Random Thought Particles from a Real Estate Sales Manager in The Woodlands, Texas - Ken Brand, Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors

FINAL WEEKEND FOR THE ASID SHOWHOUSE IN EAST SHORE - The Woodlands presents the 2008 ASID (The American Society of Interior Designers/Texas Gulf Coast Chapter) Showhouse, built by Post Homes, Ltd., at 6 Georgian Row in East Shore.  East Shore is situated in the “Garden District” of The Woodlands Town Center, bordering 200-acre Lake Woodlands.  Located near shopping, dining and entertainment venues along The Woodlands Waterway®, East Shore provides an idyllic setting for homes rendered in Classic American architectural styles. The ASID Showhouse highlights the Classic American theme through its Southern Colonial style. 

This is the final weekend to visit the Showhouse open now through Sunday, November 23, 2008 from 10 am – 4 pm. Each room of this magnificent $2.6 million estate, situated in the enclave of Colonial Park in East Shore, has been designed by a different ASID member, creating the ultimate Showhouse. ASID is selling the home’s interior furnishings and accessories, valued at $1 million.

Admission to the home is $15 at the door or $12 in advance through ASID.  For advance tickets, call 713-626-1470, or you may purchase tickets at The Woodlands Homefinder Center, located at 2000 Woodlands Parkway. The ASID Showhouse is a benefit for the Gastro Esophageal Cancer Foundation, Inc.

Pictured in the top photograph is the luxurious parlor of the ASID Showhouse. In the bottom photograph, imagine doing your laundry in this elegant utility room.

THE WOODLANDS CUSTOM HOMES HOSTS OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND – While taking your clients to visit the ASID Showhouse, visit 21 custom homes open Saturday and Sunday, November 22-23 from 10 am – 4 pm, hosted by The Woodlands Custom Homes.  Homes on tour were built by Tommy Bailey Custom Homes, Hahnfeld-Witmer-Davis, Leigh Custom Homes, Marshall & O’Connor Building, Mesa Verde Homes, Keith Morgan Custom Homes, Partners in Building, Post Homes, Rueby Custom Homes and George Weaver, Inc.

One of the homes on the tour is at 55 West Double Green Circle (top photograph) in the neighborhood ofKirkpatrick Glen in the Village of Sterling Ridge. Built by George Weaver,  this Old World-style home includes 5,425 square feet of living space, five bedrooms, a 15 X 28 bonus room upstairs, three fireplaces including a 2-story stone fireplace with wood beams in the living room, five full baths, two half baths and a three-car garage. Ready for move-in, this home is priced at $1,005,200.

Also ready for move-in and on the tour is 31 Player Point (bottom photograph) in the neighborhood of Player Point in the Village of Sterling Ridge. This Country French-style home, built by Rueby Custom Homes, features a stone and stucco exterior, 5,059 square feet of living space, five bedrooms, five-and-a-half baths, upstairs media room off the game room, rear covered veranda with cathedral ceiling, summer kitchen with fireplace and a three-car garage.  This home is priced at $1,095,000. 

For more information on the Open House or for a detailed map, contact Robyn Brand @ The Woodlands Custom Homes Sales Office at 281-367-4550.  

SO FAR, 75 FAMILIES REGISTERED FOR “HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS” PROMOTION -75 families have signed up for “Home for the Holidays” a program that awards those who purchase selected new homes in The Woodlands by December 31, 2008 a $2,000 Woodforest National Bank MasterCard and a one-year family membership to the South Montgomery County YMCA. The home must close by February 28, 2009. “Home for the Holidays” also offers builders’ incentives including Huntington Homes’ (pictured) offer of $50,000 off the sales price of selected new homes. To register for the program, visit The Woodlands Homefinder Center.  Information is also available online at www.thewoodlands.com.

NEW HOLIDAY SONGS AT THE FOUNTAINS AT WATERWAY SQUARE - In keeping with the holiday spirit, The Fountains at Waterway Square (pictured) have been programmed with a variety of festive holiday songs. 

The new songs will run November 22, 2008 thru January 5, 2009 and include the favorite holiday classics “Frosty the Snowman” by Gene Autry, “Feliz Navidad” by Jose Feliciano,“Winter Wonderland” by Tony Bennett, and“Jingle Bells” by Canadian Brass. The shows will be from 6 pm to 10 pm on weekdays, and 2 pm to 10 pm on weekends.

Waterway Square, located along Lake Robbins Drive between Waterway Avenue and Woodloch Forest Drive, features a 120-foot long, 10-foot high stone water wall where ribbons of water flow down seven terraced levels to a lower pond with 20 cascade jets.  The water wall is flanked by stairs and stepped water cascades, all leading to an upper fountain containing 80 jets and three boomer jets that shoot water up to 75 feet high.  The water jets, waterfalls and cascades are designed to create a variety of displays and effects ranging from the subtle flow of water over a stone wall to dancing columns of water, to intense bursts of water shooting several stories into the air. Waterway Square features seven speakers on the upper level and 12 speakers on the lower level.  For more information on the fountains, visitwww.TheFountainsAtWaterwaySquare.com.

OUTSTANDING ENTERTAINMENT LINED UP FOR NOVEMBER 22 -  Hayes Carll,  (top photograph) a native of The Woodlands, headlines a great lineup of entertainment at this year’s Lighting of the Dovesand International Winter on The Waterway (iWOW)scheduled for Saturday, November 22, 2008 on The Woodlands Waterway®.  The events open the holidays in The Woodlands and are scheduled from 3 pm to 9 pm. The two events feature the arrival of Santa Claus, a snow hill, fireworks and arts, food, entertainment and the opening of the largest seasonal outdoor ice skating rink in the Southwest, at a new location on Six Pines Drive and The Waterway.  The Ice Rink™ (middle photograph) in The Woodlands celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Other notable acts include:  Grupo Batachá (bottom photograph), featuring Latin rhythms and Caribbean beats; The Houston Balalaika Society, a group of classically trained musicians performing Russian and Eastern European music on traditional folk instruments;The Ballet Folklorico Azteca of Houston, a traditional Mexican dance troupe; The McTeggart Irish Dancers, a lively group of Celtic dancers; Yosakoi Japanese Dancers, members of The Woodlands High School Japanese Club that mix traditional Japanese dance with America hip hop; Martin Burniston’s choir; and A Tuba Christmas, a group of professors, teachers and amateur musicians who gather to play for the love of music, and who all have one thing in common…they all the play tuba. For a complete schedule, visit www.HolidayInTheWoodlands.com.

77381  77382  77386  77384  77380

Ok…”Be Gone” is a bit dramatic….if you exhibit Excuse Tourette Syndrome in my presence, you don’t have to leave, but I don’t want to hear it.  Unless you’re a competitor…then I might encourage you and your quacking demons.

Michael Starver shared just shy of 18 hours of Leadership Insight with our Prudential Gary Greene, Realtor management team.  If you ever have an opportunity to learn from him, do it!

Michael coined a phrase I’ve never heard before.   Hearing it spazed me to shoulder rocking laughter. 

Here it is:  Excuse Tourette Syndrome - The uncontrollable tic of spewing verbal excuses. 

Excuse Tourette Syndrome sample symptoms:
I don’t have time…
It doesn’t work…
This is the slooowwww time…
I don’t know how…
Computers and I don’t get along…
I don’t understand technology…
Nobody is buying…
Nobody is selling…
I don’t want listings because they aren’t selling…
Everybody’s afraid to buy…
I wouldn’t buy now…
I wouldn’t sell now…
I tried it once and it didn’t work…
People don’t like it when I call…
I don’t like to call…
People don’t like email…
I don’t do it because I don’t like it…
Open Houses don’t work…
Opportunity time doesn’t work…
Direct mail doesn’t work…
I have to get organized first…
I have to get ready to get ready first…

Too funny, right.  I know these aren’t yours, but you’ve heard others mutter them right?

So the deal is, when I catch myself starting to think or out-loud spew excuses, I need to arrest my runaway bad attitude and take action.

If you have any Excuse Phrases to add to the mix, leave me a comment.  I’d like to create a comprehensive list of symptoms.

Rock on friends.

    Mushroom Magic  

Originallyuploaded by Bald Monk

I’m an Apple iPhone fanboy….sorta.

No, actually I am all the way. This new Google Voice Search application is free and works like magic mushrooms. And it’s FREE.

What a wack-a-doo world we walk on, auto makers beg for bailout, wall street bleeds out, consumers pucker like…..ummmm…you know what I mean, and Google give us FREE jaw dropping voice search.

Found out about it HERE - Go get it.

ASID SHOWHOUSE 08 ATTRACTS HUNDREDS TO EAST SHORE – More than 500 people attended last weekend’s opening of the ASID 08 Showhouse, a $2,675,000 Southern Colonial home by Post Homes, Ltd. in East Shore, the “Garden District” of The Woodlands Town Center. The magnificent 8,944-square-foot home has been designed by over 20 members of the American Society of Interior Designers Gulf Coast Chapter, with a different designer creating each room.  Pictured here is one of the elegantly appointed upstairs bedrooms. The home, located at 6 Georgian Row in the Colonial Park neighborhood of East Shore, also features sustainable materials, including low-VOC paints, flooring made from wine barrels and recycled glass tiles. All of the furnishings and designer accessories, valued at $1 million, are for sale at the Showhouse.

The home will remain open through Sunday, November 23 from 10 am – 4 pm Wednesdays through Sundays.  The home is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Tickets are $15 at the door, benefiting the GastroEsophageal Cancer Foundation, Inc. For more information, visit www.asidtgcc.org/events.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW FOR A HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE HOSTED BY SOUTHERN MARK – Southern Mark Homes and The Woodlands Development Company will be hosting a Holiday Open House at the New Orleans Cottage model, located at 45 North Bay Boulevard in the Mid-Lake enclaveat East Shore on Thursday, December 4 from 5 – 7 pm. Carolers, horse drawn carriages, holiday hors d’oeuvres and libations, gifts and door prizes will add to the festive fun. Mark your calendars now for this delightful day in December!

A BIG THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO HELPED WITH CARE PACKAGES FOR “HOLIDAYS FOR HEROES” – A big thank you goes out to all the adults and children who volunteered their time on Veteran’s Day to help with care packages for shipment to Montgomery County soldiersserving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The “packing party”, hosted by The Woodlands Homefinder Center with dinner provided by Congressman Kevin Brady, was the culmination of theWomen’s Council of Realtors® (WCR)campaign to collect items for 1,000 care packages to ship overseas in time for the holidays.

A special thank you to Stephanie Carlton of WCR for chairing this committee, and to Congressman Brady for his generosity!

HUNTINGTON HOMES AND PARTNERS IN BUILDING FEATURED IN PLAYER TRAIL – Visit the new luxury patio homes in the neighborhood of Player Trail in the Village of Sterling Ridge, offered by Huntington Homes and Partners in Building. Situated near the Gary PlayerSignature golf course, the homes are priced from the $600’s to more than $1 million. Both builders are offering substantial discounts or upgrades on selected homes during the “Home for the Holidays” program.

Huntington Homes features distinct floor plans with varied elevations. These one-, one-and-a-half and two-story designs include 3,075 – 4,285 square feet of living space, three to four bedrooms, two-and-a-half to four full baths with two half baths, and two- to three-car tandem garages. Pictured is Plan 3818, with 4,200 square feet, four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, three living areas, and a three-car tandem garage. Huntington Homes is offering $50,000 off the sales price in the “Home for the Holidays” program. For information about Huntington Homes in Player Trail, call 281-367-7766.

Partners in Building offers unique designs, ranging in size from 3,085 – 4,291 square feet. These one-, one-and-a-half and two-story homes include four to five bedrooms, three-and-a-half to five-and-a-half baths and two- to three-car garages. A media room, upstairs game room leading to a balcony, and study are attractions found in many of the homes. Some residences offer views of the 10th fairway of the Player course. Partners in Building is offering $20,000 in designer upgrades with a new home purchase in Player Trail in the “Home for the Holidays” program. 

2008 HOLIDAY IN THE WOODLANDS EVENTS ANNOUNCED – Four wonderful family oriented events are scheduled for the holiday season in The Woodlands Town Center. These holiday traditions are sure to put you in the festive spirit:

• 26th Annual Lighting of the Doves Festival – November 22 from 3 – 9 pm atTown Green Park along the banks of The Woodlands Waterway®. This year’s festival is filled with the lighting of the 12 giant doves, numerous interactive booths, games, musical and dance performances and a special  appearance by Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves. Visitwww.lightingofthedoves.com.

• International Winter on The Waterway (iWOW) – November 22 from 3 – 9 pm along The Waterway®. A showcase of countries from all over the world and their unique holiday traditions, iWOW will feature international foods, arts and crafts, music and entertainment. Visitwww.iWOWinTheWoodlands.com.

• The Ice Rink at The Woodlands Town Center – open daily November 22, 2008 – January 19, 2009, with a preview opening November 15 and 16. The Ice Rink is celebrating its 10th Anniversary with a new location off Six Pines Drive along The Waterway®. Hours are Monday – Thursdays, 3 pm – 9 pm; Fridays, 3 pm – 11 pm; Saturdays, 10 am – 11 pm and Sundays, noon – 7 pm. For more information, call 281-419-5630 or visitwww.TheWoodlandsIceRink.com.

• Winter Wonderland – Beginning November 22, 2008 through January 5, 2009, you can follow the pathways lighted with storybook displays leading toThe Ice Rink. Wander among a fantasyland of magical, lighted toy soldiers, elves, doves, musical angels and snowmen. The display, sponsored byDonoho’s Jewellers, is free and open daily from dusk until 11 pm. Visitwww.TheWoodlandsWonderland.com.

For more information on all events, presented by The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau, visit www.HolidayinTheWoodlands.com or call 281-363-2447.

THE CYNTHIA WOODS MITCHELL PAVILION TO REMAIN HOST OF 19TH ANNUAL GE “RUN THRU THE WOODS” – The South Montgomery County YMCA has announced that although The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion has closed for the season due to damages from Hurricane Ike, it will still be the host site of this year’s annual GE “Run Thru the Woods” charity event.  The race will be held Thanksgiving morning, November 27 at The Pavilion. Race times for the event are set with the 1 Mile Children’s Racefor ages 12 and under beginning at 7:45 am, the 5 Mile Race at 8:15 am, the 3 Mile Teen Race for ages 12-17 at 8:20 am and the3 Mile Walk at 8:25 am. For more information about the race or volunteer opportunities, contact Roxanne Davis at 281-367-9622 orrdavis@ymcahouston.org. Online registration is available at www.runthruthewoods.org.

SIGNATURES COMMUNITY AUTHOR SERIES TO FEATURE ANTHONY BOURDAIN – The Signature Community Author Series, sponsored by The John Cooper School’s Fine Arts Council will feature Anthony Bourdain, dubbed the “bad boy of cuisine” at its next event on Friday, November 21 at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. The event begins with registration and book sales from 10 – 11:30 am; an Underwriters Private Reception and Chair Signing with Bourdain from 10:30 – 11:45 am; 12 pm lunch; and 12:30 – 1:45, Bourdain speaks. The executive chef at New York’s famed bistro, Les Halles,and host of the popular travel and food series, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on The Travel Channel,Bourdain is also the author of three crime novels and the bestseller, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. Bourdain has even shared his insights about team-building and crisis management with theHarvard Business Review. For more information and to make reservations, visitwww.johncooper.org.

PLANS UNDERWAY FOR ANNUAL “FESTIVAL OF THE TREES” BENEFITING THE JUVENILE DIABETES FOUNDATION – The 2008 “Festival of the Trees”fundraising event benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has been set for Saturday, November 15 at 7 pm at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. This is the third year for this festive event where magnificent Christmas and holiday trees professionally decorated by Rhonda Clauss of Woodlands Interiors will be auctioned off to help raise funds for JDRF. In addition to heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cocktail reception, guests this year will enjoy an added “Casino” experience – including gaming tables, roulette wheels, poker, and slot machines to further the proceeds for this great cause. JDRF is the leading charitable funder and advocate of Type 1 diabetes worldwide. For more information or for sponsorship and tickets purchases, contact Amy Cox at 281-216-2516.

THE WOODLANDS REPERTORY THEATRE PRESENTS THE SOUND OF MUSIC – The Woodlands Repertory Theatre, part of the Class Act Productionsfamily, will present Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ever-popular The Sound of Musicon November 20, 22 & 23 at 8 pm and November 23 at 2:30 pm at the Nancy Bock Center for Performing Arts at McCullough Junior High School, 3800 South Panther Creek Drive in The Woodlands. Tickets may be purchased online atwww.thewoodlandsrep.org or by calling 936-273-3395. Individual tickets are $20, and groups of 10 or more are $15 each.

MORE UPCOMING EVENTS:

• The 10 for Texas 10-mile race and first annual One 4 Texas kids’ fun run through The Woodlands will take place on Saturday, November 15 at 7:30 am. For more information, visitwww.thewoodlandsassociations.org.

• Santa and his elves come to The Woodlands Mall beginning at 10 am on Saturday, November 15. Santa will be nestled into his Studio in Future Court across from JCPenney. There is no charge to visit, and every little visitor will receive a free coloring book. Photo packages start at $15.99. Even your four-legged friends (dogs and cats only) can visit Santa on Monday evenings beginning at 6 pm November 24 through December 15.

• Learn how to get out of debt and stay debt free at Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University presented by the South Montgomery County YMCA. The course runs from December 2 through March 10. A free Preview Class is being held Saturday, November 15 from 7 – 8:30 pm at the Branch Crossing Y. For more information, callDeAndra Edwards-Stanley at 281-367-9622, ext. 231.

• Three-year old cancer survivor Sean Montemurnos and his family will be the special guests at Market Street’s 2008 Tree Lighting Ceremony on Thursday, November 20 at 6 pm. Sean, who was diagnosed with cancer of the bladder at the age of two and endured 42 weeks of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation, will be this year’s official tree lighter. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

• The Woodlands Christian Business Network (WCBN)will host the first annual free “Thanks for Giving” Concert in the Park on Sunday, November 23 from 1 – 4 pm at Northshore Park on Lake Woodlands Drive. The Christian concert will feature bands Ember Glow, Pathfinders Praise and Worship Band and Love Street Light Circus.

Ok.  First. I know you know.

Why are home buyers and home sellers sitting frozen on the fence?  Depending on your zip code, there could be as many reasons as…..well as there are zip codes.  If you’re a real estate agent in the Greater Houston Area or The Woodlands, Texas, here’s my half glass full opinion.

Thankfully, our local economies are relatively strong, but Wall Street High Finance Hucksters have RickRolled main street and the cold acid of Post/Present Traumatic Syndrome is searing our attitudes.  Today, we all feel the strangle of fear, the cold sweat of uncertainty and the stymied frustration of wondering….what shoes will fall from the sky next. Today we are living in a physic-pain minefield.  Next month, who knows…hope springs eternal and we’re told help is on the way.  Then again, “hope” is a crappy strategy…so let’s move on. 

Today, (in our local markets) we aren’t seeing people lose their jobs and foreclosed homes are not swamping our real estate market. I believe what we are experiencing is what my friend Jeff Sexton shared in his recent blog post, “Right now, people’s psychic pain threshold has dipped below their real level of expendable cash – they can still afford some extra-budgetary things, but parting with the cash feels a lot more painful.”  

With his blog post, Jeff steps into the dank-dark room of doom, fear and physic pain, reaches above his head, grasps the dangling silver chain and yanks it, illuminating the reality of Physic Pain and How To Bridge The Gap.  For details you’ll want to read his forehead slapping ah-ah blog post…read it now, two or four times. Go ahead, I’ll wait on you.

Thanks for coming back.  For my fellow career minded, service oriented Realtor Icons, please consider how you might:

1.  Deepen trust.

2.  Magnetize and fortify how you’re positively perceived.

3.  Evaluate and recreate what messages you whisper and yodel.

4.  Shun the lame language of Ad Speak and hug the Language of Intimacy.

5.   Deliver thicker, juicier, irresistible services (remember, we live in an experience/theatre economy)

I don’t remember who said, “To become something you’ve never been before, will require you to do things you’ve never done before.” , but amen to that!  What will you and I begin doing that we’ve never done before?

If I can help with anything, give me a call:  Ken Brand 832-797-1779  Or if you have any bright ideas for me, I’d love to hear those too.

PHOTO CREDIT

Download .PDF Agenda >>Realtor Icon - Team Meeting Notes, November 11th, 2008 / Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors in The Woodlands, TX

New Listings Taken

Individual Top Performer, Units & Dollar Volume – Courtney Foster

New Listings Taken – 2 Or More

Courtney Foster, Brad Carlson, Barbara Robin,

Linda Startz & Andrew Sweatman - 2

New Sales Written

Team Top Performers,  Units – Michele Flory & Co.

Individual Top Performer, Units -  Courtney Foster

Individual Top Performer, Dollar Volume – Brad Carlson

New Sales Written – 2 Or More

Michele Flory & Co., Courtney Foster & Brenda Malone – 3

Brad Carlson, Melanie Aubrey, Jenny Roltsch & Andrew Sweatman– 2

New Sales Written - $500,000 Or More

Brad Carlson - $1,00,000+

Michele Flory & Co. - $800,000+

Tracy MacEwan & Jenny Roltsch- $600,000+

Closed Sales

Individual Top Performer, Units & Dollar Volume – Jenny Roltsch

Team Top Performers, Units & Dollar Volume – Michele Flory & Co.

Thanks to everyone for your personal and professional contributions.  As the holiday season blooms, I want to wish you and yours a safe and enjoyable season.  I also encourage you to be proactive, take this time to reach out, recharge, reconnect and deepen your relationships with the important people in your personal and profession lives. 

You’re the best, Rock ON!

You can download the .PDF version HERE

Up 5:47am early, checking email, Tweets, Facebook and my “authors hand picked” digital newspaper (aka Feedreader).  This blog post screeched my attention to a brow raising ponder.  

Are YOU a career minded Realtor?  I implore you to read and ponder this post from Lani Anglin-Rosales, she’s the New Media Director at