What your GPS can't tell you...
My respected colleague Cary, below shares her experiences with her GPS.
I use a couple of tool. One, I call my Inner-GPS. I think I initially developed it around when I was age sixteen. My Dad loved to buy cars cheap and fix them up, so I always had access to a car. I loved driving through neighborhoods I liked and admired houses. I can remember wanting to knock on doors to say I really like your home, do you think I could have a tour? Never got up the nerve to ask.
These fun road adventures help me to discover every well and least known road in the Chicago-Southland. Little did I know starting at age sixteen Life was giving me a clue to my destiny. Those teenage years have served me well. When showing houses I give a history and a geographical lesson.
The second tool I use is every week I schedule myself time to visit all of the Brokers luncheons, to get to know the inventory, and to fine tune my nagvigation skills. There is one side affect, I tend to navigate more by houses or buildings as route markers, rather than street or subdivision names, so I have to really think about how to give out the best driving directions.
As a real estate agent who services an area of about 800 square miles, I use a GPS device quite often. What I have found though, is my GPS can't tell me certain things.
Things my GPS doesn't know:
A one mile stretch of my town's main road is under construction for the next week, and taking a three-mile longer route can actually save ~10 minutes.
The four square block area of a certain city, regardless that it might provide a more direct route, is NOT an area I should drive my clients through.
The left turn that all GPS devices tell you to take is almost impossible to make due to a blind spot and fast traffic. Going one road north will take you to a traffic light that makes the turn much easier.
The right hand turn that is 1/4 mile before the traffic light is a much faster way to get across town.
Taking the country lane to a particular house is a much better choice for my nature loving clients, and taking the main road past the stores and restaurants works better for my shopping-lover buyers.
The bottom line? As real estate professionals, we are constantly driving through our neighborhoods, learning all the best routes and learning how to avoid the trouble spots. While we might use a GPS device, we are on a constant quest to know all those things our GPS can't tell us.
Kat Palmiotti, The House Kat
Licensed Real Estate Salesperson, CBR®
Better Homes & Gardens Rand Realty
Monroe, NY Real Estate
914-419-0270 (cell)
www.thehousekat.com
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