We were inspired by new strategies and networking at the Cartus Broker Network International Conference

Coldwell Banker Platinum Partners Relocation Team attended the 2012 Cartus Broker Network International Conference held April 25-28 in Florida at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes. The annual event, this year themed “Rising to the Challenge,” brought together nearly 600 Cartus Broker Network members from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom for an intensive event that included an awards celebration as well as an agenda of interactive workshops, roundtable discussions, and executive presentations. The Conference’s hands-on sessions were designed to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and best practices among the brokers who compose the Cartus Broker Network. Connie Farmer Ray, President & CEO of Coldwell Banker Platinum Partners was involved in interaction and discussion on a wide variety of relocation issues, while networking with other leading brokers and the Cartus Broker Network leadership team. Corporate speakers at the conference included Richard A. Smith, chairman, president and CEO of Cartus’ parent company Realogy, and Kevin J. Kelleher, Cartus president and CEO. Keynote speaker was Patrick Grandinetti, Real Estate Industry Director at Google, Inc. “The last few years have been interesting ones for those of us in real estate,” said Gerald Pearce, Cartus’ executive vice president, Broker Services and Affinity Services. “But despite the economic challenges they’ve faced, the members of the Cartus Broker Network have continued to provide the highest quality service to their customers. This event has given me the opportunity to congratulate and thank them for all that they’ve done and for their ongoing professionalism.” Christy Woiwode, VP of Relocation for Coldwell Banker Platinum Partners spoke of the value gained at the conference. “I appreciate the depth and breadth of information that was made available during the event,” Woiwode said. “This conference provided me with an opportunity to learn and grow as well as hear from our industry leaders.” Representing 835 of the top-performing brokers across the country, the Cartus Broker Network provides real estate services to clients and customers of Cartus’ affinity, corporate, and government clients. In 2011, Cartus and the Cartus Broker Network closed sales of 71,996 properties, with an approximate value of more than $19.25 billion, on behalf of Cartus clients and Network members. About Cartus and the Cartus Broker Network Cartus Broker Network is the nation’s leading network of more than 835 market-leading real estate firms representing more than 3,000 offices and more than 97,000 agents. Cartus provides trusted guidance to organizations of all types and sizes that require global relocation solutions. Serving over 70% of the Fortune 50 and providing service to more than 160 countries, we apply our more than half century of experience to help our clients with their mobility, outsourcing, consulting, and language and intercultural training needs. Cartus is part of Realogy Corporation—a global provider of real estate and relocation services. To find out how our greater experience, reach, and hands-on guidance can help your company, visit www.cartus.com and www.pitchengine.com/cartus; read our blog at www.cartusblog.com; or click www.realogy.comfor more information. About Coldwell Banker Platinum Partners Coldwell Banker Platinum Partners, established in 1995, is a full-service real estate firm with office locations spanning from Beaufort, South Carolina, through the greater Savannah area to St. Simons Island, Georgia. In addition to listing and selling residential real estate, Coldwell Banker Platinum Partners’ other divisions include commercial real estate, property management, relocation services, new homes, a real estate school, mortgage lending and a publishing/media division. The company’s corporate offices are located at 6349 Abercorn St., Savannah, Georgia. For more information visit their Web site at www.MyCbpp.com.

8 Ways to Save Money on Airfare

By Barbara Pronin, RISMedia Columnist If summer travel is in your plans, there are a few tips to consider that may help you save a bundle on airfare, according to Joe Brancatelli, publisher of the website, Joesentme.com.

“On a single flight, there can be more than a dozen pricing categories,” Brancatelli says. He offers these tips to help you snag the best deals in the air: • Book six weeks in advance – Data collected over four years shows that while some of the best deals may be found at other times, booking 42 days in advance of your flight will generally save you money. • Check for morning deals – Although some airlines offer discounted tickets all day, the early morning is the best time to find discounted fares. • Check on Tuesday afternoons – According to farecompare.com, many discount deals are offered online on Tuesdays at 3 p.m. Eastern time. • Fly on Wednesdays – Flying on a Wednesday can net you airfare discounts, with Tuesdays and Saturdays not far behind. Those are the days when the most empty seats often require discounting to fill the plane. • Fly early – While it may mean getting up well before sunrise, you will find the first flights of any morning are always the cheapest, studies show. • Check low-cost airlines individually - Comparison sites like kayak.com don't necessarily do all the work. Some low-cost airlines, like Southwest in the United States and Ryanair in Europe, don't allow their tickets to be quoted on popular comparison websites. So check them separately. • Sign up for free alerts - Almost every major online booking site offers airfare alerts that ping you when fare prices fall. AirfareWatchdog.com stands out from the pack. • Build a relationship - Elite members of an airline's frequent-flyer program, or those who have a credit card tied to the airline, automatically have a leg-up on being offered lower fares. Also, credit cards tied to the airlines offer perks that were once standard, such as free checked bags, priority boarding, and seat selection, so they may be worth signing up for if you fly frequently on one airline.

Ways to Attract Birds with Water

Water increases the chances that birds will visit a backyard—whether in winter or summer. The bird experts at Duncraft offer the following easy and fun ideas for providing water to back yard birds so customers can help the birds and enjoy more of them. Birds bathe in water to keep feathers clean. Clean feathers are more flight-worthy, helping birds escape predators. Clean feathers also fluff up better, retaining heat in winter. Although birds get most of their dietary water from food, they also seem to enjoy a drink at times. In some areas, natural water sources simply aren’t easily available to birds, especially when water is frozen over or water sources are dried up in summer. Birds don’t want to travel far from water, so not having a water supply in the yard might even keep birds from visiting bird feeders. The most obvious way to provide water to birds is with a bird bath. However, another way to provide water for birds and that is with a simple mister attached to a hose. When attached to a tree branch, it delivers a fine, cooling mist in the area. Hummingbirds especially like flying in and out of a gentle mist. Other birds may simply perch in front of the mister to wet their feathers while they preen. Birds will also drink the water-droplets that form on leaves.

Moving water is especially attractive to birds. A product called the Water Wiggler continuously agitates the water and creates ripples. Along with being very attractive to birds, moving water removes the tension on the surface of the water that enables mosquito larvae to develop. Larvae sink when there’s no tension for them to cling to and breathe—mosquitoes hatching in the bird bath are no longer a problem. One more way to accomplish moving water is with a fountain. A solar operated fountain is an eco-friendly option. Source: www.duncraft.com

Home Buying Basics: Why You Need a Home Inspection

Homeowners across the country are learning about the benefits of having a home inspection—an important step in the home buying and selling process. Whether your home is on the market or you simply want to maintain its condition, enlist the help of a trustworthy home inspector to ensure that your current or potential home is in optimal condition.

When buying a home, a home inspection determines its structural and mechanical condition. If there are any problems, your inspector will make them known and estimate costs for repair. You can then determine if the cost of dealing with these issues is worth the listed price of the home or if more negotiation is required.

If you are selling your home, a potential buyer is likely to enlist a home inspector, but you can arrange your own home inspection to prepare. They will help you identify any issues that need fixing, so that you can present your home as structurally and mechanically sound home.

Even if you're not in the process of buying or selling, home inspection is important to the upkeep of your property. Prevention is more affordable than treatment—and a home inspector will help you identify issues before they become a serious problem. For example, a home inspector could identify a hole in your roof; left untreated, you may need an expensive new roof, but caught by a home inspector, you may only require an inexpensive patching service.

A home inspector will examine your home for structural and safety issues. They will determine if your foundation has been damaged by renovations or termites, and verify the condition of support beams. They will also check for safety hazards, including rotting steps, loose railings, and faulty locks.
Your home inspector also knows to look for problems with wiring and electrical boxes, as well as plumbing issues. Water damage can be a deal-breaker in the sale of many homes, and a home inspection can identify potentially costly leaks.

Source: AmeriSpec®

Coming to terms with your closets

By Maria Patterson “Not enough closet space” is a common lament of many homeowners. But the truth is, no matter how abundant or spacious your closets may be, the inner pack-rat in all of us tends to take over and stuff our shelves to capacity. If your closet contains articles of clothing with the price tags still on, sheet sets from your childhood bunk beds, or board games with more than a few pieces missing, raise the red flag—things have gotten out of control. While the prospect of overhauling your closets is indeed daunting, the benefits in terms of streamlining and organizing your day-to-day life (just imagine how much easier getting dressed in the morning could be?) make the challenge more than worth it. Here are some pointers to make tackling closet clean-outs less overwhelming: - Pick and choose. Often the biggest deterrent to closet cleaning is not knowing where to begin. Odds are, if you have one bad closet, you have more. Enlist a triage approach and decide which closet is in the worst shape and/or which closet you frequent most. Or, take the opposite approach and clean out a closet that needs the least amount of cleaning first. This will help ease you into the process and motivate you with a sense of accomplishment. - Think long-term. Unless you happen to be in a situation that affords you an inordinate amount of downtime, schedule your closet clean-outs over several months. Attempting to get them all done in one weekend is probably unrealistic and will leave you quite cranky come Monday morning. Shoot for something more reasonable, like one closet per month, or one closet per rainy weekend day. This type of approach is a lot more palatable. - Buy contractor bags. One of the biggest pitfalls of cleaning out a closet is hemming and hawing over what to keep, what to give away, and what to discard. As is often said, if you haven’t worn or used something in a year, get rid of it. But only plan to give it away if it’s in really excellent condition; otherwise, the clutter in your closet will simply be transferred to your trunk with your good intentions to give it away stretching out over months. A nice, big contractor bag by your side will be your best friend during closet clean-up. Throw stuff away and start fresh all around. - Consider an expert. For many homeowners, insufficient closet space is a real issue, especially if you live in a condo or smaller house. Also, if you’re abode is older, the closets may not have been designed with modern lifestyles in mind. A professional closet organizer can work miracles to revamp your closets for maximum space and organization.