Thursday, February 28, 2008

Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do

1. The worldwide emergency number of mobile phones is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you. And, interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if your keypad is locked!

2. Have you locked your keys in the car? Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy some day. And it’s a good reason to own a cell phone. If you lock your keys in your car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock! Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other “remote” for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

3. You have hidden battery power in your cell phone if the battery is very low: press *3370#. Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell the next time.

4. How do you disable your cell phone if it’s stolen? To check your phone’s serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: *#06#. A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. If your phone is stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them your unique code. Your provider will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless to them. You probably won’t get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can’t use or sell it either. If everyone did this, there would be no point to people stealing cell phones!

5. You can get free Directory Service for cell phone. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800) FREE411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this little hint into your cell phone now.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Just Reduced to $525,000!!!



224 E. State Street - Just Reduced to $525,000. Location, Condition, and Price! Outstanding townhouse off Oglethorpe Square with soaring ceilings, heart pine floors and handsome moldings throughout. Home has a courtyard and covered parking. Gaze into Owens-Thomas Garden or walk to everything.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

What sets Keller Williams apart is its culture

Well, I returned from Keller Williams Family Reunion on Wednesday, and have been busy catching up with work since then. I was not able to sit until this morning to add this piece about my wonderful experience at Family Reunion in Atlanta.
I attended the inspirational breakfast on Wednesday morning and it really made me recognize what a great move I made joining this company. I sure am glad I went.
The bottom line is, we work with some pretty exceptional people at Keller Williams, and I found my self asking the question: Does Keller Williams attract a high concentration of selfless people, or do the cultural tenents set out by Mo, Mark, Mary and Gary bring out the best in those that embrace them?
I guess the answer is somewhere in the middle. I think the culture defined by KW is unique, and helps us all to understand there’s more to our job than just selling homes, and I think a unique group of people are attracted to that concept.
At the inspirational breakfast, we heard the stories of KW Agent, Scott Thornhill of Greensboro, NC. I top producing agent in his MC, and a civic-minded citizen of his community. Scott teaches in the MC, coaches his son’s soccer and basketball teams, and volunteers at this church, all while being legally blind. I can see just fine, and some days I have a hard time getting out of bed. It’s pretty humbling.
We also heard the story of Gilbert Tuhabonye. Here is an excerpt from his web page:
While attending the Kibimba school, Gilbert began running competitively. Running barefoot, he won an 8K race while only a freshman. As a sophomore, he met a man who taught him how to change his running technique by getting his knees up and holding his arms correctly. The coach encouraged him to work hard and try for the Olympics. Gilbert became national champion in the 400 and 800 meters as an 11th grader. As a senior, Gilbert was already an extraordinary runner whose goal was to get a scholarship to an American school, get an education and return home to Burundi.
Fate had another plan for Gilbert.
On October 21, 1993, the centuries-old war between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes erupted in horrific reality one afternoon as Gilbert and his classmates were in school. The Hutu classmates at the Kibimba school, their parents, some teachers and other Hutu tribesmen, forced more than a hundred Tutsi children and teachers into a room where they beat and burned them to death. After nine hours of being buried by the corpses of his beloved friends, and himself on fire, Gilbert used the charred bone of one of his classmates to break through a window. He jumped free of the burning building and ran into the night, on charred feet, the sole survivor of one of the most horrible massacres in the long Tutsi-Hutu war. He ran from that horror into a new life.
Now, 12 years later and more than 8,000 miles from Burundi, Gilbert Tuhabonye is a celebrity in the world of running. He went on to graduate college at Abilene Christian University where, despite being covered with scar tissue from his extensive burns, he was a national champion runner. He is now, by all accounts, the most popular running coach in Austin, Texas where he lives with his wife Triphine and two daughters, Emma and Grace.
Pretty amazing guy … that’s all I have to say. I would not have been able to do what he did, and I was honored to be at an event that would honor someone of his character and strength.
Finally, we heard the story of Jim Hoekenschnieder, and Agent at the Huntsville MC. By Jim’s own admission, he was a person only focused on his business, and as he said,”I made sure I was my primary focus.”
Jim’s life at KW changed when he sold a home to a young family transplanting from Florida, Joe and Lori Hennessy, and their five year old son, Chris. As he put it, “they were the perfect family and I quickly grew attached to them.”
The day after closing Jim stopped by to drop off a housewarming gift. After knocking on the door for some time, five year old Chris answered the door and Jim his mother was “dead.”
Jim discovered Lori inside the house, laying face down, dead from a sudden aneurism. When Jim asked Joe what he could do to help, Joe told him he just wanted to take Chris back to Florida.
The entire MC jumped into action and did everything they could to help Joe and Chris, and get the house resold. When Jim called Joe to tell him they’d found a solution to the house, Joe, having been so touched by the generosity of people who barely knew him, informed Jim they were staying.
Pretty amazing stuff. Mo honored the entire MC with a song from Ken Medema, and they deserved it.
What I took away from this event, and from the rest of the events I attended at Family Reunion, is that we are fortunate to work together, and we’re a great group of people. We are also a driven group, with a tremendous force of will, and a real desire to improve our business and our lives.
See you next year!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Reduced to $121,000


521 East 39th Street - 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath - One of the few remaining buildings on the block un-finished. New roof, framing, windows, exterior stucco and paint. All demo complete. Great floor plan ready for completion.

Reduced - Only $24,000

517 East 38th Street - VACANT AND BUILDABLE LOT IN MIDDLE OF GREAT BLOCK. Currently there is a fence encroaching on the far eastern side of the lot, owner has been notified. The lot is 95ft deep.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Just Reduced to $150,000


210 East State Street - Just reduced to $150,000. Third floor unit in the recently updated Graham Building. The entry has been refinished, corridors now have wood floors and fresh paint. Sit on the terrace and look over Owens Thomas House and Oglethorpe Square.

Reduced to $309,000

9 West York Street - Outstanding Condo in the center of it all. Quiet 3rd floor unit with tremendous ceiling heights, wood floors, kitchen with granite, stainless appliances and beautiful cabinets. Bath with travertine, body jets and rainmaker. Rooftop deck.

$295,000 - Unheard of Price for Brick Quad


711 East 40th Street - Just reduced $38,000! Unheard of price for this handsome brick quad. If you do not want to buy it yourself...tell a friend! Each unit has large livingroom with wood floors and fireplace, connected to private screened in porch, breakfast room with built-in cupboards, large bedroom with lots of closets. Building has ZERO vacancy. Off street parking.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Savannah Book Festival

My friend Matt Prickett is the founder of the new and exciting Savannah Book Festival. If you have any time this week-end be certain to check it out.

The Savannah Book Festival is an annual world-class literary event bringing dozens of popular and critically acclaimed authors and thousands of readers together in historic Savannah, Georgia.
The first annual Savannah Book Festival, presented by the Savannah Morning News, will be held on Saturday, February 2, 2008 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. in downtown Savannah. It is free and open to the public.

Primary sites for the Savannah Book Festival are Telfair Square and Franklin Square and the stately buildings surrounding them.

Check out the site at: http://savannahbookfestival.org/