I heard some people say not too long ago, that a real estate agent is one step up from a used car saleperson. A few years ago, I was in a tight financial position and felt that we needed to sell our home in Orange County and rent an apartment until we could get back on our feet. My wife and I had a couple different agents come by and talk to us about the comps and what they thought they could sell our home for. We hired a husband/wife team feeling we could get twice the efforts and twice the coverage this way. It's sounds great, and from what I see about team concepts today, it works very well.
Unfortunately what we ended up with was a couple of agents that did the bare minimum to market our home. They put a sign up, put us in the MLS, and a stack of flyers,in black and white,,,,,,,,,,and that was it! Oh yeah and that was after they came back through the house and told us to rent a storage unit and get rid of all of our furniture and pictures off the walls. That our stuff was old and didnt look good. WHAT? Our furniture was about a year old, and the pictures we had up were of my native ancestors. Well, we tried to cancel them but they wouldnt let us out of the contract, so we just went along until the agreement expired. The we re-grouped and listed with a great agent who did everything she could to get our home sold. Bless her heart, she even loaned us money to make a house payment. I'll never forget her. The house didnt sell, but the image she left with me is what I strive to be like even today. That was over 18 years ago and I have been a real estate agent for 16 years trying to make a difference in our industry in the way the general public views a REALTOR(R).
I try to give full service to all my clients. No short cuts. If the marketing plan I present and promise my clients includes color flyers, which it always does, no matter what the sales price is, if it calls for once a week follow up calls, even if there is nothing to report, if it includes a face to face each week, whatever, you get the picture, then I will uphold my marketing plan and execute it to the best of my ability. No compromises. This business doesnt afford it. It might seem like a big territory I work in, but like they say, good news travels fast and bad news travels faster! Everthing I do is done to earn my clients respect. If I dont earn it, then I have no business asking for referrals. If I cant ask for the referrals, then I have not only cheated my client of the level of service they deserve, but I have sheated myself of a referral or two or twenty.
No compromise, I cant afford it. That's why I say, 'I'm Not Just Another REALTOR(R)
Courage for the Journey
PS. Thank you, Linda Eisenmann, you have inspired me and I hope I continue to pay it forward.
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