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Life is Waiting. I need to be great.

By
Real Estate Agent with Meridian, Idaho

I love what I do.  I'm excited every time I bring a property to market.  Caldwell and Canyon County is a great place to live and to promote.  Idaho rocks (bad Gem State pun)!  Every day I get to learn something new or head out on the new adventure each transaction brings.  I get paid to talk with people all day about changes in their lives and I get to help them along.  It's very cool stuff.

This week has been a bit sobering.  I've been reminded of the impact our profession has on the lives of our clients and the awesome responsibility that comes with it.  I'm humbled by the scope of our duty and the breadth our clients' trust.

I met with a couple today who are contemplating the sale of their home.  For a variety of reasons, the time may have come to sell the home they designed and built with blood, sweat and love.  We spent almost three hours together, talking about the situation and possible alternatives and it's really looking like a sale is in their best interests.  They are heartbroken about the move, in spite of a possible great new job opportunity.  They are pained by the stress of the situation on them and on their children.  This is, after all, much more than lumber and dry wall to them.

Yesterday I am talking with friends of mine who are also preparing to sell the home they built and have lived in for 14 years.  They are leaving the area to return to his home town and start a ministry.  The opportunity to go back home, reconnect with family and begin performing a great calling is all very exciting, but there is still that bittersweet taste of loss for the home that has been such a central part of their, and their children's, lives.

As I talk with these couples and tour the homes that they have built over the years, I'm struck by how much these folks are depending on me to do a great job for them.  They need me to be enthusiastic about the sale in order to generate the buyers, but they need me to be empathetic toward their loss.  They need me to know that this is about so much more than money, but that we need to get every last dime that we can.  They need me to love their house almost as much as they do so I can transfer that to a buyer and get a contract, yet they hope I'll find someone who will love their homes as they have.  And I have to do it within a limited time frame; life is waiting.

Sobering.  Humbling.

I'm so lucky.

Derek Bauer's, www.DoorToDreams.com Door to Dreams Home Selling Team
Real Estate One - South Lyon, MI
Steve - a fantastic post!  It's true ... we have a job because Real Estate transactions need a neutral (I mean emotionally neutral) party or parties to negotiate them.  You are so correct that if you really think about what people look to us to do, it is an awesome responsibility and should not be taken lightly.  I hope it all goes well with these folks.
Feb 21, 2008 02:00 PM
Catherine Cataletto
Tom Marco Real Estate - Staten Island, NY

Steve,

 I wrote a blog on my own personal situation when I recently put my home on the market.  I try never to lose sight of how much my clients depend on me and my expertise, but recently I was reminded first hand...how much stress is involved..in selling a home.

 Cathy Cataletto

Feb 21, 2008 02:01 PM
Susan Walters
Keller Williams Realty, Ann Arbor, MI - Ann Arbor, MI
I had to look at your state to see if you are selling in Michigan since your comments and sentiments are our everyday business around here.  Things are looking up locally but I have had sellers cry during the conversations about their properties.  I hold it together and tell them it is going to be OK - they are not alone, many others are in their same boat.  When they are emotionally weak, we need to be really, really strong.  I know the public doesn't understand what this profession entails and how stressful it can be for us too.
Feb 21, 2008 02:15 PM
Steve Norris
Meridian, Idaho - Meridian, ID
Silvercreek Realty Group

Derek - Thanks for your thoughts for the folks and the kind words.  Your right, the neutrality (objectivity, maybe?) we bring is essential and also a part of that responsibility. 

Cathy - I just jumped over and read your post.  I've been in the same house for almost 10 years so I've enjoyed the arm's length distance.  It's nice to be reminded about everything this entails.  BTW, what drastic changes did you make when you were selling?

Susan - Yeah, we've been pretty fortunate so far; the market has softened but we're by no means seeing what you are.  Again, I'm lucky. My wife and i were just talking the other day about how this business is about so much more than houses; we spend a lot of time grief and marriage counseling, too.  I'm glad to hear things are turning up a bit in your neck of the woods.  Best to you.

Feb 21, 2008 02:42 PM
Annie Hart Cool
Sotheby's International REalty - Falmouth, MA
Cape Cod Real Estate Specialist
WOW... very impressed... We are so very lucky to be in this business and to be humbled by our social work skills... It's not just a job...
Feb 22, 2008 08:44 AM
Steve Norris
Meridian, Idaho - Meridian, ID
Silvercreek Realty Group
Annie - Thanks for checking in.  It's funny; I used to be a "lumber and drywall" kind of guy and was not impressed by the "warm and fuzzy" agents.  I guess I'm getting to be a softie in my old age.  And I'm thinking that's a pretty good thing.
Feb 22, 2008 01:14 PM
Not a real person
San Diego, CA

I believe that if I'm Pleasant, Polite, Personable, Positive, and Professional, I make my own luck.

Dec 05, 2008 01:34 PM