Looking Back, Planning Forward
As 2005 comes to a close, I want to reflect on the year that was and the year that will be. Since I now have this outlet, I thought I would share some of my thoughts with all of you. Don’t worry; this will not turn into one of those top 10 lists.
The year that was:
Overall, 2005 was a good year; my friends and family were able to get out of it alive and for the most part in good health. There were a couple of scares throughout the year, like when my son broke his arm, but there were joys as well, like when I found out my wife was expecting and we were getting a daughter. My business revenue increased by 29%, and I was able to add about 20 families to the list of those I help accomplish their goals. I also was able to get my first professional designation Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®) from the College for Financial Planning. Overall, I am well on my way to building the personal and professional life that I want to live.
The year that will be:
In 2006, I am looking to build on the success that I had in 2005 and not repeat any of the missteps. I eagerly await the birth of my daughter and look forward to all the joys that will bring. I look forward to working with my current clients to help them continue on the path towards their goals. And, I look forward to meeting new families that are looking for help accomplishing their goals and dreams.
The engineer and financial planner in me would be remiss if I didn’t spend sometime looking for what could go wrong. In that light, I need to review my budget and look for areas of spending reduction. This will help ensure that I am able to spend through the ups and downs of my income. (Base plus bonus can really be a pain sometimes!) I also need to review my protection coverage. Do I have adequate insurance to protect the things my family cannot afford to lose? I look at things like home owners, auto, life, disability, and health insurance. I reviewed some of that in November when open benefit enrollment occurred, but it doesn’t hurt to look at it again in a comprehensive review. The other thing I need to look at is my savings and investment strategy. I don’t plan on making any major purchases in 2006, so I just need to ensure that I have enough cash on hand to cover any emergencies that may arise. (I’ve already setup my Medical Flex spending account to cover the co-pays and deductibles associated with my daughter’s birth) On the investment side, I need to review my investment allocation and make sure that my investment mix hasn’t drifted since the last time I reviewed it. I don’t typically rebalance unless one asset class is more than 5% over or under weighted. Even then, I may not rebalance depending on where I think the investment world is headed. For example, if I think that international investments are going to out perform US investments, I’ll let them be a little over weighted. I never let any investment class get more than 10% out of spec. That’s taking too big of a gamble. Since most of my investments are in qualified accounts (Roth and Traditional IRAs) I don’t look to harvest losses for tax purposes, but if you have a regular brokerage account you may want to do that. Also, since I use load funds, I make sure all of my rebalancing occurs within the same fund family. That way, I avoid repaying the sales load.
That’s a small sample of what I’m thinking as 2005 comes to a close. I hope you found it helpful. In 2006, I’ll publicly announce what my 2006 resolutions are going to be. Have a great New Year’s and I’ll blog you next year.
2 Comments
In the past few years I’ve been researching who are the successful agents, tried to figure out why top agents are top agents.
Do they have a common educational background? No. Good ones have high school diplomas, masters and doctorates. No correlation.
Similar previous careers? No. One of the best agents I know used to teach baton twirling. I doubt if I could find a lot of those if I tried! I’ve had waiters, teachers, high powered executives and stay-at-home Moms who were all very successful.
Common interests? No. Other than eating, (which we Realtor-types seem to do exceptional well) the interests are widely diverse.
After 13 years in real estate sales and management, I’ve only found a few constants.
1. Successful agents treat the real estate business as a business. They actually have a business plan and a budget. They understand that you have to spend money to make money. They know how many sales they need to make the income they require and then they figure how they’ll get from here to there. They plan in advance and execute the plan.
2. They actually work when they work and play when they play and take a day or two off every week. (Just like a “real job!”)
3. They have fun and enjoy selling real estate but know that it won’t be forever.
4. They buy a lot of real estate for investment when they see good deals because they know that no one gets rich selling the stuff. You get rich owning it! Financial independence gives one a lot of freedom, autonomy and a certain air of confidence that smells like success.
. . . And people like to do business with successful people so they do more business!
That’s why I choose this realtor http://www.realtydirectorymakers.com/ for my future
Comment :: September 12, 2007 @ 11:43 am
When going to buy or sell a home, your first step should be finding a honest and hard-working realtor.
When going to buy or sell a home, your first step should be finding an honest and hard-working realtor. You can find a real estate agent by keeping an eye out for advertisements, calling your local real estate broker, or through the internet.
The role of a real estate agent is to represent your best interests in a real estate transaction. They work off of a commission, normally 6% of the sales price of the home. In most cases, that commission is split equally between the realtor representing the buyer and the realtor representing the seller. For a person buying a home, the service of the real estate agent is free, because commission is paid by the seller. The buyer, however, is responsible for most of the closing costs. The closing costs will be explained to you by your realtor and will be on the documents you sign when you go to the title company. Closing costs can also be negotiated on during the contract process.
The real estate agent, through their broker, has access to all of the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) listed homes in your area of interest. If you are a home buyer, the realtor can provide you with information about homes for sale that meet your criteria. They will then bring you to these homes and let you inside to see them. If you are selling a home, the realtor will list your home in the MLS, post a “For Sale” sign in your yard, and hold open houses to attract buyers. Be wary of discount realtors that offer to list your home for a lower commission. Studies show that, in most cases, your home will stay on the market longer and you end up selling it for a lower price than what you intended.
A real estate transaction is a complicated process that involves many steps and is best done with the help of a trained, licensed professional. A realtor can save you the headache of dealing with the other party in the sale, getting together the contract, and submitting all the documents to the title company. So when you are ready to buy or sell a house, contact the local real estate agent.
I had come to know these kind of information through the realtor site which I have recently visited www.realestateinwoodstock.com
This site shows much useful information about the real estate business
Comment :: October 1, 2007 @ 22:55 am