Work like you don't need the money. You've probably heard that expression before but it's a good one. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody is watching. I could probably get by on the income I earn as a writer for About.com. Well, it's not enough to fund a 3-week luxury trip to French Polynesia this winter, but it does pays the bills. So, when I tell you I love being a Sacramento short sale agent, you better believe it. Because it's the truth. I'm not doing this job for the money, although the money is great and I'm not complaining.
There are many different types of jobs a real estate agent can do. Not every agent works in short sales. Not every agent even likes to take listings. Some prefer to work only with buyers. When I started in this business in the 1970s, I was a buyer's agent. I thought that was the ticket. Because a buyer would buy something and not every seller would sell. Of course, I learned along the way that not every buyer is a buyer but a well priced listing typically does sell.
One of my Elk Grove short sale sellers is looking for a new career, and I suggested real estate. I mean, how do you pick a new career? Do you go back to school and get a graduate degree? Do you attend a trade school and hope the school will help you to find a job -- most trade schools are in the business of selling tuition and dreams, not necessarily jobs. This seller wants to travel to foreign countries and help people. You could join the Peace Corps or you could go into real estate and use your earnings to travel. Either way you accomplish that goal.
She balked at the idea and said she was not a salesperson. You don't have to sell to be in real estate. It may come as a surprise to many people but you can't really talk a buyer into buying a home any more than you can talk a seller into selling a home. But you can be the agent who is in the right place at the right time.
I was in the right place at the right time when I decided to specialize in Sacramento short sales. I started working in short sales at the end of 2005. And look where I am today. I can call myself the #1 short sale agent among the 1,000 or so agents working at Lyon Real Estate. My focus is listing homes for sale. With every closing, I try to learn something new that I use to perfect and polish my systems. But I also work like I don't need the money. And that's why I love my job. How many people can say that and mean it nowadays?
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