I just got back from a three day conference sponsored by the Women's Council of REALTORS. It's one of the oldest professional organizations in the real estate world, started when the good old boys from the National Association of REALTORS wouldn't allow women to join!

Now women are welcomed into all the organizations and men are also members of WCR!

But I didn't so much want to talk about this organization or conference in particular but rather, why it's good for my customers and clients that I attend such events.

First of all, I learn new things! Sometimes I'll pick up a new marketing strategy that will help me with getting a client's house sold! Sometimes I'll pick up information on fraudulent things that are showing up on contracts and that I need to be aware of. There's always something that ends up benefiting both my clients and myself.

A second reason for going to conferences is to meet other REALTORS from all over the country. This helps my clients when they move to other areas. I often already know someone where they're going. And I can make sure they have an agent who will take good care of them! And, if I don't already know someone, the professional organizations I belong to provide potential agents who may be able to help my client. If I don't know someone I will interview them before sending a client to them. I want to make sure first of all that they're a professional I'd feel good about dealing with. I also want to make sure that in terms of background, personality and specialty they're a good match for my clients. There are agents who specialize in senior citizens. I'm not going to send that young family being relocated across the country to work with that agent. It's just not a good fit.

The goal is, since I can't take care of them myself, to get them the same level of service as if I could!

If you know someone moving out of the area, make sure you ask them how they're choosing their real estate agent in their new location. Throwing darts or choosing randomly from a web site probably isn't the best bet! I'm always happy to help them find the right individual.

I occasionally take some grief for not being optimistic enough about the real estate market. The grief never comes from buyers or sellers! It comes from other real estate professionals. And when they say I'm not optimistic enough what I hear is they'd like me to be blindly enthusiastic about everyone's prospects in every market.

I'm not here as a cheerleader! I'm here as professional, sharing my expertise! Whether you're a buyer or a seller, you need to know the truth in order to make wise decisions. You definitely do not need a cheerleader.

I read a blog today that set me off. In it the husband and wife team talk about how they always tell all buyers it's a great time to buy! That's ludicrous!

I had a military family contact me last year about buying in this area. As military folks often do, they move often. There was a strong possibility that they would be in their home for less than two years. There's no way I can advise a family in that situation that now is a great time to buy! I strongly recommended that they rent and that we watch the market closely to see how things would change in the next year. I still believe that was the best advice I could have given them.

If someone is telling you this is a great time to sell your house and there's more inventory available in your neighborhood than there has been at any time in the last 20 years, you should question what facts they're using to reach that conclusion.

Sometimes it's a great time to buy. Sometimes it's a great time to sell. It's fairly rare for it to be a great time to do both!

By the way, for those of you who want me to be more optimistic...

If you're looking to buy and you're going to stay in your new home for more than three years, it's a great time to buy!