What's Been Goin' On

I don't have any one particular subject to write on so I figured I'd share a little about what we've been doing lately and what's on my mind.

• I finally have a home sale that should close (maybe even this month).  It's only been 8 months since my last closing.  The only thing that could prevent it from happening is the seller not being able to get my buyer a clean and clear title or if it burns down.
• The kids have been plugging away at school and I'm definitely seeing some improvements.  They are also in the process of preparing to participate in the local county fair.
• Hubby's company was recently bought by another company but so far there haven't been any changes to his schedule or anything.
• Now that it's snow-bird season, I've been showing more houses.  Luckily the kids and I have found a bit of a rhythm so we can still get things done even on the days I'm away for a bit.  Hopefully I'll have another house sell soon as a result.
• The last week, hubby's changed his sleep schedule a little so he's awake more during the day so he can spend more time each day doing things outside. The yard is really starting to look nice (considering we have 1.7 acres that saying something).
• My son turns 11 in less than a month!  Where has the time gone?!?  Now to figure out how to celebrate on a pretty tight budget.  Suggestions are welcome.

The Right Choice?

I recently made a decision to continue in real estate.  Why was that a decision I felt the need to make?  Because I haven't sold anything since May and I had quite a few fees due (annual renewal fees for various real estate related things) in early January.  I HATE the thought of spending money not knowing when or even IF I'll make money based on that spending.

Another factor is that I homeschool my kids.  I even had one of the brokers at my old office mention it to me after I'd left their firm as a reason why I hadn't sold much.  Totally not true by the way.  I was at a real estate function at the moment he said it, on a school day.  Oh, and I was homeschooling my kids when I sold 12 houses in my first year!

Although I need to be available to help my kids with their schooling, the beauty of homeschooling is that you can be flexible to do it when you want or are able.  My kids prefer to do school later in the day.  Hubby works nights so I have to be home anyway.  And we also do school over the summer (we live in Southern Florida and it gets a bit warm, so why not enjoy the cooler weather of the winter for all the fun field trips and do the seat work in the summer when you don't want to go outside and roast).  Oddly enough, my summers are pretty slow when it comes to real estate (as opposed to the rest of the country) so it works out nicely from that perspective.

I recently had a meeting with my new broker and really felt she wants me to succeed.  She's been giving me a few leads that seem like they might pan out (she's a practicing broker which means by doing so, she's not getting the full commission = she's awesome!).

Do I know if it was the right choice?  Not yet for sure, but if the last couple days are any indication, I think something's going to happen very soon.  I've been showing houses with some level of frequency.  I have people contacting me about possibly listing their homes.  And this morning I submitted an offer on a house and may have a second to submit this afternoon.  Obviously, neither counts till it's accepted, but it means I have people seriously looking and that's a good thing.

So what am I doing about it?  Praying that I prove the naysayers wrong and that 2015 is my best year yet!  I'm also trying to organize my life a bit more which means waking up earlier to get a few extra things done each day.  It also means I may not be posting here quite as often for the next couple months in particular just because real estate "season" has hit in Florida.

I'll be back as soon as I can even if it's just to give you a quick update on how the real estate and homeschool journey are going.