Halloween in Cranford, NJ

Allright, I have to be honest. I never liked Halloween when I was a kid, and I never liked dressing up in costume to go to work or anything like that, but today, working from my home office in Cranford, I am having so much fun watching the kids run up and down our block trick or treating. I also had the pleasure of catching a glimps of the Halloween Parade at nearby Livingston School.

When the trick or treaters come to my door, they are so happy and having so much fun, it kinda makes me wish I slowed down to enjoy more moments like that when I was 10 years old.

The best part (or the worst part) of Halloween for me this year is the piles of leftover candy we will have. We went to Costco last night and we now must have 5 pounds of mini candy bars in our house. I am sure we will share it with many people, but the danger of those mini candy bars is the "I'll just have one" attitude, and then I eat 4 of them. Well...might as well start the weight gain a little early this year. :)

Working with Buyers Brings Great Joy

There is a saying in the real estate business which says "You've got to list to last". While I agree that listings are indeed a cornerstone to the business, and the key to getting more buyers to find out about my services, there is nothing that brings me more joy in this business than telling a buyer "The sellers have accepted your offer"

This past week, I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely family from Bayonne, who have been looking for a home for quite a while, and they were visibly frustrated with their search process thus far. I first spoke with them on a Sunday, showed them quite a few homes on Monday, and they decided to make an offer on a lovely Northside Cranford home on Tuesday.

Well.. after a few days of negotiating on their behalf....Friday morning, while I was preparing to go to a friend's wedding, I worked in tandem with my clients to ensure that their written contracts were submitted to the sellers, and Friday night at 10:14 P.M., on my way home from that wedding, I was able to call them (with their prior permission, of course) to tell them "Congratulations! Your offer has been accepted and signed!" The joy and relief that my customers obviously had gave me chills. There is truly something special about helping a family find their new home. When I watched them interact as a family the next day when I met them at the property in Cranford, it was such a joy to see. I could tell how appreciative they were that they had found a place that they could call home, and I was truly proud to have been a part of this moment in their lives.

I know this may sound idealistic or cliche, but I really do love my job. I am hopeful that my enthusiasm for real estate, and helping people, enables me to provide a pleasant experience for all of my customers, whether they are moving to Cranford or Berkeley Heights, to buy real estate, or relocating to California, and I help them with their move.

Sean Carroll, full time Realtor, Part Time Actor

That's right everyone. I am going to be on stage again soon. As many of you know, I am a former public school music teacher. Since I've become a full time realtor, I have wanted to act and sing recreationally again. I am grateful that the Celebration Singers in Cranford, NJ have given me the opportunity to appear in their Madrigal Dinner titled "The Changing of The Guard" at the end of January at Snuffy's Restaurant in Scotch Plains, NJ.

I was so thrilled to be cast as the Sheriff of Notting....that's right...Notting. Why not nottingham you ask? Because this show is a comedic spoof of sorts, poking fun at 20th century pop culture, while incorporating Renaissance and Medieval themes and music. I love my role as the sinister villain. :)

If any of you would like to see your Berkeley Heights/Cranford Realtor try his hand as an actor, I will post ticket information on my website.

Selling my Own Home

Ok...I am going to borrow a topic from my friend Denise Broesler and talk about having my own home on the market, and listing it myself.

I totally agree with Denise when she says that every Realtor should be required to buy or sell his/her own home every so often so that they can remember just how emotional this is.

Tanya and I love home, but we are making some lifestyle changes which include downsizing a bit, mainly because both of our jobs keep us out of the home more than we would like. So, we've put it on the market, and have been getting a LOT of showings. This, of course, is a good thing, as more showings means more possible offers. But man it is emotional! There is so much to do when selling a home, that I am grateful for my knowledge as a Realtor here in Cranford. I know the market. I have priced it competetively, as evidenced by the traffic through our home, and I know exactly what to do from a business perspective, but that does not minimize the wide range of emotions I feel every time I get a call from a Realtor to show the property.

We are very excited to have the professional opportunities we are blessed with right now, and I know we will make our new home wonderful. Right now though, I know that these feelings will help me better serve my clients. The more I understand how my clients are feeling, the better I can serve their needs. Its more than a house....it's a home, and it's a life!

Our home:

Keeping Balance in my Life

As a Realtor, it is very easy to get caught up in the rigor of the job, and leave very little time for the things I enjoy, and for my lovely wife, Tanya. I have made it a point this year to get more involved in the community, by sharing my time and talents with the Celebration Singers in Cranford, NJ.

As a former music teacher and choir director, I have been missing that part of my life lately, and it has greatly affected my serenity and balance. So, I joined this fabulous ensemble, and have met some wonderful people. Will I make real estate contacts? Of course, but that is not why I joined. It is just wonderful to be able to focus on a true passion in my life for a few hours, and make beautiful music with my friends and neighbors in Cranford.

I will keep you posted on concert dates, in case you want to see your Realtor on stage. :)

The celebration singers website is:

www.celebration-singers.org

Buying or Selling Real Estate in the 21st Century

One of the things I learned very soon after I started in the real estate business was that if I wanted to be a successful Realtor, I had to give the customers what they wanted. Consumers in my areas of Berkeley Heights, Cranford, Westfield, and surrounding areas want to get ALL of the information they can, and most of them were searching online. The days of a consumer relying on just the newspaper or traditional print media for information are gone. I realized that the internet was going to be not the future of real estate, but the PRESENT of real estate. In fact, I found that many customers searching for real estate services did not neccessarily want to talk with an agent until they were ready, because they feared those unwanted follow up phone calls which inevitably pressured the customer.

So, rather than withhold information about listings in my ads, or try to convince the customer to buy with me before giving them the information they want, I tried to do things differently. I pledged to myself that I needed to hold myself to the same professional standards that I held for anyone I hired.

For that reason, I immediately bought a blackberry so I could quickly respond to e-mails, started several websites strictly for informational purposes, and promoted my services as heavily as I could on the internet. The results have been incredible. Most of my business comes from past referrals, and new online customers that I would have never had before.
One of the things I hated about more traditional real estate sales was throwing myself at people, or self-promoting ALL the time. I found that the best way to get business was twofold:

1. Promote my services, rather than just myself.
2. Keep my promises and actually PROVIDE the service I advertised.
Without fail, the more that I did these two things, (especially number 2), the more referrals I got, and the more new business was hitting my website every day!

Living in Cranford, NJ and having an office in Berkeley Heights, NJ gives me the ability to not only serve my neighbors here in Cranford, but also stay on the cutting edge of marketing and help my friends and customers in Berkeley Heights, New Providence, and Summit. Before the internet, this type of service would have been quite difficult, if not impossible,