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Just try to close a real estate deal without a well-trained professional

January 29, 2012

I have a lot of respect for real estate agents who earn every penny of their commission.

Just try to close a real estate deal these days without a good agent. The ones who’ve survived these terrible past couple years have worked so very, very hard.

With all the changes in the real estate industry, the agents who have survived had to learn all working with a slew of new regulations in a market full of moving pieces and fraught with uncertainty. It’s like these agents had to go back to college and earn degrees on an accelerated track.

The irony is that while they now know a whole lot more, real estate agents are making so much less. But they are so much more valuable than they used to be. They’re entitled to our respect, and they’ve earned our admiration.

Like I said, just try to close a real estate deal without one.

Starting the New Year off on an optimistic note

By Joe DeKroub

January 20, 2012

As the New Year gets under way, I feel good about what it holds for all of us. I truly believe the economy is improving.

Why do I believe this?

Part of my optimism is anecdotally based. Part of it is based on some key numbers.

Last week, I called an excavator to do some work for me. This same excavator, just a year ago, was begging for work. This year he’s so busy, he can’t get to my job.

What’s keeping him so busy these days?

...

Professionals helping jump start the year

By Joe DeKroub

January 17, 2012

We’ve been through a lot in the past couple years.

As the economy crashed, a lot of baby boomers have themselves having to start over again economically.

The end of the last year was especially difficult. Maybe it was that things are truly darkest before the dawn. Maybe it was a case of economic fatigue. No matter which, how it felt was real; after all, pain is still pain, hurt is still hurt, and loss is still loss.

Things were tough and tensions were high...

RE/MAX hires in-house attorney to better serve clients

By Joe DeKroub

December 6, 2011

Things have never been so complicated in the real estate industry. There is so much paperwork, so many new rules and no straight answers coming from the state’s legal department. The amount of work it takes to close a real estate transaction is daunting. It’s also frustrating.

But rather than being frustrated by the seemingly daily changes in the industry, RE/MAX Platinum has hired an in-house attorney to represent us at no charge to the clients or agents to make sure...

RE/MAX Platinum's growing with addition of commercial franchise

By Joe DeKroub

November 18, 2011

RE/MAX Platinum is purchasing a RE/MAX Commercial franchise, which is an exciting development for us.

This purchase means that we here at RE/MAX Platinum are now part of a growing, thriving commercial real estate network with nearly 400 offices and over 3,000 agents working in 42 countries.

Last year alone, RE/MAX Commercial had more than $5 billion in investment and leasing transactions, which ranks it right up there with the big boys.

It’s a huge step, to...

About John (Jack) Oglesbee

I graduated from Miami Jacobs Business College many years ago, 1959, with an associate’s degree in accounting. After graduation I went to work with a family owned manufacturing company in Piqua, Ohio.

It sounds a little odd when I tell you that I really had only one job until I became a real estate agent. What! I started just out of high school for 10 years learning the first-hand skills of accounting, payroll, inventory, cost accounting, general accounting. In 1965 the company decided it was time to install a computer system. I was fortunate to be asked to learn programming and become manager of data processing. The next 35 years I worked with controllers and president of the company until my retirement in 2000.

After a few years of retirement it was evident I was going to live longer than my money was going to last. I decided to get into the real estate business and took the license exam. The market had already begun the down turn when I started. However, this was a good time to get all the new fresh education needed to work in this changing market. Even the experienced agents had to change their way of doing business and take the new way of the future, the Internet.