A New Year, A New Path
This is the first edition of RealClues in 30 years that lacks Byron’s name on the byline below. Yesterday was my first day back at work and it was also the first day since his death that had a sense of normality and flow.
All of us are impacted by loss, whether it is a friend or loved one, a divorce, illness, business failure—the list goes on and on. What I have appreciated most are my neighbors, my industry friends, and our RealClues readers who were praying daily for Byron’s recovery and sent their love and support in texts, phone messages, and cards. 
My next-door neighbor Pat has been amazing in this respect. The morning after Byron was admitted to ICU, she offered to drive me to the hospital and just sit with me and read. It turned out he died only a short 90 minutes later after we got there, but I was incredibly thankful I didn’t have to face it alone. Her presence met more to me than words can say.
Since then, she’s been there to help me in any way she can. She and her husband take in my trash bins, Pat has called to check to see if she needs to just come over to give me a hug, asked if she can get any groceries for me, join them for dinner, or simply to sit with me and if I just need to have someone here with me. These are simple things you can do for others, especially if it’s family or close personal friends.
Professionally, if the person you’re helping owns their own home, they will need an evaluation of the value based upon the date of death. I suggest that you not only do your usual CMA but also include values from realtor.com and a Zestimate to support your CMA numbers.
The good news taxwise is that they get a “stepped-up” basis on the value of their home, which means the IRS now considers their “basis” in their home at the date of death, rather than when they acquired it. This is extremely important since it can greatly reduce their exposure to income taxes.
Also, encourage them to talk to their CPA or tax professional before making ANY financial decisions. Many people have regretted rushing things. This is especially important if they’re considering selling their home or liquidating stock. They need to know the tax consequences before they act.
If they enjoy massages, get them a gift certificate. If their yard isn’t being taking care of, send a crew over (with their permission) to mow and clean up the yard. If they don’t have a housekeeper, hire a housekeeping team to clean their house when they’re ready. There’s no limit to what you can do.
Wishing you and yours the best year ever in 2026!
When You Observe Excellence, Model It
As we head into the holiday season, now is a great time to reflect on your takeaways from 2025 and what steps you plan to take to improve your business in 2026.
One of the best strategies to become better at what you do is to look for mentors or successful people from both inside and outside the industry.
For example, if there is a top-notch agent you admire, take him or her to lunch to discover how they became successful. Better yet, shadow that person for a day. Observe what they do that you could incorporate into your business to increase your success.
Don’t stop there, however. You can learn just as much by modeling the habits of people who are successful in other industries. If you haven’t tuned in to the TED Talks, now is a great time to take a look. Only the best-of-the-best make it on to the TED talk stage, so this is a great place to discover new resources from outside of real estate.
Excellence is all around you if you just look for it. When you do find it, learn from it!
Is the Government Shutdown Finally Over?
Late Sunday, November 9, 2025, the Senate struck a deal to reopen the government. In truth, however, what they really did is kick the can to January 30, 2026, by keeping current spending levels where they are until that date. While the
House and President must approve the deal, this will bring relief to many people who need it the most.
Last week I wrote about the window of opportunity over the holidays due to the reduction in mortgage interest rates. With the shutdown ending, there’s even a greater opportunity at this moment since everything could go sideways again on January 30, 2026.
Seize the Day—Mortgage Rates Are Dropping
The big news this week was the quarter point reduction in interest rates. Between now and the first few weeks of 2026, you have the best opportunity of the year to pick up motivated buyers as well as sellers who may be willing to step
back into the market.
Also, if your clients have decorated their home beautifully for the holidays, why not update your listing photos? If the weather is still nice, grab updated photos before the short, gloomy days of winter arrive.
Finally, rather than slowing down over the holidays, gear up to spend extra time. I almost always worked more through December and had a lot of good deals to show for it. Better yet were those first of the year commission checks.
The $1,440 Cup of Coffee and the $7,500 dinner
Most real estate agents focus on revenue, but what really matters most is how much you net AFTER expenses. To retain more of what you earn, begin by examining your expenses. Moreover, they often justify unnecessary major purchases by rationalizing that all they have to do is “sell just one more house a month.”
One of the best ways to increase your profitability is to identify small, daily, or weekly expenses that add up to significant costs over the course of a year. For example, if you spend $4.00 per day for a latte, for 50 weeks, that comes to $1,440 per year. If you dine out three times per week and spend $50.00, 50 weeks a year, that comes to $7,500. Those two expenses alone come to almost $9,000 per year.
There are hundreds of places where you can save money by purchasing in bulk, buying products online, not eating out so much, or just being conscious of where the money goes.
Another tip is to go through your credit card statements each month and note anything that ends in 99 cents or $99.00. These are almost always subscriptions, which in many cases you may not even remember ordering.
Another easy way to spot these items and to cancel the subscriptions is to use the app from Truebill.
The next step is to cancel any subscriptions that you’re not using and then identify at least one place in your business spending and your personal spending where you can save money. These three simple steps can literally save you thousands of dollars.