REALTOR Andrew Mooers' Maine Real Estate Blog

     Two Lives To Live...The One We Learn With And The Life We Live With After That!  Heard that wisdom on "The Natural" last night!  Robert Redford is an old codger major leaguer a little late in life after set backs.  Are you applying what you learned in your day to day operation? As brokers get older, many resist change and ...wonder why can't we just do it the old fasion way.  Small town life is not so blur paced or frantic.  And that is why many  consider pulling back on the controls and down shifting to a little saner life!  The US has many small population areas where community life is still available.  Where you can volunteer, make a difference and local folks need your help.  You can feel appreciated.  Values still matter and there are still some black and white issues that get passed on down thru the generations!

     Have a couple from Texas who the wife's boss did not want to see move to Maine.  She brought her job with her.  She has high speed internet, fax machine and home office.  She reports to work a few hours later than she used to..with time zone difference. Her calls to Texas got forwarded to Maine.  No one knew she moved from the business side of things. Boss did not lose this trained hard working professional and employee can live in a friendly small town better suited for raising her son. 

     Small town means fewer people. Friendlier. Slower paced. Low cost living, less stress of trying to make ends meet.  Twenty years ago this was not an option.  You decided to give up the big job and start all over.  Some folks are ready for a whole new livelihood.  But what if you don't want to give up the security of a good paying job that you love and are good at? Now folks are free to move about the country with their job, income intact. 

     These telecomuters tell me "Something was missing...they did not like the town they lived in that had been over run with new people and zoning and traffic.  So they bail out..move to small town like the one they used to live in or were raised in.  One exclaimed..."Nothing's missing now...I can see clearly now (Johnny Nash Hit From Early 70's In Background chiming) ....

Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers - Maine Is Calling Your Name, Hear It?

Everything I learned was from the entry level job as mr. potato picker.  From the age of five, children in Aroostook County head to the fields in the darkness of early morning with frost on the ground at times in the fall. Dressed warmly with long underwear, and carrying a water jug and lunch box filled with goodies from mom, the potato warrior decides on how large a section they can handle.  A tractor digs two rows at a time and lays them out flat...with the picker having to shake off some dried up vines..depositing the golden spuds into a basket.  Four baskets make a barrell which weights 165 barrels.  But things go wrong...digger breaks, rain, snow, and life lessons that tell the picker..if you don't want to do this for a living, get an education.  Sixty cents per barrel...big money for a youngster.  What is bought with the money is not bought without careful scrutiny.  I have a daughter Elizabeth that when she was nine picked up a item for $3.60 at Walmart, pondered a purchase but then put the item back on the shelf saying that is not worth six barrels of potatoes! Had she bought it and parted with her money, she would have taken very good care of that purchase.

     The brown truck roars into the parking lot or is double parked with flashers on at the end of the driveway.  Door slides open, a slim brown driver hits the pavement covering alot of ground..looking over balance boxes that they maneuver into your office space.  They smile, they hand you the electronic clipboard to sign with the plastic pen...and you sense friendliness but also that they have miles and miles to go before they sleep tonight.  they can not go home until the truck is empty.  Time sensitive stuff on board.  You sense if you chit chat too long, that demerits for the delay could affect their 401 K plan.  UPS  ..(We Run The Tightest Ship In The Shipping Industry)! In and out of the truck, and do it again, cover alot of the same ground tomorrow.  Clear the hurdles, watch the traffic, take care of that knee that throbs from the in and out of the truck.  Money is good...but they earn it.  Count those steps...make the drop, keep that truck moving.  Be polite, smile but there is a metronome in their head to keep time to.  Brokers need to count their steps...12 hour day...maybe could be a 10 hour day and accomplish the same if you trace your steps for the previous day.  Any slack or waste?  Make a habit of being able to convey the same we can help you attitude the slim UPS driver does...but if the public realizes you are good at your trade as a realtor but also your time is valuable and the buyer/seller/lawyer too want to get you back on the road and not tie you up for long.  Wasting any steps lately?