Keller Williams Realtor Britt Lopez Puts Out 'Fires' With as Much ...

Britt Lopez has been blazing real estate trails in in East Dallas since 2002. She?s been involved in everything from the Lakewood Early Childhood PTA and the Hollywood Heights Home Tour committee to the Lakewood Service League. She seamlessly juggles her red hot real estate business with four kids in four different schools and knows more about East Dallas than anyone we?ve ever met.

Lopez has been with Keller Williams for almost ten years. ?Working with Britt is truly a pleasure,? Keller Williams Urban owner and CEO Tony Caliendo said. ?It?s amazing to watch her in action because she always performs at such a high level for not only her clients but also her family. She has a true spirit of giving and a desire to make things better for everyone she meets. We?re fortunate to be in business with such a talented person!?

CandysDirt.com: So are you a native Dallasite?

Britt Lopez: No ? I grew up in Burleson but dreamed of living in Dallas from the time I was 12. I?ve been here since 1994. I always knew I?d live here, I love this city!

CD: Where do you live? House or Condo? House style? Do you own? Rent?

Lopez: I?m currently renting a home in East Dallas. I?ll be buying again within the next two years.

CD: And you drive a?

Lopez: Suburban and a Green Mini Cooper Convertible (green is my fave color)

CD: What?s you favorite ?hood in Dallas and why?

Lopez: East Dallas!?The first time I came to East Dallas for a baby shower, I was hooked. I love the architecture and the interesting and quirky nature of East Dallas businesses and people. I feel at home here. White Rock Lake is a huge source of peace for me. It feels like living in a small town even though I?m only a few minutes from downtown Dallas. It?s close to everything fun!

CD: If you could move in Dallas, where else might you live ? what other neighborhood?

Lopez: Probably Downtown or Uptown in a high rise. I love the skyline view and have a ?city girl? inside me!

CD: How the heck did you get started in real estate?

Lopez: My Realtor told me I should be in real estate. It took about 8 years before I decided to give it a try. It just took me a while to self-discover. I have always been in sales and being self-employed seems to fit my personality. Having been a stay-at-home mom for5 years, it was time to go back to work! As soon as I started I knew it was the right move. I started out working for Costello and Associates. I moved to Keller Williams after 18 months in the business and have been there ever since. I?m starting my 12th year in real estate.

CD: What?s your worst sales nightmare?

Lopez: The worst nightmare is always deals falling apart at or just before closing. There are always transactions with issues (?fires,? I call them) but in general I can put out those fires. I?ve learned a lot about people, personalities and communication during the last 11 years. There?s almost nothing that can?t be solved with a calm, steady, intelligent approach. The hail storm last June caused a lot of issues with closings and client stress levels were at an all time high. I think that?s probably the toughest situation I?ve been in over the years, trying to get deals closed during that chaos. So many things like death, divorce and job loss can cause client distress. These clients need someone who has a lot of life experience that can be empathetic and sensible at the same time and I can definitely relate to the challenges of life!

CD: What?s your best/highest sale?

Lopez: I?ve had many sales that are in the $800,000-$900,000 range but I?m not sure I would call them the? best? sales. Most of my listings create other business for me in terms of picking up buyers or other sellers. When you add up the sales amount that one listing can bring in, the numbers go well above $1million almost every time. For instance, I just closed a $200k listing in Lakewood Hills. The sellers bought a home from me. Two more buyers looking at that house purchased homes from me. So, that one closing brought in three more transactions and a $200k listing resulted in almost $2million in real estate sales volume. That?s the beauty of this business! I love that.

CD: How quickly have you ever turned a house?

Lopez: The last home I listed I sold without putting it in the MLS. I never had the chance. We got a full price offer the day the photographer was there. So I guess that?s zero days on market! I also put deals together frequently that are never listed at all.

CD: How much did you sell last year?

Lopez: I sold 26 properties and did five lease transactions. My gross sales volume was $7,442,250. I have not had a year like that since 2005. I am amazed and blessed!!

CD: Secrets to marketing a house?

Lopez: Networking and exposure. The more the agent is connected the quicker the home will sell. It has to do with getting that house out to as many people as possible. Do not keep it a secret!

CD: If you ever change careers for an encore you?ll?

Lopez: Be an actress or an artist or both!

CD: What is something most people don?t know about you?

Lopez: My parents own a winery in Burleson in the house I grew up in and I?m half Danish. My mom came over on a boat to Ellis Island when she was 18. Oh and I?m marrying a man, Mike Marsh, that I?ve known since 1976 but it took 34 years before we had a conversation! We were first in school together in 5th grade. We were then in school all thru 12th same class ? never once talked to each other but knew each other. Then in Oct 2010 we reconnected at a high school reunion and actually spoke for the first time!

CD: What is your favorite place for a second home and why?

Lopez: The Emerald Coast in Florida ?? Hwy 30-A! The sugar white sand and emerald water is such a source of peace for me. I go there every summer with the kids. I will own a home there and that?s where you?ll find me for at least a month every summer and a month in the winter. The sleepy beach towns and relaxed family atmosphere is the most wonderful place to rejuvenate your soul.

Source: http://www.candysdirt.com/2013/01/22/keller-williams-realtor-britt-lopez-puts-out-fires-with-as-much-style-as-any-city-girl/

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New Dem. Finance Chief Dined With Fidel Castro | The Weekly ...

Politico reported this morning that "Henry R. Mu?oz III of San Antonio -- an Obama bundler and a national chairman of the Futuro Fund, a group of Latino leaders who raised money for the president?s reelection -- is expected to be named DNC Finance Chair, the first Latino to hold the title."

What's also interesting about?Mu?oz, though Politico omitted this fact, is that he at least once dined with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

"Mu?oz?s clout has only expanded in the ensuing years ? in politics, philanthropy and his profession," mysanantonio.com reported two years ago.

"He dined with Fidel Castro in Cuba and raised funds at his own Monte Vista mansion for presidential hopefuls, including Bill and Hillary Clinton."

There's no word on the conversation Mu?oz had with Castro, or if that was the only time the two met.

Source: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/new-dem-finance-chief-dined-fidel-castro_697436.html

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News & Events ? Bird Breeding and Parrot Psychology Classes

February 10, the Sunday closest to Valentines Day will be the date for our Bird Breeding class. Valentines Day is the day you traditionally put your canaries up to breed so that has always been when we do our overview class to encourage everyone to breed birds for us. It is fun, profitable and environmentally necessary. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? In many cases, the behavior changes in pet birds at this time of year, relate to the increasing day length and hormone production. That?s why the Parrot Psychology class is scheduled for Sunday, February 17. Our 2 hour discussion will focus on how our birds perceive their world and what we can do to live?successfully with them. They do live amazingly long lives with even little parakeets going as long as 21 years.

Please call the store to reserve your seat. Classes are $15 in advance, $25 at the door. They are held ? 3-5 PM on Sunday.

Source: http://blog.424pets.com/?p=271

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Militants melt away as French troops advance in Mali

By Bate Felix, Reuters

NIONO, Mali - French troops advanced cautiously toward northern Mali on Sunday amid fears of ambush by al-Qaida-linked fighters, while its fighter jets pounded the Islamists' strongholds in the desert near Timbuktu.

In the central Malian town of Diabaly, seized by Islamist fighters on Monday, the wreckage of the Islamists' charred pickup trucks lay abandoned among the mud-brick buildings, television images showed.

Residents of the town, some 220 miles from the capital Bamako, said Islamists had fled into the bush after French airstrikes.

The commanders of French and Malian forces, who set up their operations center in the nearby town of Niono, said their forces were moving slowly toward Diabaly after reports that Islamist fighters had abandoned their turbans and flowing robes to blend in with local residents.

"There are risks of mines and booby traps in houses, that is why we have to be careful," a French commander who would be identified only as Colonel Frederic told reporters sheltering from the sun in a grove of trees.

France has deployed 2,000 ground troops and its war planes have pounded rebel columns and bases for 10 days, turning back an Islamist advance towards the riverside capital which Paris said would have toppled Mali's government.

French troops advance towards the Jihadists controlling the northern half of Mali. NBC's Rohit Kachroo reports from Central Mali.

France now aims, with international support, to dislodge the Islamists from Mali's vast desert north, an area the size of Texas, before they use it to launch attacks on the West.

The Islamist alliance, grouping al-Qaida's North African wing AQIM and home-grown Malian militant groups Ansar Dine and MUJWA, has imposed harsh sharia law in northern Mali, including amputations and the destruction of ancient shrines sacred to moderate Sufi Muslims.

Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said French Rafale and Mirage planes had bombed Islamists' camps and logistics bases around the ancient caravan town of Timbuktu as well as Gao, the largest city of the north. The strikes were aimed at preventing Islamist fighters from recovering to launch a counterattack.

"The terrorists ... have diversified tactics. They can leave a town at any time or mingle with the population to avoid airstrikes," he said. "It's urban guerrilla warfare as well as a war so it's very complicated to manage."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius denied Mali could spiral into another Afghanistan, saying that Islamist fighters did not have the support of the local moderate Muslim majority.

The stakes in Mali rose dramatically this week when Islamist gunmen cited France's intervention as their reason for attacking a desert gas plant in neighboring Algeria, seizing hundreds of hostages. Algeria carried out an assault on Saturday to end the siege and said on Sunday it expected a heavy death toll.

The conflict in Mali and the hostage crisis in Algeria have raised concerns about the radicalization of the broader Sahel region, which is awash with weapons pillaged from the armories of toppled Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Additional reporting by Brian Love in Paris, Abdoualye Massalatchi and Nathalie Prevost in Niamey, Media Coulibaly in Niono and Anthony Rickles in Sevare.

Related:?

France, Mali set aside colonial past to fight new common foe

Violence in Mali, Algeria raises fresh fear of radical Islam

ANALYSIS: Why France is taking on Mali extremists

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/21/16619802-islamist-insurgents-melt-away-as-french-troops-advance-in-mali?lite

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Former Secretary of State Rice joins CBS News

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has joined CBS News as a contributor.

CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager and president David Rhodes say Rice "will use her insight and vast experience to explore issues facing America at home and abroad."

Rice served as secretary of state during President George W. Bush's second term. She was the first African-American woman to hold the post.

Rice was Bush's national security adviser during his first term and worked on the National Security Council under President George H.W. Bush.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-20-CBS-Rice/id-e5aacfab22a2453a950c3651e133c5eb

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Gun sales, training hit record numbers

MORAINE, Ohio (WDTN) - Sim Trainer in Moraine has seen a big boom in business with people seeking training and looking to purchase firearms.

"Sales have been over the top.? Record number of sales pretty much across the board, everything from pistols, shotguns to rifles.? A majority of what we do here is training and education and we've had such a high interest that we've added multiple sessions to all of our classes and they've already filled within a week or so and we're already scheduling into March and April," says owner Jeff Pedro.

Pedro has been in law enforcement for more than 30 years. He also owns this Indoor range and training facility.

He believes this increase in interest is due not only to the recent school shooting massacre in Connecticut, but also fear of the unknown.

This week, President Obama announced 23 executive orders aimed to reduce gun violence.

"It's suspicion of what might happen as far as legislation which may prohibit gun ownership or curtail gun ownership, accessories, magazines,things of that nature.? They're worried as they typically are when they hear the federal government start clamping down," comments Pedro.

Laura Torres-Reyes wanted to learn how to use guns.? She says education is key.

"A lot of women come to me because they're afraid, just like me.? They've never touched one, it just seems like a scary thing.? Once you become knowledgeable about how to properly handle them, how to properly store them, how to properly load and unload, then you can use the firearm as it's intended, in the case of self-defense or, like me, if you want to have competitive shooting," explains Torres-Reyes.

For more information on the programs at Sim Trainer, go here.

Source: http://www.wdtn.com/dpp/news/local/montgomery/gun-sales-training-hit-record-numbers

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Segun Arinze and family on the cover of Motherhood In-Style

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Source: http://www.gistus.com/20562/segun-arinze-family-cover-motherhood-in-style-magazine

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