Top Ten Real Estate Agent Blog Posts

It’s the end of another year, and like mushrooms after a rainfall, ten best lists pop up everywhere. Best movies. Best music. Best books. Best phones. Best laptops. Best recipes. Best kitchen gadgets and on it goes. I love most of them and thought, why not make a list of the ten best from our blog?

With an abundance of great content on the blog this year (I know, shameful self-promotion), it was not easy to choose only ten. So what criteria did I use? The choices address topics that continue to be relevant, add value for the target audience and address questions and concerns about buying and selling real estate we hear from clients.

In the spirit of full disclosure, it was so tricky limiting my selection to ten; I added honorable mentions at the end. Joe wrote some great stuff for Forbes this year, so I included a couple that technically is not from our blog. Ready? Top of 2019 best blog posts coming at you! 

 1. Why I’m Not Making New Year Resolutions

This post was the first article of 2019, and it is just as timely a year later. For those who struggle to keep New Year resolutions, my advice is don’t make them. Setting manageable and achievable goals in place of solutions is more successful in bringing about positive change. The article also includes some suggestions on how to break down an answer from the general to specific goals. 

2. 10 Ways To Better Organize Your Day

The suggestions in this post were part of a routine I developed when I landed a job that required I start promptly at 7:00 A.M. Though I no longer begin work that early, I follow the system to this day. If you've set a goal for a better organization this year, you should find these suggestions timeless, practical, and easy to manage.

3. Five Ways To Prepare Your Real Estate Business For The Year Ahead

Here is one of the two posts of Joe’s from Forbes I include in the best ten lists. If you are an agent, this is excellent new year advice to prepare you to put it all out there when the busy real estate season strikes. His most famous post to date has been viewed almost 2400 times. Who am I to mess with success? 

4. My Best Advice For First Time Homebuyers   

Joe Houghton has been practicing real estate for 18 years. In the span of his career, he has helped hundreds of first-time buyers purchase a home. His advice is worth your time, and I say this not only because he is my friend and boss but because he helped me buy a house after a long stretch as a renter. It’s not only about great advice. It’s the way Joe feels about his clients. Here it is in the first couple of sentences: “Joy. Joy is the first word I think of when I hear first-time homebuyers. It’s what my wife and I felt moving into our first house. It’s what I want my clients to feel at closing because buyer remorse has never been on anyone’s bucket list.” 

5. How Logic and Emotion Effect Buying A Home  

Buying a home is more than working out the numbers on a spreadsheet. Home is where we celebrate our lives. It’s crucial to balance intellect and emotions when deciding to buy a home. Too little or too much of the other can lead to a poor decision and buyers’ remorse. Joe did an outstanding job with this overlooked but essential topic. 

6. What Homeowners Should Know Before Selling That First House

My second choice from Joe’s collection published on Forbes this past year addresses another topic that receives little attention from real estate bloggers. While you can find mountains of words written about first-time buyers, there is very little out there for those who are selling their first home. For many who experience essential milestones in their first home, it can be an emotionally wrought experience. This article helps put it all in the proper perspective to facilitate the selling process. 

7. Listen to Your Agent For A Smooth Home Selling Experience

Most people listen to their doctors, lawyers, and financial advisors and follow their advice. Since they are paying them for their expertise, it’s a good practice. The same should hold for the real estate professional you have employed to market and sell your home. A Realtor with a well-established career has probably been there and done that whenever an issue arises in the process of selling your home. Joe presents a solid case in this article for taking your listing agent’s advice. 

8. Best Practices For Selling A Home With Pets

Pets. Most of us have them, and many have more than one. Sure we love them, but homebuyers may not feel so romantic about your pets, which could cost you a sale. When your house is on the market, and you share it with pets, buyers should not see, hear, or smell them. The best case is that no evidence of them, including fur on the sofa, feeding bowl,s or toys, should be in sight when a potential buyer tours your home. Joe’s article serves as an excellent guideline for dealing with the whole pet/selling a home situation.  

9. Important Financial Numbers Everyone Should Know

Because the state of one’s finances and being able to afford to buy and maintain a home are so closely intertwined, I began a series of personal finance articles this year. Although it was difficult selecting one from the seven I wrote this year, I chose this particular article because whether you are buying a house this month, a year from now, or never, you should still know these numbers. Yes, they are that important.

10. How To Move Without Losing Your Mind

Why this one? Because 35.5 million people move every year. If you buy or sell a home, you will be one of them. Since I have moved five times in the last 11 years alone, more times than I can remember during my adult life, including the use of friends and a truck, my car, professional movers, intrastate and out of state, local, and cross country, I consider myself somewhat knowledgable on the subject and lucky I retain my sanity. 

Blog-wise, my ten best list crushes were satisfying and a great way to close out 2019 and welcome a new year. We hope last year was great for you and yours, and this year will be even better.