We think the economy is tough...

Hi,

I am lucky enough to have a traveling family. Every holiday season for the last 5 years my extended family makes it's way across the globe to a random destination. Past years have included, Mexico, Ireland and Argentina. This year, my family went to Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The first question you probably have is, "Why would you go to Vietnam?" I have an answer for that, my grandmother had never been there before, and she wanted to go. So there.

After 10 days (12 days total including travel) of tours, food, elephant rides, and temples, I left Southeast Asia with a life experience under my belt. I don't want to pretend that my trip was amazing fun when it really wasn't, but I'll merely acknowledge the fact that it was an experience I needed to have and a very interesting one at that. I'm happy with the opportunity to go there but I come back feeling fortunate for the things I have here in the Bay Area.

Our economy is going through a rough patch right now, more than a rough patch most would say. I walked through the streets of Cambodia and stared in disbelief at entire buildings completely empty. Cambodia is a place that relies very heavily on tourism and investors from around the world. When I asked our tour guide what was up with these empty buildings, he informed me that they were built a few years ago by world investors with hopes of sales. The economy crashes, building stops, now they have full buildings just sitting there empty going to waste. This isn't just one building either...they are everywhere. The amazing thing about these empty buildings is that they are still trying to sell them. Asking price for one of these condos is almost 500k USD!!! In Cambodia!! No wonder they are empty. Apparently, that is what the builder needs to stay afloat on these condos. Amazing...I was amazed.

Then I go to Vietnam. No empty buildings there. 10 Million people and nowhere to put them. I saw more motor scooters in one day than I had in my entire life up to that point. Too many people, lots of smog, too hard to cross the street...some of the many challenges I faced while in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

In the end, I came to the conclusion, that although times are tough in the Bay Area right now, we are lucky enough to strike a happy medium of good people in an area that is not too crowded and not too empty.

I know that I am where I want to be when I am landing at SFO and after looking around for a few minutes, think to myself, it's good to be home.

Conor

P.S. The pictures above include a trip to Halong Bay (North Vietnam,) scooters, the family, the snake at Mekong Delta, and Beung Melia Temple ruins in Cambodia. After re reading this post, I didn't mean to give off the feeling that I didn't enjoy my trip, very much the opposite in fact. It was an amazing experience as a whole with a bunch of cool little experiences on the way. I just wanted to convey the fact that, I feel fortunate to be where I am today.

Cell Phones

It's amazing to me how important cell phones are to people.

It drives me nuts to watch people swerving around in their car, and as you pass them you see that they are either A) on their cell phone or B) just a bad driver.

What happened to the hands free law? I am pretty sure I see more people talking on their phones while driving now, than I did before. I know for a FACT, that my driving capabilities decrease significantly if I am trying to talk on the phone and drive at the same time. I am not alone in this venture and can't believe everyone doesn't have some sort of headset. You can get them for like 15 bucks on the internet and really, what's 15 bucks for a little peace of mind, knowing you don't have to throw your phone on the ground if a cop drives by? Not to mention, it's easier and safer! Sometimes I beep at people and motion at them to get off their cell phone while they are driving, yes, I am that guy.

Now that I've vented, I will get to the point of this post. My cell phone died yesterday because I needed a new battery. My first thought was "OH NO! What am I going to do without my cell phone!?!?" Then 5 min later, after I composed myself from my near meltdown, I sent an email out to a few people that might try to get a hold of me during the day and just let them know that I would be without a cell phone for the day and if they needed me they could call me on my work phone or send a quick email. Wouldn't you know it, the whole problem was solved.

It's was definitely odd not having my phone in my pocket for the day but in the end, I found it kind of nice to know that I wasn't at every person's beckon call every second of the day. So I checked my cell phone voicemail every hour and unsurprisingly, I made it through the entire day unscathed.

My cell phone works again. Call me anytime.

Pictures

Hi,

So I was having a conversation last night with my friend Sandy. She is a regular blogger and suggested I start posting some pictures to go with my stories. Apparently most people have ADD so from this point on I will start putting some pictures up.

I have already added some pics to the story "poop in pants," It was one of my oldest posts so you will have a go a ways back to see them. Next week I will post some pictures of my new house, which I am very excited about.

Conor

Bought a House

Hi!

Today is a good day, I bought my very first house. I still have an escrow period to go through so by no means is this a done deal but either way, at least the cogs are moving.

This is a big step for me because I've spent almost the last year of my life convincing people that that this is the perfect time to buy. All the while, I was still renting a house. I felt a little hyporcritcal not following my own advice!

Either way, it is a 3 bed, 1 bath house in Pleasant Hill and I couldn't be more excited to get in there are start making it my own.

Escrow will last 3 weeks so hopefully I will have another update sooner rather than later!

Conor

Recognition

Hi Everyone,

About 3 weeks ago I sold a house to my friends Dave and Michelle Levie. Dave has been a buddy of mine since we met at the University of Arizona and through Dave I of course met his wife Michelle.

Since the offer was accepted (they bought a house in Walnut Creek,) Dave has been very bummed that I didn't mention him on my blog. I think the quote went something like this...

Dave: So Conor, I see you haven't updated your blog in a while.
Conor: Yeah.
Dave: I was a little bummed that you didn't say something about selling a house to one of the coolest guy you know, or something along that line. Not even a mention, jeez.
Conor: Yeah, I will make sure to get on that.

So to one of the "coolest guys I know" Congrats on getting an amazing house. I couldn't be more excited for you and Michelle and I can't wait to see you make the place your own.

Conor

Close of Escrow

Well today is a good day. I have officially closed my first Escrow! Although I have been working very hard it wasn't until today that I finally felt like a legitamate Real Estate agent.

Although it seems like the hard part is actually finding a place for someone, it turns out that going through the month long escrow period is the hardest part of selling a house. Not only are there piles of paperwork but there is negotiating, inspections, reports, not to mention waiting around for the lender to approve the loan. It is a trying experience but well worth it in the end. I was so happy today to hand over the keys to my buyer and be a small part of them buying their very first house.

On another good note, the weather is warm and it appears Spring is finally here...although I could definitely do without the seasonal allergies.


Conor

Writing the Offer

It's been a while since I have posted a blog. I have to keep reminding myself to update this site but I have actually been pretty busy which is great.

Last week I wrote my first offer. I have been a part of plenty of contracts and deals but this was the first offer that I wrote on my own with a client that I had procured. It was a great experience doing it I was able to gain a ton of confidence just from actually doing it instead of being walked through. Once the offer was turned in, we got a counter but chose not to respond to the counter. Although I was a little bummed about the counter offer not being where we wanted it to be I was still happy for the first of many of these nerve wracking experiences.

This past Saturday was my first day off in almost 2 whole weeks. Although people might not think I am working as much (because I am not 9 to 5,) the reality is that I am working 24 hours a day. I am answering work related calls at 7 in the morning and then again at 9 at night. Not only that, but I can't screen calls anymore! If I see a number I don't recognize, I have to pick it up because I don't want to miss a call from another agent. No worries though, I can still screen my friends calls because their name actually pops up on my phone.

All in all, things are going great here. I love coming into my office because it is a nice place to be. I like working with people, and I love the feeling I get when I see someone get the house that they were looking for. This is a feeling I can't wait to have myself someday.

Last note...in the next few days I have to go and check on a house in the skits of Oakland again. You can reference my story (poop in pants) to see how excited I am to do this. Best part is that it is the same exact house, I just have to see if they've left. I am putting it off for as long as possible...wish me luck. I hope everyone had a great long weekend.

Conor