April 2020 Newsletter

2019 RLI Colorado & Open Fence Ranch Tour

I understand the ranch tour, but fundamentally, I realize that the only reason the ranch tour has found so much success is the net result of a robust chapter which consistently meets to market properties and provide beneficial education for its members. The Colorado Chapter is 119 members strong with 34
Accredited Land Consultants (ALC). It’s a chapter that is continuing to grow and strive for excellence. Of the 34 designated ALCs, 16 have received this designation since 2017. As a result of a core group of tenacious brokers who believed: “A high tide raises all ships” a chapter of associates have become respected colleges and dear friends over the years. The reason we have a robust ranch tour is because we have a robust chapter.

So, what is the new normal and how do we continue to strive for excellence and maintain the continuity of our chapter? In many respects, we’re going to have to become comfortable with a new normal. Social distancing has forced us into isolation, but the term “social distancing” needs to be restated as “physical distancing.” Although we need to physically distance ourselves because of a virus, socially, we have enhanced opportunities. Through great technologies such as Zoom, Face time, Skype, and Google Hangouts video chats are becoming an everyday occurrence. As we enter our busy season we need to first abide by the rules and regulations of our authorities, but also find innovative ways to promote our properties and socially connect.

Please be open to a few new great ideas: COVID 19 will alter our May marketing meeting to a video conference format. This is good and will make us better. Our 2020 Ranch Tour will not take place in its past format. David Light of Land Broker COOP is excited to remain as our primary sponsor, but for 2020 we will be announcing multiple smaller tours to allow greater physical distancing. Will there be challenges? Absolutely. Will we have to do business a different way? Of course. Will we succeed and become stronger? No Question. I am pleased to walk this journey with you as I know we will overcome. I’m proud to be the President of the Colorado Chapter of the Realtors Land Institute. Happy Easter. He is Risen!

Needless to say, they're either nervous, uncertain, hysterical, or quite calm with the circumstances and are ready to just ride it out. No matter what their state of mind is, most of them want communication from their Realtor. They don't want communication saying that "I just called to say nothing is happening on your property right now". They want communication that says "I was just calling to see how you and your family are doing. What can I bring you from town? Do you need groceries, medication, etc.....?"

Paul J. Meyer said that "Communication, the human connection, is the key to personal and career success".

For many of us, it was quite simply honest relationships. They were with parents from our kid’s sports teams. They were with old high school or college friends from our youth. They were with the people sitting behind us in the church pew on Sunday mornings, and with the people sitting around the lunch table at the weekly Rotary or Kiwanis club meetings. They were with the folks involved in local nonprofits with us in our communities.

No matter what the connection was or still is, think back to all those people that helped get you where you are in your career. Reach out to them now and let them know you're thinking of them. Don't do it because you hope a business deal comes from it. Do it because they need you more now than ever.

Thank you, George Harvey, for reminding me of this in a recent phone call. Your words of advice to "Call your clients. Call all of them. You don't have to call them all in one day, or even one week, but call them all and just ask them how they're doing" impacted me for than you will ever know.

I love this RLI Colorado Chapter. I would like to not only thank George Harvey, but all the many of you that have been like a mentor to me the past 8 years. You are truly all a class act. By far, hands down, the most professional organization I have ever been a part of.

Alternate and cleaner energy sources in todays homes are available for those who really wish to choose a 100% sustainable lifestyle. As mentioned previously, there is plenty of good information out there should that choice become a potential reality.

Off grid living offers many percs besides the obvious benefit of leaving a way less profound carbon footprint on Mother Earth. No utility bills except for propane, or any other alternate fuel such as diesel. If running off a private well, there is no water bill, and since there will most likely be a septic system as well, there is no city or county wastewater fee. There is no power bill arriving every month. There is a certain freedom of knowing a notice in the mail that the electric company has approved a rate increase will never appear.

Solar systems come with a complete set of manuals to help buyers get familiar with the system they have picked. Some existing homes that are listed for sale come already equipped with a complete solar system. A huge plus for having a solar system is that it always works if the weather is bad and traditional power sources fail.

Most off grid systems begin with grid tiered solar power or solar photovoltaic power. Your solar panels power a bank of batteries. Photovoltaic (PV) panels are clean, noiseless, durable, long-lived, and relatively maintenance free. At that point the power goes through a power inverter to convert DC (direct current) to AC (alternate current) (220V or 110V) power to run your household and use for most standard outlets and appliances. . In DC systems, current flows in only one direction, and at 12, 24, or 48 volts, instead of the 120 volts you’re used to in a typical home. Solar panels feed a battery bank and the bank supplies the load, whether that load is a DC refrigerator, lights, or whatever. Generally speaking, all DC appliances, light fixtures, and bulbs are specialty products, so they’ll be more expensive than what you’ll find at a hardware store, but it is more environmentally aware and economically worthwhile in the long run. Be aware that DC wiring and components are different from AC. Most DC systems operate at a significantly higher current, sometimes ten times the current you’d need for 120 volts AC. Alternating current, or AC, flows in one direction, then reverses, over and over, at a certain rate called hertz. AC is the power of choice on the grid because it’s less wasteful to transform it. It can be transported around the grid at massively high voltages (and comparatively lower current) and then stepped down at a substation and then stepped down again at the power pole right outside your home. With AC, all the wiring and everything you need downstream from the inverter is pretty much what you would have in a regular house.

Most setups have generator back up that will auto start from inside the house when the battery power lowers to a pre-determined level or percentage. The generator charges the batteries to near 100%. On sunny days (nearly every day in Colorado) the solar panels charge the batteries and there is no need for the generator. As far as battery maintenance is concerned, all it takes is a few drops of distilled water once a month and equalization from your controller which is automatically done. Wind turbines are sometimes used in areas with historically sustained winds as another backup to solar power.

Living off grid is largely a decision of conscious awareness of lifestyle vs load. You can certainly blow dry your hair and vacuum your floors, you just cannot do them at the same time! You do however, have to have an increased level of communication with your home. In the greater scheme of things, no resource is infinite and off grid living is a good example of that.