Thank You 2010

You Were Good To Me

2010 was a year of steady growth for my real estate business, for which I am most grateful. You made me work hard for it, which I don't mind doing, and you rewarded me with my highest sales year in real estate, based on closed and pending sales, less sales that were pending from 2009 and closed in 2010.

You Challenged Me

There was no such thing as a typical real estate transaction in 2010. Whether it was a short sale with 15 liens, a major inspection surprise, an unprofessional broker on the other side of a deal, a boundary line dispute arising with an active listing, a lien against the wrong property, or any number of other challenges, you threw it all at me during nearly every transaction. I worked through it all and learned some new things along the way.

You Tested My Ethics

You gave me opportunities to take a few easier paths to commissions if I had let my clients make partially informed decisions rather than fully informing and advising them based on their best interests. There were countless observations and disclosures I could have gotten away without pointing out to my clients and prospects. You sent people my way who tried to bait me into conversations about discriminatory and illegal practices. You gave me listing opportunities at ridiculous prices and even a few prospective buyers who had no business buying. I didn't bite. I'd wish you better luck next time, but you won't have any better luck next time. I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not.

You Made Me Laugh

After I showed one house to a family, and as we stood outside talking about it's many nice and few not-so-nice attributes, it all came down to whether or not their dog would like the property. "Let's see if Buddy likes it," one of the kids suggested. "He likes it!" she then exclaimed as Buddy jumped out of their car and peed on a nearby tree. Thanks for this and many other laughs you sent my way all year long.

You Emboldened Me

Over and over again you balanced obstacles with progress and turned steady diligence into closed sales and an ever-growing pipeline of future business. You gave me good reason to believe that 2011 will be a great year by giving me a tough but good year in 2010. You gave me more opportunities and more sources of new business as I patiently nurtured the opportunities and sources of business I already had. And you're graduating me into 2011 with more pending sales than I carried into 2010 a year ago.

Thank You 2010

Thank you 2010, I appreciate all that you did for me, and I am excited about 2011 real estate.