Why am I a REALTOR®...I started thinking about this after reading a particularly negative REALTOR®/NAR blog posted yesterday.
Anyway..why did I become a REALTOR®...well my broker told me I had to become one. Very simple I had no choice.
So I did and I quickly became involved in the REALTOR® association and I saw the benefits of that association. I like the fact that all REALTORS® have to abide by the same code of ethics...an even playing field, so to speak. I like the fact that I have a place to go to if I need help. I like the research they do and as a member I'm allowed to use it...Blog about it, like Where do Buyers come from and marketing tools that in many cases are free to use.
I like the fact that NAR lobbies on my behalf...think mortgage interest deductions, Heath Insurance is a biggie and a battle still being fought. My monthly health insurance is over $700.00 a month...NAR is trying to help me with that. My REALTOR® state association fights battles for me all the time. In NH we can still write Purchase Agreements, we have wonderful approved forms to use, we have a tech hot line... a legal hot line...all part our membership. I think I get a lot of value from my membership...the resources available are unlimited, and I use them.
(OMG..look at that big hair`circa 1993)
Of course it helps that my personality is one of the glass is half full not half empty. I can't imagine going through life "with the glass is half empty" attitude...how terribly sad. You can choose how you want to spend your life..negative or positive and I made that decision long ago, well before I became a REALTOR® and pretty well have stuck to it ever since.
I remember when I was a new REALTOR® 22 years ago the one thing that really impressed me was how all my fellow REALTORS® shared their time and knowledge with me…helping me be a better REALTOR® and through their efforts a better person. They all seemed larger than life, so knowledgeable and so caring…and I thought could I ever be like that?
I always looked at those REALTORS® as role models and I have always aspired to be like them, to be as good in my business practice, as helpful to new members, as knowledgeable and willing to share my time with the REALTOR® family and simply to maybe touch someone as they had me.
I believe over the years I have been able to achieve some of that and I can look back and be proud of my career and my REALTOR®HOOD. I was lucky enough to have a support system in place so that I could share my time and knowledge with fellow REALTORS® throughout the State.
I was lucky enough to be the type of person who looked for good and I believe because I looked for that good... I found it.
I have reaped much more than I sowed from my REALTOR® family. They have been tremendous…many of my close friends are REALTORS®. They have shared with me many of the important days of my life…including the day I married a fellow REALTOR® and when I became a citizen of this great country, and some of the saddest days..they were with me as my son lay in ICU for 9 days in critical condition this past October...they have been with me through good times and bad, shared my tears and laughter. I am truly blessed to be a part of this REALTOR® family and for that I am thankful.
So do I moan and groan as I write my dues check out in November?? Yup, I do, but I really wouldn't have it any other way. I want to be a REALTOR® and if membership were truly optional ...I know I'd still be a member and proudly call myself a REALTOR® Professional.
Am I the only one?
Monika McGillicuddy
Serving Southern New Hampshire and Rockingham County
Monika McGillicuddy Real Estate Training Website
NH Real Estate Blogs
Prudential Verani Realty
Hampstead NH Real Estate
603-548-7728
Posted by 
Great minds think alike LOL
Hey Monika,
Good blog! I agee that there is a higher degree of professionalism within the Realtor community as an agent. The term Realtor gets tossed around freely and many consumers don't understand that there is a difference between an agent and one that is held to a higher code of ethics...
Scott