BOB DINGLER AWARD - Preview Properties

THE THE PREVIEW PREVIEW REVIEW
REVIEW
A A PUBLICATION PUBLICATION OF OF PREVIEW PREVIEW PROPERTIES.COM
PROPERTIES.COM
Volume 14, Number 1 February 2011 An ISO 9001 Registered Company
CONGRATULATIONS CONGRATULATIONS TO TO JOHN JOHN BOGDASARIAN BOGDASARIAN AND AND ROBIN ROBIN LOVE
LOVE
Congratulations to John Bogdasarian and his team for another banner year. Once again in 2010, Preview Properties.com
recognizes John Bogdasarian as the number one salesperson. When asked how he continues to stay on
top, John says that real estate is something that he really likes to do. A veteran of 15 years at Preview Properties.com,
John creates his business plan by looking out 5-10 years and working back to how he will reach is goal.
John always puts as many steps in his plan as he can, making it easier to measure his progress.
Everyone knows how the real estate market has changed in the last fifteen years, but Bogdasarian reminds us that
the more things change, the more they stay the same. John says the scripts are the same, so learn them. Getting in
front of the people has changed; figure out the best way to reach people who no longer have listed phones and contact
20-30 people every day. John thinks new agents should study the benefits of joining a team versus going on their own; joining a
team may be the way to go.
John recommends the CCIM classes for both business and personal knowledge. Reading any and all books is also very important in
keeping up with all businesses. John says the best book that he has read this year is “Delivering Happiness” by Tony Sheih.
Currently, Bogdasarian is looking at investments in real estate and business; anything where he thinks he can help people, have fun, and
make some money. John says he eats breakfast with the family everyday, drops the kids off at school 3-4 days a week, and is home by
5:30. Three times a week, he works out with a personal trainer and he does not work weekends. He says sometimes it seems hard to
find time to work. Somehow, John gets the work done and keeps balance in his life.
Special 50s and 100s are always in John’s plan. The family is going to Florida for the last week of February and he and Brad McFarlane
are going skiing in March. John and Lindsay look forward to spending 6-8 weeks at their cottage this summer. John plans to buy his first
plane this year --- that’s a 100.
Coming in number 2 in production for 2010 is Robin Love. Robin, who has been an agent at Preview Properties.com
for 22 years (and she has 3 grandchildren too), moved up from number 5 to number 2 in 2010. As Robin
will tell you, real estate today is hard work and takes lots of patience. Many of Robin’s sales were short sales;
Robin says you cannot tell the buyers and sellers enough just how long the process will take as they tend to underestimate
their patience.
Robin’s goal is one hour of prospecting per day four days a week. According to Robin, this plan works best when
she does the prospecting the first hour at work each day…before the distractions take over. For greater efficiency
in 2011, Robin will focus on following her ideal day. Saving money towards building a new home in 2013 will keep
Robin focused. Robin is excited to have a new Polaris 500 snowmobile which she rides in the Manistee Forest.
Staying organized is very important for Robin to maintain her production level while her grandson is living with her temporarily. Jorden is
8 years old and his hockey team has made the semi-finals with the reward being the opportunity to play at the JOE. Robin is keeping up
her exercise program this winter on a new Bowflex Tread Climber. She is averaging about 10 miles a week for the winter.
Congratulations to John Bogdasarian, Robin Love, and the other Preview Properties.com agents for a great year in less than perfect conditions.
A Full Day…
Tuesday, February 8, Preview Properties.com agents and friends met for Continuing Education
and later for Awards Night followed by Casino Night. It was a long day but there was
plenty of good information, many laughs, and lots of food to keep everyone occupied and
happy. Terri Weisman of Property Mortgage kicked the day off with a continental breakfast
featuring muffins, monkey bread, and yogurt with homemade granola.
Jerry Holloway of Holloway Institute once again did our annual 6 hour Continuing Education.
Jerry always has good information on what is happening at the Department of Energy, Labor,
and Economic Growth and in local, state, and federal government. With Jerry, almost
all the information comes with a personal story or joke; it certainly makes it easier to stay
alert and learn the new material for the year. Best of all, it is early February and our Con Ed
is done for the year.
Pulled pork sandwiches, salads, and desserts made up the mid-day meal . Funds collected
at the luncheon went towards Preview Properties.com’s donation to the February 12 Walk
for Warmth.
Lisa Bohlen, Val Potts, Elizabeth Fairchild, and Terri Weisman were responsible for planning
the Awards Night at Chemung Hills Country Club. From choosing the delicious meal to presenting
the awards for 2010 production to arranging the casino activities, the committee did
a fantastic job. Scott Bohlen presented the awards, remembering each winner with a story
and thanking everyone for a great year. Even after a long day, many agents and guests
enjoyed relaxing after dinner with the casino night.
Congratulations to all the award winners and a special thanks to all of the people involved in
making the day educational and fun.
PREVIEW PROPERTIES.COM’S
TOP SALESPEOPLE FOR 2010
1. John Bogdasarian
2. Robin Love
3. Priscilla Watts
4. George Bush
5. Todd and Holly Koch
6. Greg Garwood
7. Richard Kownacki
8. Val Potts
9. Sandy Bailey-Bristol
10. JoAn Hauber
11. Jerry Hale
12. Pat Welgs and Norm Burmeister
13. Neal Sanford
14. Sandy Kretzschmar
15. Dennis Merrick
16. Jeff Bean
17. Andrew Karas
18. Dick Kerschbaum
19. Michelle and Nick Lycos
20. Bob Smith
Auctioneers Joette
and John Bickel.
Greg Garwood argues
the beauty of a crystal
bowl.
CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS AFTER AFTER HOURS HOURS
HOURS
Preview Properties.com agents and friends enjoyed
delicious appetizers and beverages at the annual
Christmas After Hours on December 9. Lots of fun was
had by all in the White Elephant exchange and later in
the auction conducted by Joette and John Bickel as
people traded, exchanged, and sold the gifts they won.
Proceeds from the event went to our Lacasa Adopt A
Family.
Sharon Mascola, Robin
Love and Sandy Kretzschmar
enjoy the party.
STERLING STERLING TITLE TITLE
TITLE
RECOGNIZES
RECOGNIZES
PREVIEW PREVIEW PREVIEW AGENTS
AGENTS
Sherry Hinsperger, Kristy
Brown, and Stephanie
Whaling presented the
annual Kohl Customer of
the Year to Scott Bohlen. The award is given to the
agent who personifies the ideal customer with his
kindness, organization, honesty, and loyalty. Scott
was also recognized with the most closings, followed
closely by Val Potts and Priscilla Watts.
GREG GARWOOD
WAS HONORED
BY PROPERTY
MORTGAGE
Once again, Terri Weisman
recognized Greg
Garwood for the most
mortgages processed by
Property Mortgage. Terri thanked Greg, Priscilla
Watts, Robin Love, and everyone who referred
customers and clients to Property Mortgage.
Greg referred 27 clients to Terri and 13 mortgages
were written.
Priscilla Watts draws
the next winner.
Camel sighting at
Preview Properties.com.
Patience
BOB SMITH WINS
THE COMMUNITY
SERVICE AWARD
P r e v i e w P r o p e r -
ties.com’s Community
Service Award went to
Bob Smith whose community
activities continue
to put him in the
spotlight. This summer
WHY USE RE:STYLE?
Bob Smith receives
award from Scott Bohlen.
he was named Optimist of the Year at the district
Optimist Convention. From directing the fishing
derby at the Mill Pond to transporting the camels
back and forth (in a Preview Properties.com
moving truck, of course) to the recent Brighton
Optimist Camel Race, Bob stays involved in our
community. Those people in the Brighton office
the week of February 6 to 11 may have been
surprised to see a few camels (all be it, very well
dressed camels) in the office. These camels
were participants in the Camel Race held February
5 where $8,000 was raised for future Optimist
activities. Bob really enjoys the activities of
the wide – reaching programs through the Optimists.
Bob previously was very involved in the Detroit
Marathon, but now he is largely a volunteer at
various local races (Melon Run, Kensington
Challenge, Howell Nature Center 5K, and the
Fantasy 5K) on race day. When asked if we
could do a CITO lunch for the Optimist projects,
Bob said he would rather have volunteers; we
will keep that in mind this summer. Bob has
promised to help out with Preview’s US 23 project
this year.
On November 9, 2010, Kathy Presutti of Re:Style
demonstrated the benefits of staging to sell a house
more quickly and more profitably at the Preview Properties.com
Sales Meeting. As Kathy showed through
her story boards and her personal dressing, staging is
all about emphasizing the features and disguising the
flaws. While we think of staging a lived in home, staging
an unoccupied home may be even more important.
Staging is all about putting your “best foot forward” and
making that all important first impression. You only
have fifteen seconds to make a positive emotional connection with a buyer,
creating that bond that turns a “For Sale” into “Sold.” Look at Kathy’s website
at Re:StyleStaging.com for more information on staging and follow Kathy on
Facebook to see how quickly homes sell after she has staged them. It does
make a home stand out from the competition. Recommend Kathy at your next
listing appointment; the investment in restyling is always less than the first
price reduction.
In a recent Superstar Retreat update from Mike Ferry, he says, “ Patience is one of the more challenging characteristics of a top producer,
because it revolves around understanding that everybody is not going to see things from your perspective or from your viewpoint.
It also means we have to work on not letting the circumstances of a prospect, customer, or their response get to you and throw
you off the track. It is the ability to understand that not everybody’s going to work at the same level or pace that you choose to work
it.” Patience is critical as we work with buyers, sellers, title companies, bank foreclosures, and the new mortgagor.

BOB DINGLER AWARD
Each year since 1999, the Bob Dingler
Award has been given in memory of Bob
Dingler who was always upbeat and positive,
always learning and 100% loyal to
Preview Properties.com, its management,
its coaches, and its sales associates. Bob
Dingler, a former Preview Properties.com
sales associate and the general contractor
for the remodeling of the Preview Properties.com
office building, exemplified the
very best attributes of an outstanding
salesperson and human being.
Congratulations to Michael Ewing who received the 2010 Dingler Award at
the Awards Banquet on February 8, 2011. After receiving his real estate license
in early 2010, Michael set out to learn everything he should by showing
up everyday for prospecting, attending all the sales meetings and special
presentations in house and in the area, and finally, by completing SFR (short
sales and foreclosures) Designation and CSP (certified short sale professional)
Designation. With a great deal of new knowledge, Michael has mailed
his first mail campaign last month and is ready to follow through to a productive
new year in real estate.
Michael Ewing spent the majority of his previous career as the interface between
senior management and highly technical computer engineers. In this
current marketplace, Michael sees his knowledge of “positive solutioning”
techniques he previously used having direct value in becoming a productive
Realtor. Michael has been most surprised about the extent of the legal
framework in which a Realtor operates; he says the sheer number of different
forms and their linguistic complexity has been interesting and a challenge to
learn.
At Preview Properties.com’s Spring After Hours, “folk singer” Michael entertained.
For over 40 years Michael has been performing as a Folk Singer and
entertainer. In his time away from the office, Michael is very involved in
downtown Brighton groups, especially the Brighton Art Guild and the Brighton
History Society.
Michael Ewing is very appreciative of the Bob Dingler Award and is looking
forward to succeeding in real estate with the exceptional help of his fellow coworkers
and management at Preview Properties.com.
TEN TEN TIPS TIPS FOR FOR FOR A A SMOOTHER SMOOTHER SHORT SHORT SALE SALE CLOSING
CLOSING
Sherry Hinsperger and Stephanie Whaling of Sterling Title share
these 10 tips for a smoother short sale closing with the Preview Properties.com
agents and Mary Jo Zurawski fully supports these tips.
1. Submit all required documents at one time. Make sure
documents are fully completed, dated and signed.
2. On a short sale, try not to split your closings.
3. Review the title commitment. If some time has passed
before you get an offer, ask to get an updated commitment.
4. Review the short sale letters.
5. Fully complete the Closing Instructions and submit with the
Purchase Agreement and ALL Addendums.
6. Obtain and submit the home owners association information.
7. Find out if Seller’s will be using a Power of Attorney.
8. Schedule closings well in advance.
9. Ask questions.
10. Make sure you bring all required documents to closing.
David Littman Speaks at Howell
Chamber of Commerce Meeting
Scott Bohlen attended a Howell Chamber of
Commerce meeting in January where David
Littman, former Chief Economist for Comerica
Bank, spoke on the Economic Outlook for
Michigan in 2011. Littman said that the market
understands risk and risk is acceptable;
uncertainty is the killer. Leading indicators in
the economy are all tracking up; these indicators
include corporate profits, stock market,
low inventories, higher savings rate, bargain
prices and low interest rates in real estate,
and technology. According to Littman, the
reasons we are not currently growing at a
very fast rate is:
1) Uncertainty about future tax rates,
government spending, and deficits.
2) Michigan has lost 50% of its manufacturing
jobs since 1999.
3) Lack of fiscal responsibility, government
regulation, too much spending and debt.
Michigan can grow if the state budget is cut
by 15% by getting government pay and benefits
in line with the private sector, if legislature
works part time, if we have right to work, if we
simplify the corporate tax structure, and if
people stay engaged in government. Governor
Rick Snyder and the state government
have a big job.
WOMEN’S COUNCIL OF
REALTORS LUNCHEON
Nancy Bohlen and Mary Jo Zurawski put the
finishing touches on the Christmas Tree that
Preview Properties.com decorated for the
Women’s Council of Realtors Christmas
Fundraising Auction. Trees were decorated
by real estate companies and wreaths were
decorated by affiliates and they were all sold
by auctioneer Carl Vagnetti at the WCR
Christmas Luncheon on December 2. Preview
Properties.com chose a cooking theme
for their tree, decorating the tree with cookie
cutters, kitchen tools, cookbook covers, and
decorated cookies (donated by agents and
staff) and a collection
of cook books
surrounded the
tree. Our tree
sold for $200 and
the proceeds from
all of the trees
and wreaths were
used to provide
over 700 holiday
meals for people
in our community.
THE THE PREVIEW PREVIEW PREVIEW REVIEW
REVIEW
A publication of
Preview Properties.com
130 W. Grand River
Brighton, MI 48116
(810)220-0000
FAX (810)220-1511
www.previewproperties.com
OFFICERS/DIRECTORS
Scott Bohlen 220-1515
Chief Executive Officer
Nancy E. Bohlen 220-1517
President and Broker of Record
Larry H. Vering 220-1514
Director
Regina Benson 220-1501
Vice President
Mark Herman 220-1400
Director
John Bogdasarian 734-477-9400
Director
Ron Sipes 220-1474
Director
Todd Koch 220-0000
Director
Lisa Bohlen 220-1505
Secretary/Treasurer
STAFF
Chris Bonish, Technology Manager
Lisa Bullock, Agent Services
Shery McBride, Accounting Clerk
Wanda Kray, Receptionist
Kathy Paul, Accountant
Barb Wardrop, Receptionist
Mary Jo Zurawski, Closing Coordinator
THE PREVIEW REVIEW, published by
Preview Properties.com, 130 W. Grand
River, Brighton, MI 48116, is devoted to
news of corporate activities, real estate
NEW ADDITION
TO WALL FAMILY
Also pictured is
big sister Jocelyn
who is 3 years
old. Congratulations
to the Wall
family.
Brent and Tiffany
Wall welcomed
new baby Bryce
Arthur Wall on July
21, 2010. Bryce
weighed 8 lb. 7 oz.
CATCH SOME EDUCATION...
Customer Service Surveys
Greg Garwood recently sold Gregory Zigulis a new home at 29083 Lor Street. Zigulis appreciated
Greg’s market knowledge and his timely response was most important to the buyer. He would recommend
Greg to other people who want to buy or sell real estate.
Greg Garwood is great according to Jane Ginopolis when she listed her home and Terry Bragg and
Jane bought a home. “Greg was a delight to work with. She most appreciated his being very accessible,
easy to reach, returning calls promptly, being very responsive to questions and just a wonderful
person to work with.” Jane found Greg and Preview Properties.com through Greg’s website. Properties
involved were 8490 Bennett Lake and 6384 Perry.
Greg Garwood has worked with Crystal Duplessis’ family in the past so when it was time for Crystal
to find a Realtor, Greg Garwood was called. She says, “Greg was great! Thanks Greg for putting up
with me and staying with me to find the perfect home.” The closing was great and very efficient, and
Crystal especially appreciated all the information online when she purchased 2820 Birchwood Drive.
Greg Garwood has sold 2 homes to Tim and Julie Suchodolski and has sold one home for the
Suchodolski’s, and they rely on Greg’s experience and knowledge. They say that Greg Garwood is
so detail oriented and his follow through is excellent; he is just a pleasure to work with. Moving back
to Michigan, the Suchodolski’s would not have even considered using another Realtor when they
purchased 5324 Versailles.
Greg Garwood gave excellent service when first time home buyer Shawn Hirth purchased 8257
Winnesk. Shawn said his closing went great and he first heard of Greg and Preview Properties.com
through realtor.com.
JoAn Hauber was an excellent agent, open and understanding of what all David and Pat Hite
needed for a good deal when they purchased 510 Victoria Square. The Hites said JoAn was very
thorough and the closing went well. The seller, Marlene Burk appreciated the quick sale and a
smooth closing.
Robin Love kept Greg and Deborah Stricker well informed when they sold 2126 Cumberland and
when they purchased 59556 Twin Pines. They were past customers of Robin’s.
Robin Love’s Team successfully closed Terrie Fenner Kelty’s short sale located at 975 Spirea.
Robin’s knowledge and tools available to complete a short sale transaction were greatly appreciated
and Ms. Kelty would recommend Robin to other people buying or selling a home in this market.
Michelle and Nick Lycos gave excellent service to Nicole and Chris Alspaugh when they purchased
316 Elm. The Alspaugh’s especially appreciated the Lycos’ knowledge of the buying process. They
heard about Preview Properties.com through Integrity Financial.
Val Potts was instrumental in the smooth closings of 9424 Blueberry (sale) and 10627 McMaster
(purchase) for Mark Leighton. Mark says, “Val was a very big help to us and we would use her for all
of our home needs. She really knows the business!”
Priscilla Watts was great to work with when Edward and Ginny Showalter purchased 6243 Grand
River. They were referred to Priscilla and they appreciated the information that she provided about
the home buying process.
Priscilla Watts’ service was excellent when Charles and Marijane Pennala bought 204 Higgins for
an investment. Priscilla’s market knowledge and responsiveness to requests was most appreciated.
George George Bush Bush Wedding
Wedding
Congratulations and best wishes to
George and Roberta Bush who are
joined in this photo by their children;
George’s daughters Lauren and
Megan and Roberta’s son Britton on
their wedding day, January 11, 2011 (1
-11-11).
If you have an extra 10 or 15 minutes, go to Michigan Association of Realtors website
mirealtors.com for a list of podcasts and videos that are available for your information
at your convenience.
There is a legal update series, fair housing resource center, and weekly government
affairs videos that provide answers to many current issues facing Realtors and
Community Events
Bob Smith’s Sweetwater Chili was the
winner of Preview Properties’ chili
cook-off last month. Contributions
from this lunch went to the February
12 Walk for Warmth which took place
at the old Hartland High School. Pictured
is Bob with his winning chili and
below is Val
Potts, Hal Potts and Mary Jo
Zurawski, part of the Preview
Properties.com Walk for Warmth
team. Other team members not in
the picture were Nancy Bohlen,
Lisa Bohlen and Bob Smith.
Sterling Title brought a unique
treat to our December CITO
luncheon. Shown is a hand
made chocolate cabbage
(molded from an actual head of
cabbage) that is filled with
chocolate covered nuts and
fruit .