What if you have no one to work with? What can you do?
Well, don't hang out in the office waiting for the phone to ring, it won't....
....go out and take photos and blog about neighborhoods, their schools, shopping and amenities, their home sales and market trends, preview 5 properties per day, check out the new construction and visit the new home reps...
look for open houses to hold, visit local businesses and see who might make a good partner to cross promote with your services(furniture rental, staging, appliance repair places, landscapers, upholstery shops, picture framers etc.)join a business to business organization or dive in to some clubs or causes that you might enjoy
...visit divorce attorneys, attend other agent's settlements, go to the real estate record room at the county courthouse.... see what is happening there.
If you don't learn learn learn .......you won't last last last in this business.
One of the most satisfying things about our profession is that it positions us to learn something new every day.
Even if you have been doing this 30 years, you will still see a different kind of HVAC, septic, or client attraction system almost daily. I never get bored. I love this business.
Even after showing a hundred 3,2,1 townhouses between $325k-$350k in the same community in 3 weeks, we can still be mentally engaged.
The properties might be cookie cutter, but our clients are not.....from Russia, Pakistan, India and Jamaica.....all with interesting stories to tell and unique ways of thinking about real estate. Their stories of overcoming hardship make our whining about THE MARKET seem laughable.
New thing to do. Go to a foreclosure auction.
One new thing that you could do a few times, that will really add to your repertoire and spice to your water cooler conversation, is to attend a trustees auction at your county court house.
You cannot become the king or queen of septic system inspections over night, nor know all the crap that happens in the short sale process by just reading.
We learn best by going and doing. The more you have been exposed to in the real estate field, the more confidence you will have in all situations and the greater service and protection you can provide your clients.
So.... go to where ever your trustee or foreclosure sales are held and just watch. Go at least 2-3 times so that you understand this part of the business. It will help you get a better grasp of where REOs come from as well as what happens to that "NEVER ENDING SHORT SALE" You can Google "Legal Notices" or "Trustee or Foreclosure sales" to find out the time and place in your area.
Here in Virginia trustee sales are held in front of the courthouse, outside in all weather.
The attorney/auctioneer talks greased lightening so you can be out of there in as little as 20 minutes. The longest auction I have attended was over in 75 minutes.
On the surface you might think that this is a waste of your time. However, obtaining the knowledge of how this process works will enable you to speak intelligently about the whole distressed property arena from failed short sale, to courthouse auction to back on the street as an REO. Think of it as another form of continuing education.
If you are a relatively new agent, you will have seen the ability the veterans have to answer weirdo phone calls or walk into what seems to be a fire storm situation and walk out without a wrinkle. You can learn to do this too. Just position yourself to LEARN EVERYTHING.
It doesn't happen over night....but you will be pleasantly surprised at the creativity, energy, new ideas and new connections you will make by getting out and broadening your real estate horizons.
What cool stuff have you learned lately and how has it helped your business?
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