Someone recently asked me what I do for a living. My typical answer is, “I sell real estate.” I feel a bit cheesy announcing that I am a Realtor (with a capitol R!) as this conjures up images of people who wear their real estate company nametag everywhere they go in the hopes of meeting a new client. I once even saw someone wear their real estate nametag to church. While most people have a general idea of what Realtors do, I feel that there are some misconceptions about the job description, or specifically, how much work the job actually entails.
While I don’t wear a nametag everywhere, real estate is my job and I can genuinely say that I enjoy it and work very hard at it. Every real estate agent handles his or her own business slightly different; however, a reality of the job is that you are always working. And I mean always. I know agents who turn their phones off after 5 p.m. and do not work weekends. Kudos to them, but I don’t know how they do that. My clients who work 9 to 5 expect to call me or meet before or after work. I have shown properties on Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, and Christmas Eve, and have not gone on a vacation since 2001 where I did not work, sit in on conference calls, write up offers, or seek legal counsel on behalf of a client. If I don’t, another agent probably will. While this all sounds negative, and it might be to some, I would not have done it for the past 13 years if I didn’t love the unconventional aspect of real estate.
When most people think of what Realtors do, they most likely think about them showing property. While that can take up a large part of our day (perhaps half the day when working with buyers), a Realtor’s job is a lot more involved — re-evaluating marketing strategies, preparing for the year ahead, working on a business plan, and always networking and meeting new clients. Other responsibilities include being present at property inspections, maintaining an escrow (which can be a three-inch thick file by the close of escrow), coordinating photography, previewing new listings, going on broker tours, helping to clean and prepare homes for sale, doing dump runs, and staging furniture, just to name a few.
Yet it is feasible that an entire week, or even month, of work can monetarily be for naught. Take this week for example. I spent three days with a client who wrote an offer on a property, and another day negotiating that offer. The buyer and seller did not come to an agreement, so the deal fell apart. I pulled a listing off the market that I didn’t sell, and another listing that I have negotiated four offers on, none of which came together. Those three scenarios took my time and energy but I was not paid. It is the inherent risk involved in the business. But then, business will (gratefully) come in where I might not have expected, and the cycle begins again.
And I do mean gratefully. From 2007 to 2012 I found myself in the middle of the worst real estate market since the Great Depression. My income dropped to less than a third of what it was, and I found myself cleaning houses and catering to supplement my family’s income. During this time, there was a mass exodus of Realtors in the Tahoe/Truckee region. The Tahoe Sierra Board of Realtors had a 30 percent decline in its membership from September 2006 compared to September 2012. There were now complicated transactions like short sales and foreclosures to navigate, and home prices dropped to about 60 percent of what they were at the height of the market. The job is undoubtedly harder than it was, but I weathered the storm, and I still enjoy it immensely.
The market has climbed an average of 26 percent in the past year and homeowners are finally seeing equity build in their homes again. With distressed sales decreasing, real estate is becoming a more positive experience again, and I am reminded of why I enjoy this business — no two clients, purchases, or homes are the same. The best part, however, is when people are happy with their purchase or their sale — it gives meaning to my job and makes it worth doing. I have one client and now good friend who told me, “When I think about our house and how much I love it, I always remember that you helped us find it.” That right there is what being a Realtor is all about.
~ Comment on this column below.
