Increase the value of your home with these easy steps

Do you want to increase the value of your home? Are you looking to some easy steps? Are you thinking about selling your home? Our brokers have a 5 point plan and some great tips for you to increase the value of your home. Increasing your homes value can be done with little amount of money and time. In our experience the cleanest home sells the quickest. Keeping a clean home includes the following:
-Touching up paint or repainting
-Remove clutter and large furniture items
-Replacing warn flooring
-Clean ever inch of your home, including the windows, fans and yard.
Give us call if you would like help increasing your homes value. Plus once done we can list your home and get you the top dollar you are hoping for.
Urban Settlements 702-524-0597 or 509-944-0979
Call today for a free consultation.

You do these easy steps and your home will sell for top dollar in any market.

More real estate listing (Dirty Rock)

Do you want to get more real estate listings? If you had a listing appointment, would you be ready? As you know, listing opportunities in our business can require quick actions. Being prepared with a listing package will help to get the appointment and lower your stress. Get prepared today to get more listingsListings
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Thanks,
Bryan G.
www.urbansettlements.com

Being Thankful and Grateful

Good Morning,
 
As I sit here today to write my dirt rock. I can help to think about how luck I’m am.  I am so grateful to have such a great people all around me. I want to take this time to thank you all for all your support and effort in making Urban Settlements a successful brand and a company you can feel proud to work with! All of you have made a huge impact in my life.  All in a little different ways! I’m am so grateful to have you there to help me along my journey.  As I think back to just a year ago, I can’t believe how far we have come.   We have made so many little steps in a positive direction that is sometime hard to see our progress. I am so proud to call you all my partners and friends.  I could not do it without you.  You all embody what Urban Settlements is all about, Giving! Thank you for being the giver the world needs.  You are all make a huge difference in the community and people that we serve.
 
Just a quick reflection:  It is very important we are grateful each and every day.  As a driven person, this is a difficult challenge for me.  I have a hard time stopping to reflect on all that is good in my life and instead I think about what needs to be done or had not been done yet.  The days that I make being grateful a priority are the days that life come much easier for me.  The little issue throughout the day are just that little issues. They do not control or determine my attitude or outlook.  I recommend we all take 10 minutes a day to reflect on all that is good in our life, and take the time to be grateful for all the good things.  I would recommend you do this once in the morning and once in the evening.  This will help you start and finish your day on a positive note. After you have done this for 90 days, reflect on how this small step change your outlook on life and then continue doing it for the rest of your life.
 
In Life it is too easy to get caught up in what other are doing and have.  This will help stay centered and focus on you and what is important to you and your life, not what the Jones are doing. By the way:  You are the Jones!
 
Happy Thanksgiving! Give everyone a big hug and cherish the time you have with your family and friends. That is what life is all about. 
 
Thanks again for all the support! 
 
Bryan G.     

The Power of a Budget

I hope you are all doing well. 

This dirty rocks minute is about budgeting. Having a personal and business budget is the key to success.  To explain my point, let me share a story.  In my career, I have had the opportunity to meet a many great people and mentors, one of my favorite mentors came in my life recently.  Let me share their story. 

Back in the 1970’s a young couple got married and start the lives together.  The husband was a dance teacher and the wife worked part time with him.  They earned a total of $12,000 a year. Throughout their life they enjoy the same career and in fact are still doing what they have always done and love to do.  Since the 1970’s to today the most money they made in 1 year was $30,000.  So basically they live in poverty. They would go get the left-over produce from the farms that would not sell due to it being over ripe or it fell off the plant on to the ground. They would can all kinds of goods, fruit, vegetables. They would pack a lunch to work, they did everything they could to make what they had work for them. They understand the concept of budgeting and using a budget to their advantage. For example:  The wife liked to smoke cigarettes. One day she decided she wanted to go on a cruise.  She realized that she could go on a cruise if she quit smoking for 1 year.  So she quit and a year later they went on that cruise. The day she got back from the cruise she started smoking again.  I asked her why, she said there was room back in her budget to smoke, as she was not saving for a cruise.  Plus she like smoking and it was cool back in the 1980’s. Wow, now that is knowing your budget. They shared may other stories about cutting something out of the budget to get something they wanted.  One time she stopped smoking to get a VCR for her husband.  She referred to this portion of their budget as their play money.  She says you always have to have play money to make the budget fun and exciting. There number one rule, was to pay themselves first.  They took a portion of every check and set it aside to invest. They did this every check, just like the cigarettes. They did miss a few months once in a while, but overall they paid themselves first every check. It took them 2 years to save $100 to invest in the stock market, this was their first investment. By they way: they were only able to by one stock.  That stock went up to $1000 in a few years. They took that money and bought a house.  Today they own 17 homes free and clear and are worth over 3 million dollars. Maybe more, every time I talk to them they tell me about another home they own. I don’t know about you, but this blows me away.  That is some budgeting power. 

If you would like some help getting a budget put together please let me know, or if you would just like a couple template.  If you have a newer computer, they also offer programs you could use.  The key is to make your budget realistic.  One that cuts out the smoking for something more productive. Plus having a mentor you can follow and get some guidance along the way.  I hope you find this as powerful as I do.  Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.  Have a great weekend.

Why Use a Realtor Part 3

Spokane Valley Rental

Modern remodeled 2 bedroom 1 bath with attached 1 car garage in the Spokane Valley. This home offers it all, it has an open floor plan with a large family room. The kitchen opens up to the dining room Plus the home has a extra game room/ family room off the kitchen. The living room over looks the grass back yard. Laundry hook up, Refrigerator included.

Being Proactive

Hello,

 

I hope everyone’s morning is going well.  Today’s dirty rock addition is about a new but old buzz word we hear a lot, proactivity, or being proactive. Let start with the definition from Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Definition of proactive

1: relating to, caused by, or being interference between previous learning and the recall or performance of later learning 

·        proactive inhibition of memory

2[reactive]: acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes

 

We normal equate proactivity to our business but not very often to your personal lives. I feel being proactive relates to all aspects of your life.  In yourself, your business, your family, your friends, your health, the list goes on and on! To be proactive is to be on purpose and living in the moment.

 

Are you proactive?  Are you proactively living your life in all aspects?

 

This word is very powerful for me.  I am working on being a more proactive person daily. The easy areas for me to be proactive are: in my work, financial, and physical.  I struggle to be proactive in my relationships, family and self-renewal (faith). These areas take a little more work for me.  For me it is my emotions that get in the way.  In these 3 areas, I have recognized that my emotions get in the way of me being 100% proactive.  For example:  When I’m communicating with someone, and they say something that I don’t understand or is not what I expected them to say. I have to stop and wait to respond.  If I respond immediately, I will respond with emotion.  But if I’m am being proactive, I will respond with some questions to understand their stance and or my miss-understanding. Bottom-line responding proactively is a much better approach for both parties. 

 

I share this with you today, as I believe being proactive is the foundation to any and all success.  Are you reaching your goals?  If not, where can you be more proactive to meet your goals.  Again, this relates to all areas of your life.  If this is a new concept to you, I recommend you pick a few areas and start being proactive today.  Give it a month and see what wonderful things will come your way.

 

I want to step back for a minute.  Being proactive in our business can give us the power to choose how we live our lives and how we service our clients. Let’s think about this statement for a minute.  If you are proactively looking for new relationship that you could foster and bloom. Then over time you will have so much business that you can decide how and when you work.  But if you are not proactive about finding new relationships, then you will have to work with your clients on their schedule and time tables.  Which one would you like?

 

I know we are finishing up the year.  This is a great time to start your proactivity.  Go out and see your relationships, give them something of value. Do this over and over again and again.  Now is the time, they want to see you.  Trust me, they all called and told me! Plus, it will make you feel so good to help and grow your relationship.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions and or would like to talk about his subject one on one.  I’m will love to support you and help us grow together.

 

Have a great day.

 

Tube Time for U!

Investing in U!

Tube Time for U

Did you know the average person watches 5:11 hours of TV a day (statisticbrain.com)? A DAY, that sounds like a lot but when you think about your daily routine, wake up -watch the morning news, get home from school or work pop on the tube for a bit while you relax, eat dinner (67% of Americans watch TV while eating dinner) then watch a movie or your favorite prime time show until bed.  The time adds up, what if one of those hours of TV time was used to watch a video you could learn from?

Documentaries and motivational videos have become more readily available with the advent of streaming devices. It used to require going to the library to check out a video or buying one to watch for this purpose, and let’s admit they were usually pretty terrible. If you have not had the pleasure of watching a self-improvement or training video from the 70’s or 80’s I suggest you give it a whirl for the laugh factor… man we wore terrible clothes back then!

TED Talks are short but boy they do an amazing job of creating inspiration or deep thinking in those short few minutes. The variety of topics is fairly broad as well.  Most of your favorite authors, mentors or speakers have videos on YouTube too, video is so much easier to create and publish now it isn’t hard to find something that speaks to you if you take the time to look for it!

If you have cable most companies (all I think) allow for DVR or an on demand viewing of the shows you like. In my house we like to watch documentaries on history, animals and science. The kids love to watch and we love that they like to watch something other than Mickey Mouse or Paw Patrol every once in awhile!

The next time you log your average 5:11 hours a day consider watching something that you can benefit from, you might find a little inspiration and encouragement!

 

Some links for streaming sites – some may require membership/payment

https://www.ted.com/talks

https://www.youtube.com/

https://vimeo.com/ondemand

https://www.amazon.com/

 

Happy watching!

Janelle Ellison

Statistics found 10/13/17 at http://www.statisticbrain.com/television-watching-statistics/

 

 

Read, Read, Read

Investing in U!

Read, Read, Read

Reading can be one of the best time investments you can make for yourself. Getting lost in a good fiction novel, bibliography or personal/professional development book can be just what we need to relax, refresh and grow. Most if not all of the most successful leaders promote reading as a critical component to their success.  If the biggest, busiest business leaders can find time to make this a priority there is really no reason we shouldn’t as well.

I used to read a lot when I was single and less busy with chores around my home. I would get a book, start it and barely put it down until it was finished.  Why is this something we give up when we get busy? When I started reading again I would read before bed, most of the time nodding off and forgetting what I read, why do we save this activity for when our minds are tired and incapable of retaining what we read? Now I look for opportunities to grab my book (I usually have a few to choose from, it is kind of a problem) when everyone else is doing their own thing and allow myself some “me time” to get lost for a few minutes (or hours). When I have a really good book I take it with me to kid practices, the park and work. Making this a priority for myself has been such a great blessing to my life, I wish I could get back all the years I lost.

If reading is not your thing there are great audio books you can listen to while driving, cleaning or just relaxing on your couch. The library offers ebooks and audible options if you do not want to commit to the cost of buying them. Our digital word provides many options to solve all of our reading reservations, no excuses! You are worth the time and commitment, trust me you will appreciate the time you spent getting lost, improving your historical knowledge or adding to your skill toolbox.

To quote Reading Rainbow “Take a look in a book”!

Here are some links to great reading resources to inspire U:

https://www.audible.com/

https://www.amazon.com/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/

http://www.spokanelibrary.org/

http://www.lvccld.org/

Great Resource for Kid books, with games to test their comprehension… sure wish we had those when I was a kid!

https://www.readworks.org/

I hope you find a love of reading like I did, enjoy your time, U are worth it!

Janelle Ellison

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