late for things, I just have to plan around my inability to stop a conversation J

3. Everyday is completely different

Sure, we do a lot of the same things with each of our clients, but no two transactions are ever the same.  Literally every day is different, and your day can turn on a dime.  You can get a call out of the blue that a client wants to buy a cottage lot, you can find out that your clients vacant listing’s furnace just quit in -30 C when you go to check on the home, you can be digging yourself and a fellow realtor out of a 3-foot snow drift after a showing (yes these are real examples).  What I am trying to say is there are ups, there are downs but the work is always eventful. Also negotiating an offer on behalf of your clients and getting them what they want or BETTER than what they want is always such a rewarding feeling.

I guess what I am saying is although I have chosen a different career path in the past 5 years, I couldn’t be happier with my decision.  Thank you to my awesome family who have always supported me in my decisions (except my tattoos….. J), and especially my dad for teaching me how to wire an outlet when I was 12.  To my clients past and present, thank you for trusting in me, spending your time with me and know that even when we don’t see each other for a while I always reminisce about similar homes, or interesting places we toured together. 

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” – Ursula K. Le Guin

#AgentLogan

Logan Queen

Tel: (204) 226-1261
Email: Logan@JenniferQueen.com

June marks my tenth year in real estate.  To switch things up this year, I’m going to report what I can remember from each year.  I find each year in real estate has at least one significant or impactful lesson to teach us.  So here we go!

Year 1 (2011):

Lessons: Relationships matter.  Be good to those that are good to you.  Walk away from those that just don’t appreciate you. The majority of my business this year came from ComFree listings (before they were a licensed brokerage – which means I wasn’t breaking any rules).  I had many hang up on me, but those that agreed to list with me turned out to be wonderful clients that I still work with today.! 

Sold 12 homes this year.

Fun story from this year: Sold my first acreage (72+ acres)

Year 2 (2012):

Lessons: Relationships matter (again).  Started to learn about the importance not only of keeping in touch with clients throughout the process of their home buying/selling process, but long after as well.  Many of the clients I worked with in 2012, I am still in touch with today.

Sold 38 homes this year.

Fun story from this year: One of the homes I sold had bullet holes in the side of it.

Year 3 (2013)

Lessons: Not all sales are happy sales.  Sold homes for clients that had previously bought in a happy time, but were now selling for sad reasons (death, divorce, job loss).  This career is full of ups and downs, and our job is to help people navigate our clients through the good times and bad.

Sold 47 homes this year.

Fun story from this year: I sold my own house this year.  Still regret it today (would have kept it as a rental)

Year 4 (2014)

Lessons: The importance of pricing (and ownership of bad pricing).  I had more listings expire this year than ever in my career.  Sometimes it is scary to have conversations about pricing with sellers – you don’t want to offend them, particularly if you were wrong.  Learning how to have those difficult discussions became paramount this year.

Sold 66 homes this year.

Fun Story: I had more homes expire this year than sold.  This line was super embarrassing and cringe-worthy for me to write! 

Year 5 (2015)

Lessons: Have a plan A, a plan B, and a plan C! From selling another personal residence, to having a slightly softer market, it became paramount to formulate multiple plans for selling. 

Sold 93 homes this year.

Fun Story: Logan and I had purchased a former (remediated) grow-op before I was in the business and chose to sell it in 2015.  We “sold” it three times before our third cash buyer came along and was able to close. We also welcomed our first child this year.

Year 6 (2016)

Lessons: Remember your “why”.  After the birth of our daughter, Everly, work-life balance started to become more important.  Parenthood also really emphasized the motivations for why families choose to move.  I thought I “got it” before, but I don’t think I fully understood the brain of a parent until I was one.

Sold 62 homes this year (maternity leave for four months).

Fun Story: I negotiated a complete deal at a table with clients while nursing a poopy baby.  Thank you to the lovely family that encouraged me to bring my baby along… your kindness and acceptance of my situation meant a lot to me.

Year 7 (2017)

Lessons: Be confident in your value proposition and the advice you give.  Stand firm in it and don’t back down.

Sold 107 homes this year.

Fun Story: I was pregnant (again) this year.  I also had to cancel an open house due to an incident of domestic violence as a bunch of walls and doors had been punched through.  Sad all around.

Year 8 (2018)

Lessons: The best interest of your clients always come before your own.  There were a couple of sales this year that involved careful consideration of a clients’ position.  Whether it be helping with some home renovations, doing some pro-bono work, or just advising not to buy or sell, there were a multitude of situations and reasons this year that warranted a different kind of care.

Sold 75 homes this year.

Fun Story: We welcomed our second child, Blaine this year.  He has a very piercing scream that would challenge the strongest eardrum.  I made many calls from my sunroom even when it was -30 outside just so I could sound “professional”.

Year 9 (2019)

Lessons: The importance of a team. Amy was off for most of this year as she was taking maternity with her son, Gavin.  So, we ended up hiring Ashton and Carrie both in late 2018.  Learning to grow and work as a team was so paramount to our future success.  We really missed Amy’s presence and were so happy to have her back toward the end of 2019.

Sold 154 homes this year.

Fun Story: Started listing my first luxury properties (or what I consider luxury property)… SOOO much fun to market!

Year 10 (2020)

Lessons: What we need, is really quite simple.  The year of COVID… where what was highlighted was the importance of such basic necessities – health, family, shelter and love.  We thought that real estate would be dead and that we would need to buckle down for a tough year.  It turned out to be the exact opposite, with record sales.

Sold 168 homes this year.

Fun Story: I gave birth to our third child in June of 2020… and was negotiating in between contractions. The poor agent on the other side of the transaction was so uncomfortable with this that he called my broker for the transaction.  I may have sent out a DocuSign for signatures from the hospital bed…

Well, there you have it, 10 years of lessons, sales, teamwork, amazing clients, and so much joy from this profession.  No two days are alike and I wouldn’t have it any other way! Thanks for reading this far!!  I look forward to another 10 years

#AgentJen

Jennifer Queen

Phone: (204) 797-7945
Email: Jennifer@JenniferQueen.com

Spring is here in Manitoba! The weather is nice and warm and we are looking forward to getting out in our yards and neighborhoods for as many activities as possible after our winter hibernation.  Some things to consider when the weather turns from winter to spring, especially in Manitoba, are maintenance items around your home.

I know, I know we finally get some nice weather and here I am telling you that you should get the work gloves out and start laborious jobs on your home. But the truth is now is the perfect time to figure out what sort of maintenance jobs your home may need moving into spring and summer rains.

Right now the ground is still mostly frozen and even though it looks nice and soft at the top deeper down there is still plenty of frost.  This can make for a problematic scenario for some people.  Luckily this past winter came with minimal snow and a pretty gradual snow melt.  However if we have a large rain many people could see issues with water affecting their homes.

The place to start the ground! Take a walk around your home, seems easy enough but how close do you really look at every side of your home?  There will be plenty of things that look different around your home now that the snow has come and gone.

On the ground level walk around the foundation and check for areas of damaged siding or low spots in the ground around the foundation.  Every home should have a positive grade.  Meaning the ground should be highest right up against the home, then it should slope away to provide water with a runoff solution that moves away from your home.  Also you should assess the type of material that is surrounding your home.  Rock and stone is one of the worst options for positive grading.  The stones and rock have tons of pores and spaces between them that allow water to easily filter through and go into the ground and foundation. The best materials to use are ones that have limited space between the particles or those that hold water, topsoils and clays are the best and are readily available in Manitoba. It may require some elbow grease to get the grading correct but it is essential to keeping your home dry, even a new foundation with enough water stress could allow seeping.

Check window wells, if your home has them.  Clean them out and make sure that they are not filled with leaves and other debris that can stop water from trickling through the stone and into your weeping tile as they should. 

Check your downspouts.  Has there been any damage from ice/snow over the winter? How far do they extend past your foundation? Ideally you want your downspouts to discharge a minimum of 6-8 feet from your foundation walls, if you can do further then great!

Check for any damage to doors and windows including weather strip seals and the corners to ensure that your house is not allowing a draft through.  This is especially important in older homes that may go through some natural shifting as the seasons change.

If you have a ladder and are comfortable going on the roof then check the shingles to see if there is any damage from wind, snow or ice since the fall.  Make sure the eavestroughs are not pulling away from the house anywhere from snow/ice weight.  Check the areas around chimneys and flashings to make sure that they are still watertight, as these areas typically are failure points for letting water into your home.

Inside the home, one of the best things to do it to check and see if your sump pump is working.  You may need to check the exterior pipe and make sure that it is not frozen, as we are still getting below zero temperatures in the night.  If the pipe freezes and your sump pump still tries to pump water through it you can burn out your pump motor and you could also have an issue with pressure breaks in the pipe.  Ensure that you put your sump pump hose out on the exterior and extend it as far from your foundation wall as possible. Also make sure the pump is plugged in and that the breaker is on in the electrical panel.

If you do have an older home and you do get water in the basement this is also a great time of year to assess the situation and determine the best plan of action to manage or fix the problem.

9 times out of 10 the solution starts with keeping water away from your foundation. And remember an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

#AgentLogan

Logan Queen

Tel: (204) 226-1261
Email: Logan@JenniferQueen.com

Advice on how to get an accepted offer in a CRAZY seller’s market.

If you have been following the real estate market in Winnipeg you know it is a seller’s market. There is a lack of inventory and an oversupply of buyers, likely a response to extremely low interest rates. If you have recently sold your home or plan to do so soon, congratulations things are looking great for you. On the opposite side of the spectrum, if you are a buyer trying to get into the market, I have some tips on what you can do to maximum your chances of getting an accepted offer without sacrificing everything!

Working with an agent you trust

This is always #1 in my books. I feel like finding the right agent is almost the same as find your soulmate – I did say almost! Working with an agent you trust and believe in will make the already stressful process of buying that much less stressful. Your agent will be able to give you up to date information about the market and/or specific listings, they will manage their time and yours efficiently, walk you through the process of buying (if you are new to real estate), give you tons of information about homes you are interested in. An agent has the knowledge and experience to tell you the positives and negative aspects of the house, things that might need maintenance soon, what comparable homes in the neighbourhood have sold for, etc. In this crazy market it really is in your best interest to find the right agent for you! So... take the time to link up with an agent, do some research, ask questions, and finally get to shopping!

Pre-approval is Key

Getting pre-approved from a reputable bank or mortgage broker is one of the smartest things you can do to increase your chances of getting an accepted offer on a home you love. If you were to make an offer on a property and you are not pre-approved for, the homeowner may assume you were not a serious buyer and might overlook your offer entirely. If you want to be competitive in a seller’s market a pre-approval is a must. Once you have received your pre-approval, your mortgage broker should provide a letter indicating the details of your pre-approval which can be included with the offer to show proof that you have done your due diligence. As Realtor, we advise getting a pre-approval before your start your search. So... if you are looking to buy a house soon and do not have a pre-approval GET ONE!

Write Your Best Offer First.

In a seller’s market a buyer should be doing any and everything they can to increase their chances of getting an accepted offer. In some cases, as a buyer, you might be competing against 40+ other offers so writing your best offer is extremely important because usually you do not get a second chance to alter the offer once the selling agent has started presenting. A couple of things you should consider before you write an offer.  Is a home inspection a must? Most agent would strongly encourage their clients to complete a pre-inspection. It is extremely valuable to be well informed of the condition of the house you are interested in. I would never tell someone to not do a home inspection. I learn something at every home inspection I attend, and think they are fantastic. In a seller’s market it is more challenging to get an accepted offer if you include a post-purchase inspection as a condition. So that is where the PRE inspection comes in. This is when a home inspector will inspect the home you are trying to purchase before you submit the offer. Yes, that means spending the money on a home inspection before the offer is accepted but again it is all about writing the best offer you can. Pre-inspections may cost between $200 to $300 up front, but for the piece of mind, and for the sake of a strong offer, I would say it is worth it. The second point is an easy one – do not ask for the extras. If the house, you are wanting has a freezer and an extra fridge and it is not included in the listing – don’t ask for it. The third point is if you can write a cash offer DO IT. An unconditional offer is very appealing to a seller and greatly increases your chances of getting an accepted offer.  However, this is something we would need to discuss further prior to writing as many of us can not afford to do pay all cash for a house. 

Deposit Amount

A deposit is to be included along with the offer. It forms part of the purchase price. The amount suggested will vary based on the property and situation in which you are offering. However, the amount you provide shows how serious you are as a buyer because this money ultimately protects the seller if the buyer decides to walk away from the deal after conditions have been satisfied. So…the larger the sum provided as a down payment the more enticing your offer will be to the seller.

Buying a house in this seller’s market is tough, but I encourage you to hang in there. Try some or all of these tips to help you stand out from the competition and put you that much closer to an accepted offer! Happy House Hunting!

#AgentAmy

Amy McDermid

Phone: (204) 470-5356
Email: Amy@JenniferQueen.com

I LOVE goal setting. Every year in November, I begin to plan out goals for both myself and my team for the following year.  This past November was a bit trickier – 2020 was a year that nobody could have anticipated, and it has kind of clouded my ability to think proactively about what to plan for in 2021. After many discussions with the team, we have decided that 2021 will be a year of getting out of our comfort zones.  For the majority of us, this means putting our faces out there more. And by putting our faces out there, I don’t mean the perfect, photoshopped, and pretty side of us.  I mean the raw, vulnerable, imperfect shots that show just who we are at our cores. To that end, here is an imperfect shot of me and our son, Asher, born June 30, 2020.

This year, we plan to put out a lot more video content.  Answer me this, does anyone actually like being on camera?  I sure don’t!  It took me 8 years and about 100 comments that I didn’t look like my original head shot from when I started in the business, to finally agree to take a second round of headshots.  We did a new round of these headshots and family photos in 2019 and now have a goal to do them annually with 2020 being an exception because, well, social distancing of course! Toward the end of 2020 we hired Simon, who has a background in Broadcast and Television.  For people that don’t like having their photo taken, trust me, being on film is a whole new ball game.  He has already had us each film 15 different segments which are going to be airing throughout the year across our various social media platforms.  It is funny how easy it is to talk to someone in person, but the second lights and a camera are pointed at you, you can’t even remember your own name!

This year, we also plan to give back to a community that has done so much for us.  It almost seems unfair, that our businesses were booming in 2020 when so many within the community suffered.  We have all increased our efforts to support small businesses whether it be regularly ordering take-out from our favourite local joints, creating jobs for those that were impacted within their own industries, curating prize baskets and closing baskets from local artisans - but it truthfully still doesn’t seem like enough for us.  In 2021, we plan to highlight many of the small businesses so that they too can have a booming year.  We rise by lifting others, right?  So, if there are any businesses out there that you feel may be suffering and could use a spotlight on our social media, let us know. 

This year we also plan to work more heavily on the education component side of our business.  In some of our discussions we discovered three things:

1. We handle a lot of relocations to and from Winnipeg.
2. There are a lot of unknowns out there for both the selling and buying process
3. Some people find Realtors kind of scary and intimidating.  Like if you give them your number, they will never stop calling you.

To that end, we plan to generate more content that helps to address all of these concerns.  For instance, in the works currently is: a series on what it is like to live in Winnipeg, an educational segment highlight FAQ’s for buyers and sellers alike, and more in-depth interviews with our agents just to demonstrate that we sincerely do have your best interests in mind and won’t spam the heck out of you if you reach out!  Are there any questions you would like addressed by us?  Please reach out.  We plan on generating content that our current and future clients will find useful, and always appreciate the input!

This blog is admittedly scattered, pretty much as scattered as 2020 was, so I do apologize. In trying to sort what my takeaways were from the past year, I did find a few recurring themes. Going into 2021 I hope to take some lessons learned in 2020 with me.  Namely:

-          Money can’t buy what matters the most

-          Slowing down is not a bad thing

-          Time with family should be treasured

-          Hugs are underrated

-          We are all more resilient than we give ourselves credit for

We have set some pretty big goals for 2021.  While the world may look a little uncertain right now, I am cautiously optimistic that we will achieve those goals no matter how bumpy the road may be. So, cheers to the year gone by and to the upcoming year: 2021 … we got this!

Happy New Year, everyone!

#AgentJen

Jennifer Queen

Phone: (204) 797-7945
Email: Jennifer@JenniferQueen.com

July has been and interesting month for Jen and Me.  We came off one of the busiest months of our careers both for the Winnipeg market as a whole as for our team.  Jen and I together did 28 deals in June, which definitely kept us on our toes.  We also capped off the month with a new addition to our family.  Our son, Asher Logan Queen, was born at 12:26 am on June 30^th, which put the icing on the cake for an amazing month for our business and our family.

We have been adjusting to life in this Covid-19 era just like many of you have. We have adjusted a lot of our business to be from home, or to limit our exposure to others as much as possible.  Which is not easy when your careers literally mean meeting new people all the time and leaving the house to view properties.  We have been granted some tools to help us though.  We have been granted the ability to digitally sign documents for the first time in Manitoba.  They say that it is only temporary but they are going to have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers! It is so much more convenient for agents and clients alike!

Other changes you may have noticed if you are actively looking for a home or watching the market is that Winnipeg has been a strong Seller’s Market.  There are a significant number of homes selling for over list price, similar to what the market was seeing back in 2008!  Personally, I have had a bunch of clients have to compete in multiple offer situations and in my honest opinion it is not a lot of fun.  I truly think the only people who enjoy it are the vendors.  Even as the realtor representing a multiple offer sale you have to deal with a lot of scrutiny and a lot of uncomfortable phone calls, messages and conversations with other realtors who are attempting to get the home for their clients. 

That being said there are some tips for people who are trying to buy and are having a hard time dealing with competing offers. Here are some of mine:

1. Get a Buyer’s Agent to represent you.  The best way to go into an offer situation is to be prepared.  Having an agent represent you who knows the market and can give you the best advice for pricing on a home is a great place to start.
2. Make a plan.  I know that sounds silly, but a multiple offer situation with 2 offers is different than one with 10.  Speak with your agent about the possibilities of the offer and what could potentially happen on offer date.
3. Make your offer as attractive as possible.  What does that mean? To be honest the best way to make your offer attractive to a buyer is to leave out as much uncertainty as possible, which usually means less conditions.  Some people are comfortable writing offers without conditions and some are not.  You have to assess the risk involved with writing offers without conditions and what could happen if something went sideways. If you need to have conditions for the purchase, then finding other creative ways to make your conditions look less uncertain helps.  Feel free to contact me if you want some ideas!
4. Be patient.  I know that some people are on deadlines and don’t want to wait, but truthfully, I don’t believe this can last forever.  The market will shift again and there will be changes that allow buyers to have a more reasonable opportunity to purchase a home.

So what can be said about the current market in Winnipeg? Well I don’t think it has turned out the way anyone thought when COVID struck earlier this year.  Record months, record sales numbers, multiple offer situations and lots of demand for homes were definitely not projections made by many real estate professionals in Winnipeg and throughout Canada.

That being said if you want some help navigating this crazy market we would love to help you.  We are always just a call, text or email away!

#AgentLogan

Logan Queen

Tel: (204) 226-1261
Email: Logan@JenniferQueen.com

If you would have told me a year ago that I would be writing a blog on how to keep yourself motivated during times of uncertainty as most of the world would be on lockdown, I would have thought you were crazy.  But, here we are.

This has been a learning curve for all of us and if you are anything like me, a very hard lesson. Being a Realtor, it’s always go, go, go. ESPECIALLY during the spring months here in Winnipeg. Although the market has not come to a standstill, people are being more careful (rightfully so!), which means, I am spending a little more time, well, with me. 

At first, I went stir crazy, my usual routine was no more. My husband was now working from home, open houses canceled, clients taking a step back and reassessing and no social interactions from outside the home. So, what did I do? I panicked. We had just come back from our honeymoon in Bali, I hadn’t worked in 3 weeks and now the world is going on lockdown! I didn’t know where to start. 

It took me at least a week to realize, what I should have seen sooner, we have been given an opportunity to Get. Things. Done.  I finally decided to take advantage of the time we were given to focus my energy on bettering my business, tackling the list of to do’s and plan a FULL house renovation. Now, you may think that is a little on the extreme side, but accomplishing even little things everyday has been how I have made myself feel, for lack of a better word, normal.

If you are feeling any of the same emotions I had felt, you are not alone. With the world in a state of uncertainty, you are entitled to those feelings, but by accomplishing little things everyday hopefully you too can get a little normalcy back in your life. Here are some ideas to help you get started: 

Tackle that pile of odd jobs you have been putting off for years.

You’ve been staring at that patched wall now for what feels like a lifetime, today can be the day.  Head over to Home Depot (BUT remember to book extra time to wait in that infamous line), grab a can of paint and get it done! That pesky eave that has been leaking? Replace it! Every task you check off, give yourself a pat on the back.

Plant a garden.

Finally, the sun is shining. Why not get out there and build yourself a little vegetable garden. Taking care of your new-found hobby will give you something to get excited about every day!

Organize the basement.

We’ve all been there, you just keep piling and piling things into that storage room and think “I’ll get to it next week”. Well, that day has come. Get in there, go through those boxes you haven’t seen in 5 years… who knows, maybe once all of this is over a garage sale may be in order!

Yard Work.

Yes, I said it, spring has sprung and your yard looks less than ideal. Get that rake and go to town! Having an outdoor space that you can enjoy will make being stuck at home all that more enjoyable.

Spring clean.

Who knows what the heck has been living behind your fridge all winter? Make your home feel fresh and clean by doing a thorough deep clean. Next step, open up your windows and bring in some fresh spring air and relax.  

Redecorate.

House feeling dated? I know I’m not the only one with a Pinterest board remodeling every single room in my house… why not give yourself a few DIY projects to pass the time as well as spruce up your home!

Start and exercise routine.

Go for a walk, a bike ride or rollerblade. Whatever it is, start moving. Trust me, I know how tempting that couch can be, adding a little physical fitness to your daily routine will hopefully help boost your mood!

Read a book.

That book your co-worker gave you 6 months ago is calling your name. Get inspired. Learn something new, or just read something that makes you happy.

We will always remember COVID-19 and how it impacted society as we know it. Days can all start to blur together without our usual routines, so let’s try our best to make each one memorable. On the bright side, it looks like things are starting to look up here in Manitoba! Hopefully adding a few of these things to your week will help getting you to that finish line that much easier.

To quote one of the best, “Just keep swimming” – Dory.

#AgentAshton

Ashton Augert

Phone: (204) 781-1767
Email: Ashton@JenniferQueen.com

Typically, I love to write blogs about new real estate trends, or how you can maximize your real estate knowledge, but today I wanted to share with you something I discovered this last year that I owe a lot of my success to, in real estate as well as in life.

Last year, on December 4^th 2018, I wrote a letter to myself, as my future self. It began, “Dear Ashton Augert…. What a year it has been”. I have to admit, I felt a little silly and not to mention skeptical as I wrote the first few lines. I thought to myself “There is no way ANY of these things are going to happen”. But before I go on, I should first let you know where I was a year ago…

I had just made the big decision to move from my previous brokerage to my current brokerage, and had just began my career with the Jennifer Queen Team.  I had always wanted to be on a team, and when the phone rang with the opportunity of the lifetime, I didn’t hesitate to jump on board. Although I was still fairly new to the business, I was starting to gain confidence in the Realtor I was becoming, and was so excited to be able to join a very successful team, but still had a lot to learn. I had also just recently purchased my first home and was newly engaged. Life was starting to go in the direction I wanted it to, but there were still so many unknowns and goals I wanted to fulfill in the upcoming year.

That was when a little birdie (cough,cough Jen), challenged me to write a letter to myself, as my future self, writing about all of the great successes I had achieved that year. So now here I was, sitting there, writing a letter to myself and thinking, what do I want to achieve this year? And this is what I wanted to share with you. Some of the goals I wrote were so small, that they almost seemed silly to write down on paper, others were so far-fetched at that moment in my life that they seemed more like dreams for another lifetime or at least not feasible in the next year! But the important thing was, that by writing these goals down, and visualizing them as my own future, I was now committed to, at the very minimum, attempting to try to fulfill them (even though I still felt a little silly for doing so).

When I was done writing, I read the letter one last time, signed it Ashton Humphreys (my future last name) and folded it away in a drawer to forget about until the next year.

As I’m sure a lot of you could agree, 2019 came and went in a blink of an eye. Life has a way of making you forget how in only a short period of time, so much can change. Sitting back and reading the letter I had written myself; I couldn’t help but feel proud. The person who wrote that letter a year ago would be amazed to see that I had actually done most of the things I had said I would do, not to mention blew some of them out of the park! We had done the renovations on the house we were planning on doing, our wedding went (mostly) as planned, I sold more houses then I had written down (which seemed unattainable to me at the time) and we did have our new little fur baby. The best part about all of it was it now gave me the motivation to dream bigger.

So, here is my advice to you:

Celebrate the small successes: No goal is too small, seeing the small achievements throughout the year gives you the fuel to reach for those bigger ones. If you don’t quite reach that big goal you set at least you can see that there are so many other things you have achieved, giving you the motivation to keep going.  

Set achievable, yet difficult goals:  Push yourself, if you think you can put aside $5000.00 this year for a down payment, why not shoot for $6000.00? When I say achievable, I mean something that you realistically could achieve. If you are a real estate agent setting a goal of selling 50 houses this year, that is achievable. If you are a real estate agent and your goal for the year is to perform open heart surgery, not so achievable (you get the point). 

Make yourself accountable: By writing down your goals, you will now have to face yourself when the time comes. Just imagine how great you will feel opening that letter a year later and seeing it there in your own writing, all the great things you have accomplished. You may also want to give a copy of your letter to a trusted friend or family member if you need a little more accountability, whatever works for you to keep yourself on track.

Have a good support system: By surrounding yourself with people who also want you to achieve your goals and believe in you will make it that much easier. You don’t have to achieve these on your own.

Reward yourself: It is ok to be proud of yourself. You did it! Give yourself a pat on the back... or maybe treat yourself to that spa day you have been dreaming about. Whatever it is, you deserve it.

Keep going: If you didn’t quite reach the goals you set for yourself this year, keep going. Don’t set the bar lower now because you are afraid of failure. Use it as fuel to motivate you further.

We all have goals; some are smaller such as learning to touch your toes and others are so big that you may not achieve them for years to come. At the Jennifer Queen Team, we truly believe setting goals is the perfect recipe for success. Every Monday we go around the table setting achievable goals for our work and personal lives for that week. The accountability aspect, as well as writing them down motivates us to do the things we may otherwise have brushed off. Setting goals, whether it be weekly, monthly or yearly helps you stay on track.

So, if you are wanting to buy a house in the next year, write it down. If you are wanting to save $300 more dollars a month, write it down. If you are wanting to go see the Eifel tower, you guessed it, write it down. You never know what your subconscious will grab hold of. When you open that letter a year later, you may just be surprised with things you have achieved.

Without that letter to myself, I would not have realized all the small successes I have made throughout the year. It has really given me the fuel to give 2020 all I’ve got. Try it, what’s the worst that could happen?

“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands—your own.” —Mark Victor Hansen

#AgentAshton

Ashton Augert

Phone: (204) 781-1767
Email: Ashton@JenniferQueen.com

June marks my seventh year in real estate!  This is hard to believe, as it feels like just yesterday when I received my letter from the Manitoba Securities Commission!  Although in this time I have had two babies, received my MBA in Marketing from the University of Manitoba, bought and sold my own home, become an aunt two times over, and got my broker’s license.  So I guess more time has passed than I realize!  Anyways, to commemorate this anniversary, I thought I would put together a list of the seven things I have learned in my seven years in real estate:

1. Real estate is a relational business, not a transactional business

People truly don’t care what you know, until they know that you care. For the first few years of my career, I was so focused on being professional.  Rigid would be a good way to define my personality in the early days. Sorry to these clients, it must have been very boring to work with me! Realizing that you can be professional while also being personable was a game changer.  Now, sharing my life with my clients, as they share their lives with me has made my job much more enjoyable, and resulted in many long-lasting relationships!

2. There are two ways to build the tallest building in town

I know, this sounds weird, but there are two ways to look at business: 1. You can tear down all of the businesses around you to become the tallest building, or; 2: You can just build the tallest building.  This can be a tough industry as my colleagues or friends within the business are often my competition, and an industry set up such as this can lead to dissension amongst peers and sometimes downright dirty tactics to obtain clients.  But karma exists. Always choose to build the taller building.

3. Build a solid team around you

Amy started with me after my first year in the business.  It helped that she had some knowledge and experience already in real estate.  However, had she not, recruiting her still would have been an easy decision.  You see, I truly believe that anything can be taught.  However, character cannot be learned. So build your team with quality people that want to see you succeed, and the rest can be figured out as you go! As we have continued to grow the team, and form partnerships with others, this strategy has remained at the forefront and it has not steered us wrong yet!

4. Communication is Key!

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes.  A lot of the time silence is mistaken for inactivity.  Whether it be good news, bad news, or even no news, keep in touch with your clients! Sometimes it may be uncomfortable, but people will appreciate you for making the call.

5. Honesty is the best policy

For most people, a home will be the largest asset they ever own.  So be honest in your dealings with the public.  Throughout the buy and sell process there are a lot of questions and decisions that will come up, so delivering truthful information is key so that buyers and sellers can make informed decisions.  Sometimes the truth isn’t what people want to hear, and delivering it can be painful.  But your clients and fellow Realtors will thank you for it in the end.

6. Education is paramount

Goodness, the things that I didn’t know when I started are scary to me.  But the only way to learn is to latch onto every education opportunity you can find.  Whether it be following a home inspector around, to tricking other Realtors to go for lunch with me so that I could pick their brain, to enlisting in webinars from other Realtors, to reading a new book, to enrolling in courses (online and offline), or to deciding to take up an MBA in marketing mid-career, there is an abundance of things that we can all learn.  Always be willing to share your knowledge and education with others as well. 

7. Trust that life usually works intelligently

Over prepare then go with the flow. If things don’t seem to work out at first, there is usually a good reason for it. Things will inevitably go sideways.  Buyers will get declined for financing, home inspections will fail, you will have clients get outbid on a property.  But after doing this for several years, I have learned that if it is meant to be, it will be.

Looking back, it all seems like it went by so fast!  It has been quite a ride, many happy and hilarious memories have been made, and many life milestones achieved. I wouldn’t have it any other way and can’t wait to see what the next seven years will bring!