Vargas & Vargas Insurance

1133 Washington St
Dorchester, MA 02124

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Preparing to Sell Your Home

If you’re thinking of leaving the Boston area, or if you’re just upgrading to a new home, you need to get your home ready for market. With the help of a top notch real estate professional, you can have your home ready to show off to potential buyers in no time. To start preparing a little early, use the following Realtor-approved tips:

  • Curb appeal is crucial – make sure that your lawn is manicured, and touch up paint if necessary. Outdoor furniture and windows should be clean, and shrubbery and flowers should be pruned.
  • You want to make sure that your home feels spacious, so put away clutter. If you’re planning on moving, you can start packing away anything that you won’t need in the near future so that your home feels roomier.
  • Are there any repairs that will need to be done before your home sells? Get a start on those now – some sellers won’t like the idea of buying a home that needs repairs. For an idea of what needs to be done, ask for the help of a licensed home inspector.
  • When buyers tour your home, they will need to be able to envision living there. Help this process by depersonalizing the space – remove family photos, toys, and pet items from view.

And remember, when you do sell your home, talk to your Vargas and Vargas Insurance agent about how to cancel or transfer your existing Massachusetts home insurance policy. We are happy to answer any and all of your questions, and we will work hard to make the home insurance process as easy as possible for you and your family.

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Monday Motivation June 19, 2017 When You Reach The End Of Your

I hope you had an amazing Father’s Day weekend!

As always I like to start my week off right with some words of inspiration…

“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.”
-Thomas Jefferson

Whether you are new to or a seasoned professional in sales, there are times in our life where we have done all we can… In those times,
don’t give up
don’t stop,
just hang on and continue pushing….

Consistent action, even if the action is just hanging on, will pay off…

Keep pushing and keep creating the amazing life you know you want and deserve!

We have made many changes at our agency to better help you and your clients when you have an insurance question or need a quote.

You can call us at 617-298-0655
You can now text us at 617-409-0329
Or, for a quick insurance quote, you can email: quotes@vargasinsurance.com

Check out our blog for some advice if you are working with a property that is vacant or unoccupied, read the blog here.

And remember that I work deliberately from my plan, and my plan involves serving you to the best of my ability. Help me stay accountable? And make sure you help me understand how best to serve you. Fair?

Have an awesome week!

And know that you are loved.

Carlos

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No one saves us but ourselves.

“No one saves us but ourselves.
No one can and no one may.
We ourselves must walk the path.”
-Buddha

Yesterday was an exciting day in our family. Our youngest son, Matthew married his best friend. We are all so very proud. Matthew and new bride, Cristiana have known each other since preschool. They attended school field trips together. They were friends long before they started dating, they hung around together with the same group of friends, and experienced all of the stuff that teenagers do when they are together in a group.

But in High school, they started dating, and slowly some of the teenagers in their group faded away, and their relationship developed. They went off to college and figured out how to get along on their own, get up for class, and stay away from trouble. Cristiana graduated with a teaching degree and is gainfully employed in her field.

Matthew, in his sophomore year of college, decided that he wanted to commute to school. Kathy and I thanked him for the consideration, but we had planned to pay for his 4 years of post education, tuition, boarding expenses, and all.  He said it was not about the money, the college scene was not what he wanted – there were too many parties, and too many raucous events (he inherited this part of his being from his mother). All in all, there were too many distractions. He wanted to start working in sales and needed to be closer to home. He had a plan.

He graduated the top of his class with a marketing and communication degree, and is now one of the managers at Enterprise Rent-A-Car at Logan Airport, overseeing 200 employees and 11K automobiles.

(I suggest Enterprise to every parent that I speak to that has a son or daughter that is looking to start in the working world. They hire the largest number of college graduates in the nation each year and have the best sales training program anywhere. They teach their employees all of the skills needed for a successful career in nearly any field of business.)

Matthew decided to take advanced classes, take extra classes, and commute – he had a plan and was going to work for it.

Why? I believe it’s because he was … DRIVEN. He had a goal, had a plan, and was taking action to reach that goal. I am SUPER proud of him and his new wife, Cristiana!

But, you think, I hear you ask, “Carlos, what does that have to do with real estate, mortgages, law, and business?”

Everything!

“There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path.
Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.”
-Ralph Marston

My son was on one road, and chose to change road he was on half way through his college career. He chose to follow a different path, he tried to make the right choices.

I hope that you are on the right road, and that you are having your best year EVER!  But, if you are like some business people, you may be stumbling, wandering from day to day, you may think that you need some help following a different path, to achieve better results, or you need a different course of action. Maybe you need to put a new system in place to achieve better results.

It’s not too late to start! You still have time to change your plan to get better results.  It’s not enough to have a desire to win – you need a plan. Stop chasing the newest shiny gimmick that comes your way (for now) and focus on what brings success, connecting with the people who know, like (even LOVE) and trust us.

I hope you choose to use my son’s story to inspire you and to maybe make changes in the path that you are on to be more successful!

If you need some to listen to your plan, or someone to give you some advice, I have shared my success plan with hundreds of professionals and would love to also do so with you, leave a reply below and we can schedule a time to meet.

And, know that you are loved!

Carlos

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Is Buying a Condo the Right Choice for You?

Here in the great city of Boston, we have many choices when it comes to where to live. You can rent an apartment, buy a home, or anything in between. Sometimes, though, people tend to skip over one of the options – buying a condominium. If you’re looking to find the perfect place for you and your family, consider these reasons to buy a condo:

  • You don’t have to handle any of the outside work. Mowing the grass, shoveling snow, gardening, and more will be taken care of by the condo association. Costs for these services are shared by the owners in the development.
  • Unlike homes, condos often have amenities. Some will offer a pool, theater room, gym, tennis court, party room, or many other possible perks.
  • When you’re renting, your customization options are typically quite limited. A condo, however, you can customize to your heart’s content, since you own your unit.
  • Oftentimes, working with a reliable real estate agent or broker can save you time, effort and disappointments, we work with many very experienced real estate agents and brokers, and we can connect you with one of them.
  • You may find a condo with a smaller price tag than a comparable traditional house. This makes condo living a great option, as long as you consider the monthly fees

If you have considered all of these reasons and decide that condo living is a perfect fit for your lifestyle, (it has been for Kathy and me) remember to call Vargas and Vargas Insurance for your Massachusetts condo insurance needs (even if you are told that you do not need unit owners coverage). We are experts at writing personal condo insurance policies, Condominium Master Insurance policies and we can make sure that all of your belongings are covered, in addition to making sure that your policy contains enough personal liability coverage for your needs. Call 617-298-0655 for a free quote today!

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“Change is hard, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.”

“Change is hard, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.”
-Robin Sharma

Change is hard. I know this for a fact, as I’m experiencing it right now!

Picture this…I’m sitting in my house right now instead of sitting in traffic like I’ve done for 37 years.

As you probably know from my online posts, Kathy and I moved from our Stoughton home of 33 years to Dorchester Lower Mills, just around the corner from the Vargas and Vargas office. Believe me, this change has not been easy all the time, but change never is – even when we know it is the right thing to do.

One of the upsides of our move has been that we now spend less time in traffic, and have more time together, more time to get regular exercise, and more time in the wonderful community of Dorchester.

Recently, Vargas and Vargas has also made some changes. We have updated our client management system and our website (you can now send us a TEXT to our agency 617-213-2820 and much more to come, stay tuned) to help customers and friends like you contact our trusted referral partners!

We’ve always had a partners page on our site, but we hope that this will be a resource for you and anyone you know that is looking for any of the following professionals:

  • Accountant
  • Attorney
  • Contractor
  • Electrician
  • Estate Planner
  • Financial Advisor
  • Home Inspector
  • Loan Officer
  • Plumber
  • Realtor®
  • And More!

(Send me a message and I can let you know how you be on our partner’s list)

And while you are visiting our new website, don’t forget to check out our blog. It is always being updated with insurance tips, helpful advice, and much more.

How to Start Recycling – We Can Help!
Auto Insurance Q&A: Borrowing the Car
Best and Worst Places to Store Your Wedding Rings
Building Permits for Residential Renovations

So what does our change of address have to do with making you more money?

Many professionals start their businesses filled with excitement and passion for their new venture, but quickly realize that building a brand is hard work! Once that realization sets in and business problems begin to surface, it is very easy to get disgruntled and lose your motivation for what you originally set out to accomplish.

In the beginning, your passion creates energy that keeps you moving forward, builds excitement for the next project, and helps overcome fears and obstacles. However, maintaining that passion can be difficult as time goes on, and you might find yourself in a “rut,” or longing to reconnect with the spark that once drove your business. Whether this longing resonates with you currently or you’re teetering back and forth on the fence of business growth, it’s imperative to implement 6 practices into your business to regain focus and reignite your flame! We’ll cover the first 3 this week, so stay tuned for next week’s insider to tie all 6 together!

1. Stay focused on your core business – There are a million money making ideas out there that can distract you from what your core business is all about. If you can’t draw a direct connection from a new loan or listing to your new venture, scrap it! It will only distract you from making money and growing your business.

2. Take inspiration from SUCCESSFUL professionals – Surround yourself with positive individuals who have achieved success and are passionate about what they do. They’ll motivate, excite and remind you of why you’re in business. The right individuals will build you up with a “can do” attitude, and offer you proven methods of achieving your goals.

3. Manage your time effectively – Unfortunately, if you don’t set aside time to do important tasks like following up with new clients and building referral relationships (making FROG calls), phone calls and emails can keep you busy all day long! Make sure that you schedule time in your day that’s committed to taking care of the fundamentals of business development which make you money and keep you excited! If you need assistance with time blocking, I can help!

And know that you are LOVED!

Carlos

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