What are you Thankful for this Year

This year at RPE we have so many things to be thankful for. The staff decided to display what we were thankful for by designing hand turkeys and hanging them in the kitchen, but we were wondering what some of you agents are thankful for this year. Here are what a few of you had to say…

“Peace on Earth, “ Freddie Brown
“Family,” Betty Radford
“Tony Tricase, no no I take that back and what I am really thankful  for is health,” Sam Stockard
“Grandchildren, relatively good health, and a long marriage,” Bill Meyers

From all the staff here at RPE have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD)

As many of you know, Congress enacted the CARD Act…  The goal was to make things better for cardholders by outlawing certain consumer unfriendly practices in the credit card business.  But the law in some cases has made things worse in the short term.

 The law requires that credit card companies give you 45 days notice before raising interest rates.  Many companies are raising your rates even if you have paid your card off monthly and on time!  Mine went up 4% and I pay mine off monthly !!!  After talking to Roger (in India) for 30 minutes, he felt I didn’t have a problem since the increased interest rate would never be a problem for me.  WRONG ROGER…

 So what’s a person to do?  Call your credit card company and see if your rate has been increased, your credit line reduced or advances denied.  If you are not happy with the answer then investigate other credit cards such as:

 www.CardRatings.com
www.CardHub.com
www.CreditCards.com

 Each site will help you find a care off that matches your particular needs such as cash back, miles or hotel points.   

 Another option is to get a credit card thru a credit union which may offer more favorable terms.

 Last but not least.   If none of these options work you can always have the option to stop using your credit card.   A borrower can become a Lender’s Slave so take control of your financial future.

What RPE has to Offer

  Click here to check out all the great things that RPE has to offer each agent. If you have any questions please contact Angie.

Reminders from the Listing and Sales Department

We now have a space on the Blue Commission Check Cover Sheet for you to put your clients email address.  This will be a very helpful tool for you as you build your sphere of influence.

Please be sure to request your escrow checks 24 hours in advance.   You can send us an email at salesdept@4256000.com to make it easier or you can call Jamie at X 615 and leave a message.

To ensure that our good faith deposits have cleared our bank we must hold them 10 business days in our bank account.   Please drop them off  as soon as you get them so that we can cut the escrow check promptly for your closing.

In order to cut a check in 30 minutes we need you to turn your listing and sales contract in timely.

We must have a pink slip signed by your client to make any change in the MLS and on our production reports  (cancelled, withdrawn, price change, etc.)

Any closing that is between two agents in this office must be closed in the same year (either 2009 or 2010).  Please coordinate with the other agent in our office to determine which year you want the commission to be reported.  This only applies to a closing where both agents are in our office. See Nancy Schafer with any questions.

RPE Raises $10,000 for Kosair!

We are proud to announce RPE has raised $10,000.00 for Kosair Children’s Hospital through Children’s Miracle Network since April of last year.  We have 24 agents signed up on the “Miracle Home Program” and would love to have 100% participation from the office.

When you join the Miracle Home Program you pledge $25 or more out of every closing to the Children’s Miracle Network.  An Honor Card will be sent to your client telling them a personal story about a child that has benefited from the services at Kosair Children’s Hospital and that a donation has been made to the hospital in their name.

It’s a great listing tool because you can put a “Miracle Home” sign rider on your RE/MAX sign in their yard.  You are making miracles happen for children in our area!

If you are interested, please see Angie Cox x 631.

Craig Barker’s Good Deed

At RPE we LOVE  our pets and they’re a big part of our family.   A day doesn’t go by that we don’t have a story about a pet from one of our agents or staff.   Whether it’s the new puppy who has chewed through drywall just to add more fiber to her diet or the dog you’ve recently adopted who you’re convinced is a direct descendent of Lassie but somehow continues to fail Dog Obedience school miserably, at RPE we always have a story….

Recently, I was driving down Moser Road when I saw this beautiful little black dog running down the sidewalk happy as can be after a jogger.  I slowed down to see if it was her dog and then realized this little guy was just running after her and not on a leash. I pulled over into a driveway and the jogger circled back saying the dog was not hers and she was afraid he would get hit if he continued following her.   I called to him and he came running back to me and jumped into my arms and gave me a nice wet  lick on the cheek…  That was it…. He had my heart…. I knew what I had to do… He was coming home with me and we would find his owner. That night after observing him with my other dogs Beau and Maggie, I knew someone was desperately missing their dog.  He was house trained, sat on my lap the entire evening and you could tell minute by minute that he was getting more confused and sad that he wasn’t home with his master.  I took pictures of him that evening and was ready to jump into action the following morning.   Rachel (our marketing assistant) prepared my flyer that read:

I was about two hours away from lunchtime when I planned to start hanging the flyers on telephone poles when Craig Barker stopped by my office.   Craig is an avid dog lover and said he was taking the flyers with him and would walk Woodcroft (off Linn Station Rd) to see if he could find the owner himself. Luckily, he found a man who knew that his neighbor’s dog was missing.  The gentleman gave him the owner’s flyer that he had also posted and he compared the information to my flyer.  He called the owner with the great news and gave him my phone number to contact me directly. By the time I got back from lunch, I had 5 phone calls from the owner wanting to pick up his dog  BK…. I asked him several questions just to make sure he was the rightful owner and I told him that I would bring BK home after work. ( By this time I had grown attached to the little guy but I knew what I had to do.) When I took BK home he jumped from my arms onto the floor to play with his little brother.  You could tell the family had missed their pet and the husband had confided in me earlier on the phone that his wife had him sleeping on the couch until he located their puppy!  BK was indeed home and a family was whole once again.

It takes one good deed to make a difference in the lives of another.   Thanks Craig for taking the time out of your day to find the owner and performing that random act of kindness.