I guess summer is over...

It's cold here in Michigan today! Seems it was just ungodly hot a couple of days ago, and now, fall is here! If you like having changing seasons, then Michigan is the place for you. We sometimes have all four seasons in one day! I love fall, though. Except that it means winter will be here soon - yech to driving in the snow. So, we got a couple of orders yesterday, and one was already cancelled.....great! Sorry to have missed you yesterday, but we were working on our postcard "mass mailing". If it were not for the mail that gets returned, I would wonder sometimes if our mail gets delivered at all! Consumer confidence must definitely be in the toilet right now! (sorry, I seem to not be able to start a new paragraph in this weird composition format - maybe someone can tell me how that is done?) I hope the phone just rings off the darn hook today! I am beginning to wonder if the management companies are going to take over all of the ordering process, and being an appraiser is not going to be the fairly lucrative job that it once was. The management companies are eating up over half of the fee, which leaves the appraisers with pitiful compensation. I understand why the banks need the management companies; so that the loan officers don't get "buddy-buddy" with the appraisers, but the management company should not make more of a profit than the appraiser! I will direct more effort towards the mortgage companies and hope the management companies dwindle away when they can't find appraisers to work for their pathetic wage! Okay, then, until tomorrow......all is good! Deb Seivers http://appraisalpros.biz

Day Two - A Little More Noise, Please!

Well, today was not quite as isolated as it's been lately. The phone rang many times, and only 80% of the calls today were wrong numbers! I have been working diligently on my "drip" campaign.....that is a website generated email blitz....not sending emails to "drips". Though the email will inevitably arrive on the desk of a few drips, I'm sure! No matter what new technology I attempt, there are many bugs to be worked out before the darn thing works properly. Makes me feel like a moron! I tried today to set up my sitemap on Yahoo, and four times I received email back from Yahoo stating that my authentication process had failed! No explanation of why the process has failed, four times! And, I know that millions of people out there would immediately know why and how the process had failed, but I am not one of them! I need instructions, people! I can deal with authenticating my website twenty times, if you will only send me the instructions on how to do it correctly. And, the really funny thing is that I don't even know what a sitemap does or why I need one! My website host told me that I should set up my sitemaps, so that is what I am doing. I mean, I like learning new things, but this old brain can only take so many new things in one month! Good evening to all....all is good!
Deb Seivers
http://www.appraisalpros.biz

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The Sounds of Silence

Hello. I could not have chosen a worse time to start any business even remotely related to the world of real estate. But, since I have so much time on my hands (and you must, too, or you wouldn't be reading this!), I can journal my adventures as a new entrepreneur.
Today, I spent most of the day picking up the phone receiver to make sure that the stupid thing still works...very frightening, this silence. I take solace in the fact that Bill Gates believes that being patient is part of being successful. I wonder if he had days that he thought he was going to throw up....too much time on your hands gives one too much time to think about all of the things that can go wrong with this whole scenario!
I want to share a funny piece that I read last week - yeah, last week was slow, too! It's called "Why Men Might Be Happier"

• Your last name stays put.
• The garage is all yours.
• Wedding plans take care of themselves.
• Chocolate is just another snack.
• You can be President of the United States.
• You can never be pregnant.
• You can wear a white t-shirt to a water park.
• Car mechanics usually tell you the truth.
• You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just "too icky."
• You don't have to stop and think about which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
• Same work, more pay.
• Wrinkles add character.
• Wedding dress - $5000. Tux rental - $100.
• The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
• New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
• One mood all the time.
• Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
• You know stuff about tanks.
• A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
• You can open all your own jars.
• You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
• If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.
• Your underwear costs $8.95 or less for a three-pack.
• Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
• You never have strap problems in public.
• You are unable to see wrinkles in your own clothes.
• The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe even decades.
• You only have to shave your face and neck.
• You can play with toys all your life.
• Your belly usually hides your big hips.
• One wallet and one pair of shoes...one color for all seasons.
• You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
• You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife.
• You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
• You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24th in 25 minutes or less.

Well, good evening....talk to ya' tomorrow!

Deb Seivers

http://www.appraisalpros.biz