More and more, what I really want to know is this: Why did you want to become a Realtor?
During the past year as I've made the transition from agent to broker-manager/co-owner I have become much more involved with the day-to-day drama of agents and I am continually interviewing new licensees looking for a place to call their 'real estate home'. And I really want to know, why this?
Money, of course, is a frequent motivating factor -- after all this is supposed to be an income-producing activity. But I think for most of us, there's something else that brought us to the land of open houses and photo business cards. Or, at least, there's more that keeps us here.
I got my license in 2002 after never having worked in sales and wondering what I was getting myself into. I was determined to be successful but uncertain what it would take to get there -- and maybe a little frightened.
I will always remember a dear friend emailing to congratulate me on my new career path. She said, 'Shelter is one of the most primal needs we have and you are helping people find not just shelter, but home.' She suggested that this was a kind of spiritual calling.
It was a powerful context for what I viewed simply as a mid-life career change brought on because I didn't want to commute to Manhattan to continue working in my then-career, television production & design.
Truth be told, my neighbor sold his house and said that all his agent did was stick a sign in the ground and collect a substantial paycheck. I thought, "Surely I can do that!" And suddenly, a new real estate agent had earned his lockbox key.
But since then, I've realized that my friend was right. Being a real estate professional is a sort-of calling. (If there are any car salesmen in the room, I'll kindly ask you to step outside until you've stopped chortling.)
Think about it: We engage people in their most private realms. We know the secrets, fears, and aspirations of strangers. We are welcomed into the dark and sometimes shameful shadows of our clients' brokenness: divorce, financial ruin, dire health prognoses, the death of a family member... there are so many reasons people come to us to sell their homes.
Thankfully, the reasons are also often uplifting: new unions, new babies and job promotions. But frequently they're heartbreaking -- especially in these times.
In either case, the reasons are deeply personal and our entry into this intimate space, I think, needs to be informed with respect and humility.
So here I am, asking you -- with a special plea to restrain any soap operatic knee-jerk responses that this question may provoke -- and request that you simply respond with truth... aside from hoping to earn an honest living, Why Did You Become a Realtor?
As a profession, I think we take a good deal of abuse because of a relatively small number of agents who behave without ethics or caring. I am proud to say that the vast majority of agents in my marketplace are trustworthy, honest and deeply caring individuals whom I am proud to call my colleagues, and many, my friends.
Whatever may have brought me to this career, I can honestly say now that I am humbled by the stories of all those I have encountered: those looking to start anew, those hoping to repair or escape a living situation that simply was not working, those eager to begin a new chapter in their life.
What a small and insignificant role to play in the lives of others, and yet, one so vitally important.
Wanna buy a house? Or shall I say, How may I help you build a bridge to that next place where you will experience your life? 'Cause that's what we do.
Let's hear it. I really want to know: Why did you become a Realtor?
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Thomas McCormack
Broker-Manager/Co-Owner
Resources Real Estate
Looking to move to Monmouth County NJ. Search for new homes at my website.
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