paulbrownredesign

Migration Patterns

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 15:59:31 GMT

In any real estate market people are always on the move.

Realtor.com does a good job of consistently tracking migration patterns in the United States, and here is some up to date information on where people are moving from and where they are headed. If you have any questions or comments about this article please share, and if you desire to sell your home or buy one, I am always here to advise you and help.

https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/americans-flocking-south-florida-texas-arizona-south-carolina-migration-data/?cid=eml_promo_Marketing_PRSL__1946:6601c079bbbeb2355a0adf2c:ot_Marketing_Consumer_AdHoc_EditorialSingleArticle%20-%2003252024&crdl_section=Article1

Seasons of Cycling

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 15:52:08 GMT

And there are many...

So what does this mean exactly...seasons of cycling? The first time I heard it many years ago I thought to myself "there is no way! The bike is forever. We will always ride hard and fast until we bust from the inside out." And there were MANY fun days on two wheels...training, racing, riding, ripping downhill descents at break-neck velocity, taking in the sights and sounds (and smells) of every possible environment you can imagine from the Pacific Ocean, to circumnavigating Lake Tahoe, to riding through forests, over rocks/gravel/sand/mud, over bridges, adjacent to canals and rendering plants, and so much more.

And yet life interrupts. Kids grow-up, businesses grow and command time, medical events occur, and financial demands crop-up - just to think of a few. I've had a few medical events in my life. All pretty significant to be honest. The last one I had in 2020 really threw a wrench in the biking. At the time I was very fit...riding upwards of 4,000-6,000 miles per year and bam...stroke. Sitting in the kitchen and boom. Stroke. And that event led to open heart surgery to remove a tumor from my heart, that gave me the stroke. It was an amazing week to put it mildly. AND it was discovered in the weeks to come that I have had 3 strokes, confirmed by MRI. The other two were previous and it's unclear when. They were small.

I rode 55 miles this weekend, between two rides, and it felt real good to do so. I love coffee and I stopped yesterday at the cafe, and took 15-20 minutes to reflect and think. I do A LOT of thinking on my bike. I solve problems, weigh the pros and cons of many things, pray, hangout with God, talk to myself A LOT (no seriously I do), and just enjoy the freedom and peace the bike gives me. It is one of THE MOST liberating and healthy activities I have ever known.

It's ok that I am in a new season with it these days. Patience is key. There was a guy yesterday that was lights out fast as he past me. I saw him coming and waved him through on my left, and I was chuckling a little and reminiscing for a minute when I would go lights out more than not. Definitely fun! I have some solid stories and memories on two wheels.

The point of all this is keep your hobbies and pastimes in front of you. They are very important to our well-being, mentally, physically, emotionally. It is completely normal that what we do go full throttle sometimes and other times it slows down some. It's ok and frankly, quite normal. Ebbs and flows like the tide. I am looking forward to more rides this week. I have put them into my calendar and will make them happen.

Make it a great week! - Paul

The Fundamentals Are Always In Style!

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 19:12:51 GMT

And the fundamentals are always important.

In our fast-paced world these days, it is beyond easy to get distracted, side tracked, sent down a rabbit hole, and simply taken off of the task at hand, and before you know it you are putting detergent in the washing machine and thinking to yourself (MAYBE) how in the heck did I just get here?

I'm meeting up with a colleague today to provide some pointers on how to be successful in the residential real estate business. I had great mentors in the business, John Pope/Katie Minor/Maureen Barker, and to this day I owe them an immense amount of gratitude and thanks. And I communicate with each of them on a regular basis today. My brother once said to me, "When you find people that believe in you, you stick with them." In my 54 years of life so far, and all of the personal and professional hurdles I have overcome, and grown beyond, this much I can tell you is true. If you have people that support you...pour into them like they pour into you.

So fundamentals...thinking about my meeting today I prepped some materials to get my colleague thinking about residential real estate sales as a long game, and a very fulfilling career, so long as you work it. And even still, it is one of those businesses where you can do EVERYTHING correctly and end up with your pockets empty and inside out. My only caveat is (and I can prove it) you cannot work with intent every day and not be successful. Experience shows that effort pays off every time. It does not mean that one's business cannot get skinny from time-to-time. It can and it does.

Here is what I wrote down to get our conversation going today:

The fundamentals are always important.

- Mindset...how you see yourself and think about yourself. What you THINK about you become.

- Keep a calendar on Google...answer/confirm meeting requests promptly. It shows you care and you are on top of your business.

- Plan your week on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning at the latest...be sure to time block what you are doing when each day...and stick to it. These include professional AND personal appointments. All of it.

- Educate your clients how you work...preferred ways of communication, business hours, and the days that you work and do not work.

Doing these fundamentals mentioned so far breeds confidence in YOU!

SHOW PEOPLE THAT YOU CARE! If there is one thing only to take away from this it is THIS! SHOW PEOPLE THAT YOU CARE.

- Condition yourself to follow-up with everyone that gets in contact with you until they say "No!" or "Stop calling me jerk." Joking not joking.

- Use database management software (CRM) to keep your customers in and track your interactions with them. The best CRM is the one you use.

- Always have business cards in your pocket OR an ability to provide people with your contact information easily, digitally.

- Listen to people talking with you and give them your full attention...and confirm back with them what they are saying so they KNOW you are listening. AGAIN it shows people you care.

- Be consistent with staying in touch with clients and new people that may enter into your business. It is a learned skill. None of us are born with it, naturally.

Always ask the people that know you, love you, trust you to keep YOU in mind when they hear of people wanting to buy or sell residential real estate, or even commercial.

PROBABLY THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT POINT: LEAD WITH REVENUE. Which simply means DO NOT spend money on marketing until you make money.

These are the conversation starters today. I have been running my real estate business here in the great Sacramento, CA region for more than 19 years. I have spent multiple thousands of dollars on coaching, and even more time with all kinds of people, mentors, leaders, heads of businesses, sports athletes, comedians, physicians, world class attorneys and so many more. The fundamentals are always the key to success. ALWAYS. It's human instinct with technology and perceived efficiency (and maybe now AI) that there is a way to fast-track many things. And no doubt there will be some great uses for tech. However, I will always hang on the basic fundamentals as the foundation for any success. Success demands dedication, habits, consistency and a ton of effort. Make it a great week this week!

- Paul

The Bike

paul@paulbrownrealestate.com (Paul Brown) — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 19:56:39 GMT

You never know what the future has in store for you.

It was an early spring Sunday of 2011 and I was getting on an airplane in Palm Springs, CA returning from a weekend with my wife, nice dinners, a smooth jazz concert at La Quinta Resort, drinks, shopping and more....and that morning I received a voice mail and the caller said, "this is the Calaveras County Sheriff's office...please call us back...it is about your mother." Calling them back, my mother had wandered off in the snow with her dog, Rocky, and got lost in her neighborhood. She lived in the Sierra foothills of California and it snows. She was a good distance away from home, her dementia was starting to root itself more prominently, and a scene unfurled between her and her husband and these poor people that my mom door knocked for help. God bless that young family because they came to her aid when she needed it most. That day, and not 30 minutes after I landed in Sacramento, my mother came into my custody by Adult Protective Services in a Costco parking lot. You would have thought we were trafficking this poor woman. She looked like she'd been living under a bridge. Seething doesn't really begin to describe my emotion. When it comes to a man, there is only one woman in his life. And that's his mother. It doesn't mean I am not crazy about my wife and my daughters (because I am drop dead in love with them)...there is only one woman at the top. I said to my mom that day as she was scared and could not speak, "no one is going to get between me and you ever again. No one." And no one ever did. If we back up another year, there was a family meeting with her doctor when her dementia was diagnosed, and her doctor hit the nail on the head. He said that it would progress fast, probably within a year before she would need extra care, and sure as the sun rises every day, it progressed. By the time she came to me, she could not speak audible words, other than "I love you." I swear to God. Such a God thing. "I love you" was clear as a bell...everything else was jibberish. And it was jibberish for two years until the wee hours of 2012 and the phone rang and I said to my wife, "this is THE call." And she had passed away. I was by her side with my beloved Aunt B, my mother's only sibling, and older sister, within 10 minutes and I kissed her cold forehead, told her I loved her, and would see her again one day. My Aunt and I walked over to the Circle K on the corner of Riley and Natoma and bought two giant coffees and stood in the cold, dark parking lot at 3:00AM like we were in a misty, dank Tarrantino movie, and I said "I can't believe she just died." My mom was 72. She was a baby to get the card she was given. I will NEVER forget when she was diagnosed in that family meeting and she said, "I know what I have and I will take it head on." And man did she ever take it head on like a bull. Never ever complained. Not even a fraction of a complaint the entire time.

You can imagine what this two years did to me. I, and my wife, and my brother, poured ourselves into caring for mom. It was taxing. It took an enormous toll on me physically and emotionally. I ballooned up to 230+ pounds, wasn't athletic, eating poorly, drinking too much, stressed to the max and more. I have a friend who I was doing some business with at the time in Granite Bay, a successful guy and he was a bike rider. I remember I would sit in his nice home office and I would think, "How do I dress and work and be successful like Don?" Nice house, nice car, wife, kids, business, etc. It was all clicking. I was super stressed and overwhelmed and running wasn't doing it for me. I said to Don in a meeting "I want to buy a road bike." He said, "Call Dan, he will take care of you." Dan (Dan Tebbs and his wife Dawn) owns Victory Velo Bike Shop in Auburn, CA. The best bike shop on the planet. I bought a Cervelo R3 off of the rack and started riding it. What has transpired over the last 10 years is a love of a sport and athletic pursuit I never even knew existed within me. It has changed my life and my relationships for the better 10-fold. In its purest sense, it rescued me from the loss of my mother and the pain and anguish over those two years. It transformed me into the person, in many ways, I am today. It certainly added many positive layers, created stimulating challenges and pursuits, introduced me to wonderful people on and off the bike, and so much more. The best part is EVERY time I am on the bike, I think of mom. EVERY TIME. She was a strong, quiet soul. She was a talented violinist. She took no bull from anyone. Over the last 10 years, Dan has taken care of me...and sold me a few nice bikes. Worth every red cent. I say to him these days with a smile, "This is all your fault." The best investment.

My message here is simply you never know what's right around the corner for you. I am the most accidental athlete on the planet. Two years ago I was in the hospital after suffering a stroke and then underwent open heart surgery to remove a tumor from my heart. The tumor gave me the stroke. A brain scan revealed that this larger stroke was actually my third. The other two I did not even know occurred. Grateful to have experienced the last 24 months. The added bonus with fitness is it is a savings account when you get injured or land yourself in the hospital. The bounce-back factor is immense. Crazy fast, and strong, actually. The bike is a meaningful symbol for me. It has a story to becoming, beyond all of the stories I've written on them with friends and riders all over the place and our touring and racing adventures. I've ridden more than 30,000 miles on my bikes. The bike is my athletic true north. It is the place I home back to. It goes in waves these days but it is always there. I plan to ride more this month into the new year. I love you mom. I know you love this too for me AND you. I know you love that I found it, and that I enjoy it as much as I do. I will never ever ever forget you. Love you to the moon and back. Ride on!

- Paul

Never Give Up!

paul@paulbrownrealestate.com (Paul Brown) — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 22:55:22 GMT

Because you owe it to yourself and others in your life! Never give up!

Anyone that knows me knows I like to write. It is very therapeutic for me to do so. Anyone that knows me really well knows that I have been through a few things in my life, and those things have 100% shaped me into being the man, husband, dad, friend, Realtor and colleague that I am today. And as crazy as it sounds...I would not trade it for anything given how I have landed in my life. And it hasn't really been a land. I have worked tirelessly my entire life, from a very young age, to become the person I am today. In my blog here, I will write about real estate matters of course. I think it is important that you know who I am as a person, and then it makes more sense that the professional, someone that many know and love and trust, is introduced. Frankly you will get a sense of it, as I see there is virtually no difference between me as a person and me as a professional. I care about people immensely. I care about taking good care of people in my professional capacity by listening to them with intent and purpose, showing them homes that meet their criteria and hopes and dreams, negotiating vigorously and get the sale closed. Essentially I put roofs over people's heads in places they can build memories and enjoy many years of life in communities they love. And how is it that I find myself in this place on my journey? By never having given up. Not ever. Sure I have experienced many challenges in my life, and still do to this day. But I haven't ever given up, even in the face of the most incredible challenges and, at times, defeats. And what did I do? Got back up...dusted myself off...and kept pushing the boulder.

At the center of my motivation and desire to win for my clients and succeed for myself and family, and contribute to others are my core values. And they are: Family, Trust, Honesty, Commitment, Humor, Sincerity, Care, Knowledge, Education, Empowerment, Health and Well-Being, Satisfaction, Peace-of-Mind, Equality, Opportunity, Fairness. I could probably go on. And on a super personal side I hold Faith, Hope, Grace and Love very close. These words are seriously my north star. I get up every day and utter the words, "Thank you lord for waking me up today." To be alive is a gift. The goal, and something I work towards, is to get up every day and be neutral to whatever life throws my way. Neutral meaning it does not affect me in a negative way, if the day does not go particularly well. This is a learned skill. It isn't easy. It requires LOTS of focus and ability to bring oneself back to a central positive place. A work in progress, and what a great place to be if we can master it.

I have a personal coach. I have a professional coach. They know who I am. They know how much I care about people in my work and how intent I am to be sure that my clients achieve! In these times right now with an invasion of Ukraine happening, day 12 I believe, and rising inflation, a hot real estate market nationwide, a correcting stock market working to find its footing, it's hard to know what's what. Know this...never give up. Stay the course. Hold tight. Believe. Phone a friend, parents, your kids and clients and check in on them. Ask how they are doing. Regardless of who you/they are...people appreciate it the check-in, and they will tell you. Wealthly, not so wealthy and everyone in between always appreciates you checking in on them. So make a call today to a family member, a friend, pop-in on a coworker and just ask them how their day is going, how they are doing. Trust me...they will appreciate it, even if they do not tell you. Connection is super important right now. We all desire it. We ALL DESIRE IT. We ALL NEED IT.

Thanks for reading, and this is new for me. I plan to post regularly, and check back here on my website for more posts inside and outside of real estate and our local communities. Never give up! Be well and make it a great week! -- Paul

The Difference Between Being Right and Being Right On!

paul@paulbrownrealestate.com (Paul Brown) — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 22:20:53 GMT

A Determination to Doing Things Correctly and Without Ego!

As I sit here on this Friday afternoon at my home in Folsom, CA, let me first say hello and welcome you to my first true blog post in a very long time. Rather than boring you with the details of how long it's been, just believe me it has been years. I was sitting with my technology guru yesterday talking about my website and my rankings across various web platforms (which were not bad for a guy that hasn't done a whole lot in the online universe to boost himself on the cyber staircase) he said, "You need to post content and we will see (much better results etc etc)." So here I am. I enjoy writing and I participate in social media channels such as Instagram and Facebook, and so here goes something.

For the last 10 years I have become an avid road cyclist (bicycles). After the loss of my mother in 2012 I was looking for an activity to channel my energies and recovery from the loss of her. I gained a bunch of weight, was eating and drinking too much and my health and weight was just off the scales. A client and friend of mine that I think a lot of was a cyclist and a pretty inspiring guy and I said, "I want to buy a mountain bike." He said, "Call Dan. He will take care of you." Well...I called Dan and he sold me a mountain bike. Fast forward nearly 10 years, the fittest I've ever become in my life, have ridden as many miles as it would take to ride 1.25 times around the world and thousands and thousands of dollars spent across numerous bikes purchased later, I had a stroke in December 2021 and open heart surgery a few days after that event. I've had some seriously crashes on the bike that broke bones and took time to recover. And I bounced back. My open heart surgery caused me to gain all of my weight back, and I've struggled to shed it and get my fitness back. So I called my friend, Jessie, recently and she is a nutritionist AND a competitive CrossFit athlete, and owns a gym in my city. I said, "I need your help." She took me on instantly.

The learning trajectory right now is steep. The picture at the top of this post is one I took last week during my second session EVER doing a shoulder press. I am not a gym guy by any stretch of the imagination. monumental 65 pounds including the bar!