Someone recently asked me why I chose to be a full time REALTOR® ?If I were to answer that truthfully, it would be because in the early 90's my first husband had lost his job, and decided he was going to do home improvement. After one year of that, it was clear he was not cut out to be self employed. I was in new homes sales and the real estate market was in horrible shape. Bills were coming in, and income was not. We had a mortgage, car payments and we were newly married. I'll admit it, I bought into the hype that general brokerage REALTORS® make fast money.
Home values were down twenty percent and interest rates were sky rocketing. Commissions weren't coming in and my husband business was failing. I can remember a conversation with my father-in-law. He said "Peggy you will be waisting your time, you need to get a real job one with a paycheck you can count on, one where you do not have to front so much of your own money." His exact words etched in my brain " REALTORS® are a dying breed, they won't even be in existence in ten, fifteen years."
Hindsight is always 20/20. His life long career was banking and he served on several boards of large banks in the area. Chilling words now...
In my heart, I just felt that I had the knowledge of the new homes market. Plus several hundred people knew me and trusted me as a new home specialist in the Prince William County Virginia area. I was certain, I could segway into general brokerage. I was always confident I would make a good REALTOR® .
Make it I did. First year out of the block in 1991, I made enough to keep us afloat. Things got back to normal. Within a few years, I was making upwards of eighty thousand dollars a year. Then one day everything came crashing down in an instant. The IRS showed up at the RE/MAX Brokerage where I worked and ushered everyone out and locked the doors. That is when I learned that being a self employed REALTOR® can be very risky. I learned their was no protection for REALTORS when a real estate broker commingles funds. Home buyers and Sellers were able to complete their real estate transactions and all went on as usual. With one exception. The REALTORS® caught in the middle would have to continue to work the transactions through to settlement without benefit of commissions.
Seriously...stop reading right now. If you are a REALTOR® look around your office and think of all the files you are working right now. Just imagine what it would feel like to continue to work those transactions to the settlement table knowing that you may not be paid in the end. Everything hung in the balance for months as a local congressman went to bat for us and tried to assist all of the agents caught in this unbeliveable event.
Note:If you are a consumer...just imagine going to work everyday with no pay.
Long story short. All of the agents caught in this had to wait more than six months for any money. Shockingly, in the end we were paid pennies on the $. It was horrific. By the time it was all over my husband had left me. Fed up that his wife chose a career in real estate. He hated the fact I was always gone on weekends and the phone was always ringing and no matter how hard I tried real estate spilled into our lives. Never mind I had proven, I was able to make a good living for us. He hated the fact I wasn't home. I learned balance is tough when you are a REALTOR®.
That was the pivotal point in my life and career. Learning how to trust again and going it alone.The lesson I learned early in my real estate career is " What Doesn't Kill Us, Makes Us Stronger!"
"Yet even after that experience I chose real estate!" Why, because I thrive on the fact each day is so different, and I love solving all the new challenges and helping people get through the complicated maze of buying and selling homes.
The photo below is of my twin sister Patty and myself. Being an identical twin, I learned to share well with others. In fact that is what co-workers and other completing agents comment about the most. They claim, that is,what sets me apart from others. I am the first to help a new-bee, or offer assistance on a tough case, or pitch in wherever help is needed. Being a twin also help us become very comfortable meeting new people and being approached by strangers. People always comment and talk to twins. Funny thing is Patty and I are both thrive in real estate.
Patty is on the left and I am on the right.
Looking back at our lives as children, I now realize that our parents groomed us all the be self starters in life. We learned to serve people to the best of our ability and they instilled in all of us that doing what you love is never boring and no matter how difficult it gets if you love it, it will never seem like work. Our sister and brother are also in the service business and very successful as well.
My dad mastered a superintendent position with General Steel Industries, yet he could not read. What he did have was common sense and a strong work ethic. That said, his real passion was working on small engines. While working a full time job he managed to open a small engine repair shop on our property in Ballston Spa New York. From a very young age my sibilings and myself were expected to work in the garage, doing inventory, handling cash, sweeping, cleaning up, greeting customers, answer the phone and doing what ever needed to be done. My mom, was a home maker and a professional seamstress. She worked from home creating clothing for wealthy ladies from Saratoga Springs New York. So my work ethic is from Dad and my creativity is from Mom. For both of them, no matter what challenge was put in front of them, they seemed to master it with great ease.
Today, what I love best about real estate is that each day is different and each speed bump is simply a challenge that needs to be met, handled or negotiated. I love the Hi's and the Lows, I love the homes ( especially those that people have loved and cared for), and the way real estate changes. And change it has. When the market bottomed in 2008...I wasn't sure I could subject myself to one more day. Total Gross income in 2008 was $45,000 for tireless days and nights working around the clock meeting with homeowner after homeowner trying to calm their nerves with virtually no pay at all. I almost threw in the towel. The only thing that I clung to was if I won't help them who will? Since then, things have gotten back to normal, and homes are selling again. When I chose to help someone buy or sell a home it is important to me that their goals are met. My family, friends and clients knows I turn myself inside out to make the real estate transaction fun and as stress free as possible.
Speaking of family. I have been remarried for eight years now to a wonderful man named Bill James. When we first met, I shared with him what my career was really like, the demands and the reality of being married to a full time REALTORS®. I explained I would always do my level best to make sure he came first. The current real estate climate puts so many demands on our time.The balancing act is tough.
I can't imagine doing anything else....
This post was inspired by Deb Brooks challege Diary of a Realtor: Why I Chose Real Estate
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