Memorial Day

I just returned from the annual Memorial Day Services at our local cemetery, in my little town of

JerseyShore PA (situated in north central Pennsylvania). This year's services were poignant. My favorite

 uncle,Jim Mercury, passed away this past March. Uncle Jim was a proud Navy reservist, and a "Tin Can

 Sailor" who served in both the Atlantic and Pacific during WWII.  For many years, he was an active

participant in the annual Memorial Day services.  This year, the Veteran's Council presented a plaque in

 honor of him to my cousins, his sons. Memorial Day was always important to my Dad, an Army Veteran,

gone now since 1996, as well as this uncle and many others.  As a young person, I spent what seemed

to me to be waytoo many Memorial Days marching up a steep hill in the local high school band,

sweltering in a black wool uniform and standing through what seemed to be interminable speeches. I

haven't been to a service for many years, although, like others in my small town, I make sure all the

family graves are adorned with flowers and looking their best---remembering that this holiday was once

"Decoration Day".  It was a shock to see how aged so many of the veterans participating looked. And, of

 course, the WWII vets are dying daily. Even the Vietnam Vets (my generation) look older, receding

hairlines, paunches, and (on two) still the long ponytails, under the military cap.  I was seated near a

grizzled veteran of WWII and Korea, who muttered under his breath about that 'long hair'.  I wanted to 

turn to him, and remind him (gently) that regardless of the hair, or lack of it, they are there--just as a

few young people in uniform were, scattered through the honor guard. I saw the Mother of a young

man from our church, killed in Kosovo. I admired her for her ability to endure yet another service. She

 too was there, giving witness to her history.

  Today's service was beautiful. It was quintessential small town--small towns do these things so well--

complete with a combined band--greyhaired former band members mixed in with high school kids, all

wearing (to their relief, I'm sure) polo shirts and pants. The sky was blue, the temperatures were in the

60's, the birds sang and the sun shone.  I'll spend the rest of the day doing what I like best--puttering

in my garden, cooking a relaxing meal for my family...but remembering that I can live here, in these

United States, and pursue the career I want, as a female, live the way I wish, worship as I please,

dress as I please, vote for whom I please...because of the sacrifice of so many. Happy Memorial Day!

Real Estate and Education.. inextricably linked!

Real Estate and Education....inextricably linked! (edit/delete)

It's the end of the real estate agent CE  cycle in Pennsylvania, and probably not a minute too soon. 

Speaking for myself, I'm tired of hotel rooms, car trips, restaurant meals, and (sometimes) having to

point out that during CE, returning emails on your smart phone is not allowed. The providers are burned

out too--they all offered lots of courses back in January and February, which were sparsely attended, and 

in some cases, cancelled due to low turnout. Now it is May; license renewal is by May 31st, and everyone

woke up about 5 weeks ago and said: "Gee, I need my CE!"  Classes are pretty much full, and I've had

students show up with colds, flu, and broken bones, just to get the CE done in time.  The variety of

courses offered is great; as usual, some students opted to get the least expensive 'butt time' for their

fourteen hours and paid little, expected less, and hoped they would get out early. So I hear--those are

not my classes. My providers (the schools and associations who hire me)  charge reasonable rates, but

both the providers and I have high standards. And no, there is no getting out early.

Tomorrow I'll be teaching the REBAC eBuyer course, which I just re-wrote with Amy Chorew. It's a fast

and fun 7 hours, very informative and full of ways for agents to improve their business. And not a

moment too soon--according to Inman News, NAR just unveiled their annual report about agents and

income--the bad news is in--agent income is down. Experienced agents, NAR reports, make more money.

That's no surprise to me. I teach real estate in a state, where, if we license 100 people on January 1, by

December 31st of the same year, 50 are gone. By December 31st of the following year, another 25 are

gone, leaving one quarter of our original class. With those odds, you would think new agents would be

hungry to learn all they could---and some are. Sadly, some aren't. They were seduced into this business

by a fantasy--real estate agents drive around in immaculate, late-model cars, show beautiful, well-kept

homes owned by very reasonable sellers to equally reasonable buyers--and then get to keep every

penny of the commission. If you are in the business, you know how far off the mark that is--this is a

tough business. Some REALTORS drive trucks and Jeeps; some houses are more like hovels; some

sellers are downright unreasonable--and some buyers are worse. And finally, after splitting with the broker

and any co-op agents, and paying your own taxes, your own health insurance, your own gas, your own

signs, business cards, MLS dues, etc.--well you get to keep some of that money. So every CE cycle, I

ponder the same things over again--if agents have to take 14 hours of CE anyway--why aren't more

of them taking courses that could actually help them be better at their job? Why aren't they showing up

to learn to price, to learn to market, to learn negotiation, etc. Why are they stuck in the mold of

taking courses whose titles they can't even recall?  In defense of my best students, they aren't all

on this page. I have some great students who will be in class this summer and fall--taking designation

courses like ABR, GRI, SRES, SRS--and getting a 'three-fer' here in PA--broker credit, CE, and part or all of

a designation. Those folks never worry about getting their 14 hours--they always have more than their 14

hours. That's because, even if they have their CE, if a good course comes around--they take it--on the

chance that they'll learn more....and earn more.

Melanie J. McLane, ABR, CRB, CRS, ePRO, GRI, RAA, SRES, 32 year veteran of the real estate industry. Offering training, speaking and consulting throughout the industry, I teach everything from ABR to USPAP. Certified ePRO Instructor. To contact me, email me at: melanie@TheMelanieGroup.com or visit my website: www.TheMelanieGroup.com