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Benefits of being a real estate agent: No commute

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with eXp Commercial, Referral Divison RRE-BRO-LIC-75443

After a thirty year career in Corporate America, I switched gears and started a new career in real estate. As I complete my second full-year in my new business, I am realizing there are many more benefits than I ever thought there would be!  Today I'm going to share a big benefit - there is no commute!

 

During my thirty years, there were many years that required a five day a week trip to work. When my job was located in New York City, my commute was at least an hour and a half each way with no traffic, and when I worked in Westchester, there were many years of a nearly one hour commute, again on a good day.  I drove in all kinds of weather, from sunshine to ice and snow and through post-tornado wreckage.  I remember clearly one specific ride home, a trip that was normally 45 minutes.  It took me over three hours and was one of the most treacherous rides I can recall, with one specific sports car spinning in a 360 degree circle right in front of me, and my mind saying, "don't brake, don't brake, just go around."  I successfully missed the spinner and made it around and safely continued on my way with jackhammers banging in my chest.  

 

And then I became a real estate agent.  This morning as I took the seven mile ride to my office (which was far- I usually work from my home office), I heard on the radio that many of the roads I would have had to take if I were still working in my last career, were not only busy, they were jammed.  Traffic was stopped. And as I sent some patient thoughts to the people stuck in those traffic jams, I grinned.  While I do a fair amount of driving in this career, it's not commuting driving; it's appointment driving which is an entirely different type of adventure.  

 

So I grinned as I thought how happy I am with this specific benefit of being a real estate agent....  There is no commute!  

Posted by

Kalispell, Bigfork, Lakeside and Somers areas. 

Are you getting ready to sell or purchase land or a home in Kalispell  or the surrounding vicinity? Let’s talk!

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Sharon Parisi
United Real Estate Dallas - Dallas, TX
Dallas Homes

Kat, I'm loving the "no commute" aspect this morning,  as it is pouring rain and traffic is deadlocked around the city.  I'm glad you no longer have a 45-60 minute commute.

Nov 03, 2014 11:19 PM
Nicole Doty - Gilbert Real Estate Expert
Zion Realty - Gilbert, AZ
Broker/Owner of Zion Realty ZionRealtyAZ.com

Kat Palmiotti - One of the downsides of being a real estate agent in Arizona is the urban sprawl. Most buyers have a very large grid area they want to search in and Arizona neighborhoods aren't dense they are spread out. I might log 40-50 miles one day just taking buyers out looking at homes. So while the commute to work isn't bad (I mostly work from home too) I can log some serious miles taking buyers out.

Nov 03, 2014 11:34 PM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

Sharon - Blech; in pouring rain with deadlocked traffic, it's great not to have to get stuck on those roads.

Nicole - I hear you; I cover most of my county which is about 700-800 square miles, but I don't really mind that kind of driving- I'm often on roads that aren't used for commuting, and am lucky enough to be on them during non-commute times.  Grin.

Nov 03, 2014 11:41 PM
Beth and Richard Witt
New York, NY
The best Retired Brokers !!!!

No commute to and from work is a wonderful "GEM"... We have always loved that part of our business... Happy Day Kat

Nov 04, 2014 01:16 AM
Jon Kolsky
Kolsky Realty & Management - Long Beach, CA
Licensed California Real Estate Broker

Kat Palmiotti ~ traffic $ucks... I live less then 5 miles from my office and I love it... Traffic can cause unnecessary stress and I do my best to keep away from traffic when I travel.... 

Nov 04, 2014 01:38 AM
Will Nesbitt
Nesbitt Realty at Condo Alexandria - Alexandria, VA
Nesbitt Realty is a family-run brokerage.

Monroe, New York Real Estate Agent Kat Palmiotti at (914) 419-0270, kudos on not having a commute.

Nov 04, 2014 02:42 AM
John Meussner
Mortgages in AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IN, MD, MN, MT, NC, NJ, NV, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI - Fair Oaks, CA
#MortgageMadeEasy Fair Oaks, CA 484-680-4852

This one is a huge benefit, Kat.  Most of the driving we have to do is solely to grow our business, and no unproductive 'traffic time'

Nov 04, 2014 04:48 AM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

Richard & Beth - thank you!  I love it also.

Jon - Traffic can be very stressful.

Will - It's a definite benny.

John - Exactly, and driving to grow the business is fine!

Nov 04, 2014 05:36 AM
Rob Thomas
Prestige Homes of The Tri Cities, Inc. CALL....423-341-6954 - Bristol, TN
Bristol TN-VA & Tri Cities Agent, ABR, GRI, e-Pro

Kat ...I agree ...It's really great to be able to work from our home offices ...A lot of people can't do this. It takes a special work ethic to be able to work from home ...some need the structure of an office to perform. I love working my own schedule and working from home ...I get so much more done.

Have a great night!

Nov 04, 2014 07:31 AM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

Rob- You too! (Have a great night).  Yes, we have to be very disciplined to work on our own.

Nov 04, 2014 07:42 AM
Carla Muss-Jacobs, RETIRED
RETIRED / State License is Inactive - Portland, OR

I commute, and it's when I am with my buyer clients and we drive to and from our properties of interest.  I will say, however, that I avoid the rush hours in the AM and PM.  All businesses would have to do is stagger work hours . . . the 8 a.m.-5 p.m. M-F is very archaic.  When I was working in my former career, I WANTED a 4 day work week, 10 hours per day seemed fine and do'able to me.  I was there anyway, what's another 2 hours a day?  That 3 days off would have been so GREAT in many ways.  Stagger work hours: 4 days/week, or 7am-4pm shifts, or 9am-6pm shifts . . . the CLOG is there because no one is staggering the business hours and it seems like such an easy solution.

Nov 04, 2014 09:20 AM
1~Judi Barrett
Integrity Real Estate Services 116 SE AVE N, Idabel, OK 74745 - Idabel, OK
BS Ed, Integrity Real Estate Services -IDABEL OK

Kat,

You eliminated one of the things about your old job that you did not like when you became a real estate agent.. the commute!  

Nov 04, 2014 10:02 AM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

Carla - I totally agree - there has to be a way to fix the 9-5 mess; it would take some engineering and participation by many businesses, but I'm sure there's a way; at the moment though, traffic can be horrendous.

Judi - I did!  Yay!

Nov 04, 2014 07:26 PM