It is 100% true that real estate is not for everyone. When the market is great... then everyone's happy and the flowers bloom while the sun shines and the birds sing! You take your kids to Disney and stay at the park with Cinderella and Jack Sparrow at your beckoned call! Then there are the skinnier markets. Those of us who are out there in the trenches are fighting every day for that pre-approved dream client. I am realizing that I now have to work harder and smarter. I have been in real estate for just about 3 years and I started off in what I considered a hot market without any premonitions of things going south. This is my brief story and what I plan to do until things start to improve.
I started off as an elementary school teacher with a pleasant year round salary, and all the benefits that I wanted including job security. I was even exempt from FICA because we had our own private retirement option. My insurance was plentiful and inexpensive. I had SICK days! I could call a sub to cover my job when I wanted to play hooky! I even had dirt cheap life insurance and a credit union. The hours were basically 8 to 4 with a few extra PTA nights and longer conferences than planned. I loved it because I was committed to being the best teacher out there. Then, I started to get itchy for something else.
That summer we put the Duluth house up for sale and I got my real estate license. At the time my children were 1 and 2 years old!! Somehow I got through with the help of my wonderful husband and I put my books in a very safe place for future reference. Starting off in a decent market gave me the taste and confidence of success. Then, after proving myself I was able to stick my foot in the Big Canoe caravan door with some background. I met a lot of very accomplished agents and now run the caravan with a fellow agent for this year.
I can now answer the big question of "what motivates you?" simply and with no regard to the status of the market. It isn't money. As they say, and I agree "I've been rich and I've been poor, I like rich better". The truth is that I am motivated by the facts that I work from home close to my family and make my own destiny without the safety net of teaching in public schools. Yes it's scary, in fact it's downright frightening, but it is also thrilling and invigorating to be in charge of my destiny. It makes me jump when the phone rings and answer happily "Hi, This is Karin!", knowing that I will be able to help them find the right house. What motivates you? I would LOVE to know!!
~Karin
http://ibamountainhomes.com
Life in Big Canoe, Real Estate in the Mountains
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