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Small Victories Make Me Love My Job

Happy Face My rental client's application was accepted this week for a condo in Crofton, MD. 'Doesn't sound like a big deal in this world of high-stakes real estate buying and selling, but it was very important to him.

It meant the difference between having a roof over his head or not - or, at the very least, between keeping his son in the same school or having to move to another neighborhood when his current landlord decided to sell.

Telling this client the bad news when his first rental application was rejected was tough... and the second... but the third time was charmed, and I couldn't have been happier if it was a multi-million dollar sale.

This rental wasn't a huge victory, like the one Katerina and Nestor Gasset told us about earlier in the week (Short Sale Strategies- When The Lender Blames The Investor- Case In Point), and the commission for any rental is minimal. But this transaction does remind me why I love my job:

It's the people we serve, and helping them achieve THEIR goals, big or small.

Posted by Margaret Woda, Maryland Real Estate on 09/26/2009 07:45 AM

Comments (15)

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15 Comments on Small Victories Make Me Love My Job

SEP

It isn't...can' t be...shouldn't be...always about "the money"....if you make it about them...it will always come back to you.

Margaret-helping people isn't about the money. It is about knowing that you have made someone's day better. Kudo's to you!

You're so right Margaret. Can we make a good living in the profession we've chosen? Sure we can, but it's about people - serving people. Congratulations on your victory!

I agree....and no matter how minimal..it reminds me of where I came from. I'm happy for them.

Margaret....That is a beautiful story..It makes me proud to say I know Margaret Woda..Way to GO!

HELPFULHANNAH twitter@helpfulhannah

Margaret - small deal happy clients result in big deal happy clients down the road ... not to mention the fact that most of the small deal clients actually appreciate what you do for them ... more so than some of the big deal clients

Kathy, Isn't that the truth! I heard the words "thank you" come out of his mouth more often in this week than I've heard from everyone else combined in a year.

Hannah - Sold many homes, rented to many people, but every now and then we help someone that we just KNOW no one else would have taken the time for. And it makes up for all the ungrateful, rude, suspicious, clients for about a year. Then we need another nice one. LOL.

Sally - When we earn a big fat paycheck, we know why we do what we do. But when we don't get one of thse checks, it does sometimes make us think about the fact that it's worth it... commission or no.

Lee and Caraol - This was not easy, and the client will never know what it took to get him this home, but I'll think about him on Christmas morning - just like I do many of my other clients - and know he's celebrating in the home I made possible for him.

Cindy - It's funny, isn't it, how sometimes it just hits us like a brick... I love what I'm doing because I help people find their home, whether it's a purchase or rental. That really is big.

Sally and David - Yes it's about the money, and it's about the people. When there's no money (or so little) it's all about the people. And it makes me pause to think about the other cases where there was a big fat check - it was really about the people then, too.

Now... let's admit it... we've all had clients that no amount of money could possibly reimburse us for what we did or how they treated us... but fortunately we have enough appreciative cllients to make up for them.

Margaret - If you give it out in slices it will come back in loaves. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. (words of wisdom from Brian Buffini)

Remembering why we are in this business is important. The money is needed but the enjoyment of helping a family isn't far behind.

Margaret, I've always felt that helping people was the most important part of real estate -- so congratulations, I am thrilled to hear of your success. I don't think any transaction - no matter how complex or how much commission can compare with the feeling that you must have right now.

SEP

Jane - Very true! I think those clients who know we're earning a big commission may not be sure that we care about them. But I know this client does.

Terry - It's easy to forget as we chart those commission checks from month to month, but we remember when we post a low-dollar one like this and it feels just as good!

Gary - Thank you. This was as much a challenge as my other clients this week. One thing about rentals... they do wrap up in a shorter period of time. I really should do more of them!

Margaret, I think a lot of the time our little victories are really the biggest.

Margaret, it's not always about the money, somewhere we need to remember there are people in these transactions and we should care just a bit more. A nice happy ending story, thanks for sharing.

Patricia - Isn't that the truth! We've all experienced them, and they're really what keeps us going when we're working with a difficult buyer or seller.

Ed - You're welcome. For some reason, I felt like shouting this from the rooftops, while I just scoff at the mega sale of a few months ago. That was painful, from the time my clients wrote their contract until I walked out of settlement (hoping never to see or hear from them again). No amount of money would be adequate to reimburse me for that one, whereas no money is needed to make me feel good about this recent rental.

I am working extra hard on one little transaction right now, my buyer couldn't have picked a property with a smaller commission - and she will never know that - I am happy to finally get her into something that she can afford.

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