As humans, we tend to forget the true meaning behind a holiday. It's not completely our fought. We get sucked into all the advertisements/commercials that can sometimes distract us from taking time to remember the "Why?" for the holidays we as American's are celebrating 

With today being Memorial Day, it was just a long, 3-day weekend to kick-off the start of Summer to many, but to some American's - it was solemn. Today, families and friends of our fallen soldiers had an extra reminder of their loved one(s) who had given up their freedom so that we might have ours - a selfless thing and one we should honor. 

We should all take time to give thanks and remembrance to our American soldiers. It is their less than 1% of the US population we should never take for granted. I challenge each one of you to do something this week to show appreciation for a soldier or a fallen soldier's loved ones. Whether it be a simple, "Thank You", buying them a coffee/meal, or sending flowers, a little bit goes a long way. 

To my clients/friends/family members who have served/fallen/currently serve, I am grateful and forever in debt to you.

Lauren

This week while at a new construction home orientation for one of my clients, my phone kept dinging uncontrollably. I could feel a sense of anxiety rushing in from my dress pocket where my phone was located - assuming I was missing some earth-shattering event. When I was finally able to check my phone, I saw it was Twitter notifications. My article had gone live - I was officially published! Given English was my least favorite subject all throughout school and I absolutely loathed writing - having an article published was the last thing I would have foreseen. I'm sure all my past English teachers/professors would agree. 

A few weeks ago Inman News/Inman NEXT reached out to me via this Blog and asked if I would be interested in writing a guest post for them - sure, I said! Then, shortly after I had said yes, I wasn't so sure what I had just committed to - really. I didn't have the slightest idea what to write about as I watched the cursor blink on the computer screen. After brainstorming and thinking a bit, I felt strongly to write about my early struggles as a 20-something, newbie agent in hopes at least one agent would find it helpful - or even just read it for that matter. If you so desire, you can check out the article here. 

My journey as a Realtor hasn't and isn't without difficultly, but I am blessed to make a living doing what I love. As far as I'm concerned, the journey has just started. I love the arbitrariness of this industry - never knowing what the next call/text/email will bring. Oh and please - don't let those TV shows make you naive. Being a REALTOR isn't as glorified as #MDLNY/#MDLLA make it seem unless you call glorified standing out in 97 degree weather with humidity at 100% in stilettos and dress while discussing roof lines and life decisions. Gaining a visual? 


Night Y'all!

S/O: In spirit of the #BBMA tonight, this one goes to my unconditionally, supportive Hubs.

With today being Mother's Day, I decided real estate should be put on the back burner for this one post. If you don't agree, click that red "X" at the top right of your screen - bye! 

Oh, good, you're still here. Congrats, you have sense and some intelligence for "yo Momma"- please keep reading. 

This weekend I packed up the car (and my fur child) and headed to the Upstate of South Carolina to spend the weekend with family, but most importantly, my Mom. I had a closing Friday afternoon that lasted longer than the norm, but as soon as I was done, I hit the office to finalize a contract then headed back to pack up the car to make it for late dinner reservations at Sassafras in Downtown Greenville. The dinner was FAB and the company - even better. My Mom and I were joined by my sis and mother-in-law.

Skip forward to Sunday around 10am, Mom and I headed to NewSpring Church. Lysa TerKeuest was the guest speaker delivering the message today. If you haven't ever heard of this woman then we are on the same ship - like the Titanic sized ship - I had not either until today. Lysa was chosen by our Pastor to give the message this Mother's Day. Why? Oh, just cause she has FIVE kids and knows a crap ton - no biggie. Here is an excellent recap of today's message. 

Lysa made me realize and respect my Mom even more. As we age, we get more cognitive of situations and Mother's Day is one of those "situations" because my Mom is one of my people -mess with her and you mess with me. 

Though I'm not a Mom to a human child currently, (just sweet, little fur) I can start to picture the love of a Mother and all that entails. Maybe one day I can completely relate, but until that day comes, here's to the AWESOME Mothers out there! You are loved and appreciated for your selfless dedication to you children. We love you. 

Lauren

For the past few months, I've had the pleasure to work with a pretty awesome couple that needed to sell their current home and find the "grown-up" home. When this couple first approached me at the end of last year, I was really pumped. I wasn't exactly sure why I was so pumped at the time - though now, it's obvious. Here's the story:

They previously had tried to sell their home with prior listing agent(s) when they approached me. I had shown their home to my buyer when it was listed previously. It was such a cute home in a wonderfully, convenient location to all Forest Acres has to offer. AND, it had two full bathrooms which for that area and price range, was a rare find. So naturally, I was confused as to why it sat on the market without an offer. To be honest, I wasn't 100% sure I could do anything different from the prior agents to help get them out of their current home and into the new home. All I knew is that I could provide them with the best service possible. What kind of "service" am I rambling about? Glad you asked! Simple things such as: responsiveness, diligence, implementing a plan, suggesting minor improvements to the home to help it sell faster, and then helping further by recommending contractors for those minor improvements - one that wouldn't take them to the bank! For months, we prepared. We had a plan on when the best time to list their home was, what needed to be done, and what was fine left as is. It's important to say that I can't do all the above myself, they were the biggest part of it. They were proactive sellers willing to make things happen. When I asked or suggested something, they did it. 

We put their house on the market and prayed for all the stars to align. Whelp, they aligned - so perfectly it almost made me question if it was too good to be true. After just 21 days on the market, their house went under contract. Wooo hooo - we all said! Now we just had to get through inspections and they could really celebrate big time...with buying some moving boxes. The moving boxes were bought and the packing began. They closed on their new "grown-up" house on Wednesday and said good-bye to their first home on Friday. Buying a house and selling a house at the same time isn't an easy task - there are contract obligations, papers to be signed, repairs, utilities, time logistics, packing, lending paperwork, closing attorneys, etc. to deal with, but they handled it all like champs.

It is safe to say that we spent a fair amount of time with each other during this process. So much time that we got to know each other on a more personal level beyond a professional, work relationship. Thus, it wasn't highly surprising when after closing on their new home, the Husband asked, "Can we all take a selfie?" and proceeds to pull out his phone to snap the pic. So there we were, after closing in the attorney's parking lot, with their lender (who played the #Selfie song as we snapped pic), a bottle of Grey Goose, myself, and a new reminder why I love my job. 

Cheers Y'all!