What did you do last Friday night?…

Me? Tried to stop a crook.

It happened to us. Real wire fraud. Earnest money wired from one banking institution to another. The money is gone. Good news (hardly “good” in the big picture), our broker was on two-step verification on her email and thus appears she herself did not fall culprit to a phishing scam. Bad news, the optics appear that the client’s email/computer was hacked. The timeliness of the hacker was uncanny – sending an email to the Buyer pretending to be Broker (included appropriate broker email signature) giving wire instructions for Earnest Money the same day Buyer got into contract. Broker calls the Buyer Friday afternoon to T up obtaining their Earnest Money check in the “next couple of days” only to find out “oh, we already wired the money.” Eeks. I won’t go any further here in detail – I’m no dummy – my blog is a public domain – hackers included in access.

That said, this is what I have to say…

The very best protection we can do is continue to educate the consumer on wire fraud. Thus far we’ve been able to provide proper steps in disclosure – between you and client. Let’s now strongly consider taking our education one step further – an added addendum within the Purchase & Sale – giving all parties another point in education and frankly, potentially more meaningful in timing vs. lost in the shuffle during disclosure packets.

(Note: Demco still wants the Wire Fraud disclosure to be a stand alone document with your client vs. lumped into one large disclosure packet)

Your manager will go over the details of our new addendum at your next office meeting – Wire Transfer Addendum. (WRE Form 49). This addenda has been penned by Demco and now lives within Company forms on NWMLS. I figured the best and only way towards adoption was to house this on the NWMLS. Once we see this addenda out in the field and in play it may need revisions. For now, we’ve got it – let’s use it + see how it goes…

Friday’s wire fraud is unfortunate fuel to push us getting to 100% adoption onto two-step verification with your email address. Great news, I believe our offices are just about 100% there – that was a heavy lift – THANK YOU ALL!

Real stuff. Thanks for keeping wire fraud + cyber security Top Of Mind with your clients and in your practice.

Ps, I’ll give a shout out to our tech folks who created WindermereSecurity.com (WORC password required for login). This was a helpful resource to all of us involved last Friday night and helpful in taking action – where we could.

I am certainly looking forward to a better Friday night tonight than last week! First though, off to Skin & Soul Tattoo – more on “the why” in the coming weeks! Hint hint: think video shoot, think marketing, think surrounding yourself with creative people is a good thing! Stand by…

By the way, did you see this muscle flexed this week? A beautiful muscle…

That was an easy media share – and one very much worth flexing…#WeAreWindermere and we are very much rooted actively within our communities. All in, with you.

Laura Smith, Co-owner | Windermere Real Estate Co.

WINDERMERE REAL ESTATE CO.

www.wreimpact.com

Welcome to Friday! I have plenty to say, plenty to share – let’s get right to it! First, a couple housekeeping items to digest…

Office Hours and Computation of Time

Offices Closed this Monday in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr Day. If you are working within purchase and sale agreements nice & early in the year (aka, now and heading into the weekend) – when computing time, regard Monday January 21st as a legal holiday.

On Tuesday, the security around the NWMLS website is being updated = meaning we’ll all need to do a one time heightened security login. A 3 minute video has all the scoop – click here if you are curious, before Tuesday.

By The Numbers & Beyond the Headlines

Windermere Stats thru December are out with refreshed talking points for both Seattle & Eastside. Ready for you to digest… Click here. *if you need this month’s password: text me, 206.227.7133. We approach another season in setting Seller expectations – pricing for “the now” & educating Buyers – these facts & figures do a good job in setting the table for both you and your clients. Designed for YOU!

I’m optimistic for 2019 – I do believe we are going to have an absolutely fine year and may even see an increase in sales for 2019 – overall.  That said, I heard a very good story worth sharing as we will continue to face more headlines that we’ll need to move beyond and work with. Let’s call these headlines “trade winds.” We will have wind…

On the eve on of one of The Master’s golf tournaments, Tiger Woods was asked – “what do you think of the wind?” Tiger’s reply…

…”the wind doesn’t both me. However the wind can create doubt, doubt creates tension and tension can effect my golf swing.”

A collective goal for us this year will be to not let “wind” bother us – aka, impact our golf swing. In order to do this I agree with KCM’s Steve Harney (Keeping Current Matters) and his four goals for this year coming out of his January Monthly Market Report: 1. don’t panic 2. stay current daily 3. control the narrative and 4. every day, list *and when you list, price for what the home will sell for today = make prices compelling. *I must thank the KCM team for the Tiger Woods story, on wind.

What is your word?

Up for a challenge? Good, let’s do it. Set one word for the this year. Setting a word can help guide you throughout the year with clear intention and keep you on track, both professionally and personally. Think of this word as a mini business plan – it’s easy to remember – especially if you hit a patch of “wind” – which we all will. In 2017 my word was Impact. In 2018, my word was Play. In 2019, my word is FOCUS.

Why is Laura’s word FOCUS? Glad you asked…

Recently I was listening to a podcast with Oprah & author, Daniel Goleman’s, on “Emotional Intelligence and why it can matter more than IQ”.  At one point in their conversation they referenced “focus” as a flabby muscle and one that needs to become more fit. The gist, people are distracted most of the time.

Then, good friend and broker, Tammy Heldridge from our Sand Point office share this article with me…seriously, read it! Click here.

How to Actually, Truly Focus on What You’re Doing

Tired: Shallow work. Wired: Deep work.

There you have it. As I was searching for my “word” for 2019, I can thank Oprah, Daniel and Tammy for FOCUS. Ps, I’ve asked many of you what your word is for 2019 – and so far this is what I’ve heard…

grind + shift + hopeful + cautious + focused + strong + awesome possum + resilience + new + balance + brave + excited + winning + improve + appreciation + baller status + boom + impactful + trump + confidence + ownership + advance

What is your word? I really do want to know! This stuff matters.

Laura Smith, Co-owner | Windermere Real Estate Co.

Why oh why am I hearing from Laura on a Monday, it is not Friday?

Answer is:

Lining up my next podcast for 2019 and I want to hear from YOU in what content + conversations you want more of!

Please text, email or post a comment on this blog post if you have an opinion. The content + conversations are designed with YOU in mind. Next up I’ll no doubt get Demco Law Firm & David Daniel back mic’d up…

What else?

Who else?

Guests outside of our real estate industry?

With gratitude, Laura Smith

…206.227.7133 (cell)

*and yes, you’ll still hear from me this Friday – I have plenty to say in the New Year. Welcome 2019! I am glad you are here and extremely optimistic about YOU.

Welcome to Friday, let’s sweep! First of the New Year – hello 2019 – we are glad you are here!

Top ten items to consider in setting your table for 2019. No theme here outside of what is on my mind that I want to share with you today as we sweep + launch into 2019.

1. Is your calendar relevant or cluttered? Do you have recurring calendar items that are no longer relevant? Delete them, now. Make space for productive relevant time.

2. Ready for a bio refresh? We have a bio writer standing by – just ask at tuneup@windermere.com

3. Marking needs beyond the basics? W Creative has their lights turned on for us! Submit inquiries to wcreative@windermere.com – ps, make this creative agency a contact in your database – people/marketing agency designed for your marketing needs – big + small.

4. Save the date. COMPLIMENTARY, 3 clock hours! The content will be a mash up between Lars Neste & Troy St George with current title & legal topics!

9. A word from Christopher Robin. “Promise me you’ll always remember: Your braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – CR

10. Go Seahawks!!!

That’s a wrap on my Top Ten mash up for this week – let’s level up, giddy up, show up in 2019! In partnership with you, and so darn grateful to be.

Laura Smith, Co-owner | Windermere Real Estate Co.