Tip #16 - Save Time in 2009!I hate to waste time on anything...I am always looking for short cuts and tricks...so here are some that I use most often that I thought I would share with you!  (These are for PC users only) I hate scrolling to the top or bottom of pages to find the navigation links that I need...so I use the END and HOME keys on my keyboard instead. Do you use your right click on your mouse for Copy, Cut and Paste functions?  Sometimes it's easier and faster to use CTRL + C (copy), CTRL + X (cut) and CTRL + V (paste) instead!  (and when working in certain canned real estate sites you run into trouble with pop up blockers, etc...and when your right click won't work, the CTRL + short cuts usually will! Instead of highlighting text and going to the edit menus to make it BOLD ... 01/06/2009

It's sad to bid 2008 adieux; however, on some level I am definitely glad to see it go!  2009 is less than 48 hours away and before you try the recipes for Jello Shooters in this post, you should really focus on what you're going to do the first week of 2009!  I'm here to help, so here's a quick list...       Tip #15 - Checklist for the First Week of 2009 Clean your desk and work area!  (Success can't flourish in a mess...you can't focus on the task at hand when wallowing in chaos!) Make those lists!  Not your generic "To Do" lists, but a full list of your goals for 2009... Now look at that list of Goals and spend some time analyzing them...what do you need to do to get those goals achieved?  How are they going to happen?  Now break that Goals list down into steps...these steps become yo... 12/30/2008

As the holidays quickly descend on all of us, I am making a list of the last minute errands that I need to run before my family holiday begins, but what about the items that need to be taken care of before my business holiday begins?  Have you thought about that, and made an active plan?   Have you called all of your active clients right now and made sure that you have done all that they needed or that you could do, before you switch over to family mode? Have you checked all your files and made sure that none of your due dates fall over the holiday and if they do, have you gotten them in early? Have you changed your outgoing voicemail message so that potential clients know when they can expect to receive a call back, when you will be back in town or in active work mode? Have you created... 12/23/2008

I didn't do anything special, I just offered to help an industry leader / professional that I have the utmost admiration for, at a time when I knew that TIME was something she didn't have.  I managed and organized the Virtual Assistant Chamber of Commerce's annual Virtual Christmas Party this year (believe me, I had some help from other great VAs), since the founder had literally just moved overseas for a short time, and she wasn't sure how much time she would have or what her Internet availability would be.  Also, this same person had asked me if I would modify a blog post, 8 Holiday No Cost Gifts for Colleagues / Service Providers in 2008, that I made here on AR into an article to be published in her newsletter...which I gladly did.  Now this morning I got a wonderful email from her w... 12/22/2008

Well, the industy catch phrase for this past year might be "Real Estate hates 2008!"...but that's ok because this coming year it's going to be "Real Estate Will Do Fine in 2009!"  WHY?  Here's why: Everyone is wiser.  Everyone has seen what greed and excess obtained too easily has cost us as a nation and as a world. Everyone has tightened their belts.  Those remaining in the industry are doing well on less...so when the market starts to turn around and all their hard work pays off...they will have greater profits to show for it because they didn't put so much money out to begin with.  The saying "Work smarter, not harder" applies to spending as well.  If you spend strategically you can spend much less and achieve the same net result. Everyone has more compassion.  We've seen what the pr... 12/19/2008

Meme: Seven Things You Didn't Know About Christine Wade What is a Meme? Mel Aclaro, a friend I met on Twitter tagged me...and now, because of him...you have to learn more about me than you ever really wanted to know :-) The rules for these things are pretty simple in case you want to start your own meme: Create a blog post with a link to the person(s) who tagged you. List these rules in your post. Share seven facts about yourself in the post. Identify seven of your friends or contacts whom you will "tag" to be part of this meme. At the end of your post, list their names and the links to their blogs. Let the friends whom you tagged, know that they've been tagged.   Seven Things You May Not Know About Christine Wade 1. I have THE most beautiful dog in the world!  He is 1/2 Rottweiler, 1/2... 12/16/2008

DRUM ROLL PLEASE! This is my 13th edition of my Tipsy Tuesday posts...that means that I have stuck with it for a quarter of a year!  I have done other blog posts of course, but I committed (in my own head anyway) to doing this tips and advice column / post for at least a year and I am a quarter of the way there!  Thank you all for reading and it would mean the world to me if you would sign up for my blog subscription via email.  You can simply click on the link at the bottom of this post...thanks for sticking with me, I so appreciate your time in reading and commenting on my Tipsy Tuesday posts.  I hope you enjoy this milestone post! Tip #13 - Roadmap to Become a BloggerThere is a great FREE ebook out there, put out by BecomeABlogger.com, it's fairly new...just this month I believe.  Yo... 12/08/2008

This post was inspired by a Google Blog Alert I received from another, non-real estate Virtual Assistant. Her blog post was strictly on showing your appreciation to your Virtual Assistant, and included paid gifts and such...and although I do not want my clients to go out and buy me gifts, that's not really my thing, it did get my brain waves going and inspired this blog post.  So, is there someone out there in the business world that you truly appreciate, but don't want to send a costly gift that they might never use?  Why not give them something that will be out there on the Internet for all time...the gift that keeps on giving...word of mouth!  And don't let them find out about your good deed accidentally - send them a holiday themed email and let them know.  Here are some ideas: Endo... 12/04/2008

My blog is called "The 10 Hour VA" and I am often asked about it.  People think that I am limiting myself to saying that I will only work with clients for a maximum of 10 hours per month, which isn't true.  I will take clients, space permitting, for up to 25 hours per month.  But your name is supposed to attract attention and convey a message, right?  Well, the message that I want to convey, is that I can create a lot of value for my clients in just up to 10 hours per month!  My concept is that clients who partner with me for 10 hours per month, on retainer, have a clear outlined value that they can expect to receive.  I'm not going to punch a time clock, I am not going to be micro-managed and report to my clients every minute of my time - because all that does is waste time, what I am ... 12/04/2008

There's still time! Let me help you get those holiday cards out quickly, conveniently and inexpensively. If you send me your contact list in Excel Format, I will upload it into my contact manager and send out real, high quality, glossy cards to your entire list...printed and mailed with a first class postage stamp. You need to allow 7-10 business days for the cards to arrive, plus 24 hours turn around time for my portion of the services. You can choose from thousands of cards (I will send you a guest username and password to give you temporary access to the card catalog once you email me that you are interested), or send me an image to put on the front for you. I can also create a completely customized card for you for a small additional charge. You won't need to lift a finger once you ... 12/02/2008

Tip #12 - Rainmaker E-CentralI just now finished a training call provided by the Gooder Group, through my association with REVA Roundtable, on Rainmaker E-Central and I have to say that I am impressed!  The extent of content that they provide for both your website and your newsletter / drip email marketing campaigns is really extensive.  Their prices are very reasonable and you have great flexibility within the system, so if you are working with an html literate VA (much like myself) and you want to have your VA doctor up the pieces and really make them your own, that capability is definitely built in...which is awesome, because few systems allow that.  If you are looking for a great content provider / drip email campaign manager that does a wonderful job at capturing and converting le... 12/02/2008

Virtual Assistant Association Challenges Virtual Assistants Worldwide to Donate to Local Food Banks Virtual Assistant industry rises to the occasion to help community food banks meet record number of families and others needing assistance this holiday season. Community food banks around the country are in dire need. With rising food prices and companies continuing to lay employees off in the declining economy, many local agencies are reporting a nearly 50% increase in demand from families needing assistance. Many of these agencies have bare pantry shelves or are otherwise not prepared to assist what many expect to be record numbers this year. Enter the Virtual Assistant community. In view of the rising need and coming holidays, the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce has challenged V... 11/24/2008

Vista residents, Nick (38 yrs. old) and Austin Wade (8 yrs. old) both placed in this past weekend's 40th Annual Lake Elsinore Grand Prix.  Nick, who was in the Vets 30+ Expert class, took 3rd in his class and 3rd overall in his race. (Nick Wade in the red gear above on the Honda)   Austin Wade, who was in the Mini 65CC Novice class, took 1st place in his class and 4th overall in his race. (Austin Wade, #21, in the red gear on the Kawasaki)   I was there to witness it first hand, as I am their wife and mother, respectively.  I was / am very proud of "my boys", and it was great to see that we had so many friends and family turn out to help us keep track of it all and to just be supportive of the boys...and me...because I am always a nervous wreck! Everyone made it out of the race safe and... 11/11/2008

Most of you who read my blog know that I am a Real Estate Virtual Assistant and that I market / brand myself as "The 10 Hour VA" and that I believe in showing "The Value" that I can provide to you in just 10 hours per month.  I do not want my clients counting hours or pennies when working with me, I want them to focus on what I can accomplish for them in 10 hours every month.  I want to build that ongoing relationship, I want to show you the value and have a vested interest in your success as a real estate professional.  To describe my goal better, here's a paragraph from the home page on my website: My concept is that clients who partner with me for 10 hours per month, on retainer, have a clear outlined value that they can expect to receive.  I'm not going to punch a time clock, I am n... 11/10/2008

A few weeks ago I had the chance to participate for the first time in Vistans ROC!  It is a volunteer project in its 10th year in Vista, California.  Each year, a neighborhood is selected by the City of Vista that needs some sprucing up.  This year, twenty-seven homes benefited from the help of OVER EIGHT HUNDRED volunteers!  The volunteers painted the exterior of the homes, landscaped, removed trash.  Volunteers came from local service organizations, business groups, retail stores, schools, and churches. In this photo, several members from the North San Diego Association of Realtors (in the blue aprons) worked on the house in the background.  The ones in pink tee shirts are also affiliated with the local Women's Council of Realtors.  It is amazing to see a team of 800 volunteers come ... 10/23/2008

With the year's first Santa Ana getting ready to blow in this weekend, fire hazzards are on the rise.  There was the fire here in Vista yesterday on the corner of E. Vista Way and Foothill which was fully put out within a matter of hours.  Now today there is the fire burning over by Camp Pendleton...which from my house looks like it is actually two fires combining, but the news doesn't seem to portray that. Remember to keep the 100 feet defensible space around your home, especially at the height of this fire season.  Here is a link to more information on that. Here is the photo from the driveway of my home in the Warmlands area of Vista at about 5:00pm today...those aren't clouds...it's smoke. 10/08/2008

Mt Calavera & Vista Now, we're talking... aaahhhh Vista. This is where I live, and I love this town. It's about 7 miles from the coast; but where we live, we get a nice onshore breeze to keep us cool for most of the year. There are some valleys in Vista where it can get fairly warm, but still our temps are mild for the most part. Lot's of beautiful rolling hills here in Vista, and a sense of rural living in many areas. We've got beautiful horse ranches, great schools, stunning neighborhoods and plenty of agriculture to boot.     Vista is growing and changing everyday! The Vista Business Park is forecasted to grow, and as a result, add thousands of employment opportunities to our community. Our city draws people from surrounding areas to visit our parks, cultural events and historical si... 08/30/2008

Having just received a call from my client's lender, stating that their particular loan program was going to expire by 7/15, requiring them to come up with an additional 2% down they don't have, I am compelled to find them a home they can close escrow on by that time.  Yesterday, I reported market statistics regarding the market in Oceanside, CA 92054 for detached homes priced under $500K.  There were a total of 108, of which 23 were bank owned, 12 were privately owned and an inordinate 55 were short sales.  Today, I am reporting market statistics for Vista, CA 92081, 92083 & 92084 for 4 Bedroom, detached homes under $450K.  An MLS search revealed a total of 59 detached homes, of which 10 are bank owned, only 6 are privately owned and a whopping 43 are short sales. Short sales are typic... 06/05/2008

Tommy Thompson Yesterday I had the privilege to attend a memorial service for a Marine. Colonel Robert A. 'Tommy' Thompson was my fiance's Uncle. He was 92. I never had the opportunity to meet The Colonel. My loss. By all indications, he had a spectacular career, a wonderful life and was the kind of stand-up guy that defined out nation during some of it's proudest moments. Raised in Pennington Gap, VA., Tommy ran away and joined the Marines right after his 18th birthday in 1934, just days after his older brother had been killed in a mine accident - the only job opportunity that awaited Tommy in the dirt poor Appalachians during those days. Three years later, while serving as personal bodyguard to President Roosevelt at Warm Springs, GA., Tommy met my fiance's Aunt Lois who, like Roosev... 04/13/2008

Looking in Moncado Springs in Vista?I was just checking out recently listed homes in Moncado Springs and found a great deal on this FORECLOSURE. Compared to the homes sold in Moncado Springs in the last year, here is the best steal of a deal on this just listed Moncado Springs Home for Sale in Vista. You can also Start your VISTA REAL ESTATE SEARCH HERE   Comparative Market Analysis         Property Type:   Single Family Detached       Status:   Sold SubjectProperty                         # MLS# Address ZIP COE BR Baths ESF LTP List Price LP/ SF Sold Price SP/ SF DOM 1  076075445  1717 CREEKSIDE LANE  92081  11/15/2007  4  2.5  2150  ER  $454,900      $212  $417,000  $194  28  2  081006886  1735 Creekside  92081  2/26/2008  4  2.5  2150  ER  $424,900      $198  $420,000  $195  3  3  07... 04/06/2008