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Sometimes It Can Be Hard To Be Friends With a REALTOR

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Realty Services

Sometimes it can be hard to be friends with a REALTOR.  I don't mean because we are a difficult sort at times or that we hang out with other REALTORS, traveling in a herd.  I am talking about our schedules.

Today I was feeling really bad because back in February my girlfriend asked if I wanted to go for a long weekend to get away from it all.  I said sure, but you never how my schedule might pan out?

We thought we might get plane tickets to Florida or somewhere tropical and get away from the cold winter weather.  As time came closer and closer the busier and busier I became.  I just knew my time was running out and I would not be able to make our trip.  We did not put anything in stone so no monies were lost or spent so that was good.

As it turns out, I became too busy to leave town.  It was okay because there was a family emergancy that came up for her family too and she would not have been able to go out of town.  She is completely fine and told me to never worry about it if I have to work or change my schedule.

It just got me thinking that sometimes it might be hard for our friends and family to understand what drives us and why our schedules can be out of sync. 

When our business ebbs and flows with the markets we work as the business comes to us.  It is not always about the money or the sale.  Yes, that is the part of running our business it is what we do, but part of it is helping people. 

Don't you, as a REALTOR, want to get someone who needs to move right away or they will be "homeless".  I feel their stress and I want to make it go away.

I know that I will hear from many of you that will tell me that you turn your phone off at 5:00 on Friday and don't turn it back on until 9:00 on Monday . . .  Believe me, I know those agents.  That is another post entirely.

Hear me, I respect my private family time, I have it.  I go on vacation, but I will say that sometimes those whimsical weekends with the girls can be a bit more difficult for agents.  They can also be difficult for our friends and I worry that they don't really understand. 

Please know that your REALTOR friend loves you and wants to go with you, but there is a drive to us that I cannot explain and the way our business works.  We work in a client service based industry and have to be flexible at times and accommodate our clients which in turn, we might let you down sometimes.  We promise, we will make it up to you next time. 

Karen Rice Keller Williams Real Est
Keller Williams Real Estate - Hawley, PA
Northeast PA & Lake Wallenpaupack Home Sales

so true.  my girlfriend and i went out for a girl's day the other day and she was frustrated by my cell phone.  i tried to explain to her that this was very important, it was a deal being held together by a thin strand, and a missed phone call or delayed message could cost me the commission of nearly $3,000. 

someone who gets a regular paycheck every week, adjusted only for sick days or things like that, just does not understand.

:(

she wasn't mad, just a little bummed that we didn't have undivided attention for each other.

Mar 06, 2009 02:06 PM
Connie Lou Barnett
Real Living/Home Realty - Owensboro, KY
GRI,CRS,CRB,SRMM,ARA,PRS,SFR,QSC

This hits me smack in the face.  Every time I plan a trip or a few days off I get so busy I think I can afford to leave.

Mar 06, 2009 02:10 PM
Lise Howe
Keller Williams Capital Properties - Washington, DC
Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

I am not one of those agents who turns off her phone. I feel your dilemma!

Mar 06, 2009 02:23 PM
Martha Brown
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., Annapolis MD 21403 - Annapolis, MD
Your Homes Around Annapolis Agent

Audrey- So true. I am trying once again to go away to visit a dear friend next week for a day that I have been trying to visit for 2 years. That's bad!!

Mar 06, 2009 02:25 PM
C Tann-Starr
Tann Starr & Associates, Inc. - Palm Bay, FL

Very well said, lovely. I'm going to go play hookie for two days. That should be very interesting (LOL). :-)

Mar 06, 2009 03:28 PM
Margaret Rome Baltimore 410-530-2400
HomeRome Realty 410-530-2400 - Pikesville, MD
Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome

Audrey, Shhhhhhhhhh, I am playing hookie but no one needs to know.

 

Mar 06, 2009 03:43 PM
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate Mesa Arizona Realtor
Homes Arizona Real Estate LLC - Mesa, AZ
AzLadyInRed

Audrey, you're right about the ebb and flow. The only one I make sure to find time for is my husband. ;-) You do know that whenever you plan to go away, stuff happens, right? ;-)

Pepper

Mar 06, 2009 03:47 PM
Kathy McGraw
CELLing Realty - White Water, CA
Riverside County CA Real Estate

Hey friend, I understand.  I used to work only 11 months out of the year by plan.  So any other trips were out of the question because I wanted that month for vacation.  All my friends knew it, so it worked out, but sometimes I really wanted to take off for shorter trips too :)

Mar 06, 2009 05:01 PM
Jesse Clifton
Jesse Clifton & Associates - Fairbanks, AK

Our schedules are pretty chaotic... I'm thinking there will be a lot of time to make up for lost moments when we get to NC... in the near future. :)

Mar 06, 2009 06:25 PM
Richard Iarossi
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Crofton, MD
Crofton MD Real Estate, Annapolis MD Real Estate

Audrey, This is one of the biggest changes coming from a corporate environment to real estate. Most people don't understand that now our schedules are 24/7. Teaming with a partner brings a lot of other baggage but at least there's an opportunity to get every other weekend off.

Look on the bright side, you get to lose another hour this weekend :) Rich

Mar 06, 2009 10:00 PM
Audrey June-Forshey
RE/MAX Realty Services - Darnestown, MD
GRI, Gaithersburg, MD

Hi Everyone!  Went to bed after I wrote this and found all my friends here in the morning :0)  I guess I really do have friends in RE !! Gotta run out the door right now but will be back to chat with you all in a bit.  (((hugs to all of you ))))

Mar 06, 2009 11:14 PM
Rebecca Levinson, Real Estate Marketing and Online Advertising Consultant
Real Skillz-Clear Marketing for Your Real Estate Vision - Lake Geneva, WI

Audrey,

I hear you, not as a r.e. professional, but as an solopreuner.  In my situation, every other weekend my kids are with their dad and though I do spend time with friends, many times I also find myself working hours over the weekend.  On the weekends my kids do not visit their dad, I don't work nearly as much.

It works out well, but yes, I don't have a typical 9-5 schedule.  I think, though, with people needing to take on extra responsibility at their jobs because of cut backs in staff, etc, you will find more people who understand this different kind of work schedule.

Mar 07, 2009 02:36 AM
Bill Gassett
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Hopkinton, MA
Metrowest Massachusetts Real Estate

There is good and bad. At times are schedules can be really flexible and at others it is impossible to break an appointment.

Mar 07, 2009 06:39 AM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

So true about difficulties being friends with a Realtor.  I hadn't thought about just how bad it actually was until I went to lunch last week with 6 Realtor friends.  We were all on our cells and Blackberries, during most of the hour and a half we were together.  I don't think we ever did finish a conversation with each other, we were too busy being rude to each other by being on our cells handling one kind of business call or another.

Finally, one in the group had the good sense to say, "Turn off your cells NOW." 

I don't have a typical schedule.  I pretty much have real estate on my mind 24/7.  However I do have boundaries.  When I'm on vacation, I get up, and devote the first hour of the day to checking on escrows, and tidying up any business affairs and communication.  After that, the day is mine.  If there is an emergency with an escrow that is a different story.  But you will be amazed at how most things simply aren't an emergency and can wait a few hours.

Mar 12, 2009 02:43 PM
Marian Goetzinger
Pine Knoll Shores Realty 252-422-9000 - Pine Knoll Shores, NC
Crystal Coast Real Estate NC

Audrey,  You absolutely MUST make time for yourself and for friendships. I went home last week-end for the first time in 15 years.  Guess how long I've been a REALTOR?  Yeah, 15 years.  I can't believe I let all those years fly by without spending time with my sisters.  Now we're planning a mountain retreat in September.  I Promise never again will I use the same excuses you just wrote to ignore the important things.  Go spend some time with your girlfriend.  Yes, You CAN!

Mar 15, 2009 01:20 PM
Debbie Summers
Charles Rutenberg Realty - New Smyrna Beach, FL

Audrey - You've read my mind!

This is my life, love me or hate me for it... 

I'm lucky to have a husband/business partner, but there are those times when I just have to put business first...  I know it sounds awful to those who aren't in my shoes, but I do everything I can to support my friends when they need me.

Mar 16, 2009 07:42 AM
Lori Churchill Cofer
Beasley Realty - Pullman, WA
Realtor - 509-330-0086 - Pullman, WA

Audrey - This really caught my eye as I have a friend that recently emailed me wondering if I was upset or something with her as she hadn't heard from me in so long....I explained how busy I had been and she understood.It is so hard, especially as she lives about an hour away.  But this Saturday, we went to a well deserved breakfast together....we talked and talked...two hours later we ordered again!  I don't think I have ever done that!  It was great!

Mar 17, 2009 10:26 AM
Pat Tasker
Shorewest Realtors - Germantown, WI
Your Milwaukee Metro Area Agent (WI)

I tell clients "i have an appointment"....it is usually an appt with my family...for some reason, they understand if their doctor has a day off, but not us....

If you are slow, plan a trip out of town, and you will get busy!

Mar 19, 2009 04:49 PM
Sheldon Neal
Bergen County, NJ - RE/MAX Real Estate Limited - Maywood, NJ
That British Agent Bergen County NJ

Oh how true this is Audrey ! - The long weekends away are rare these days for me too unfortunately, but it's good that business is up. However I do put on the calendar a number of family time activites that I make sure stay on the schedule. ...But friends do suffer at the moment, with less dinner gatherings and getaways !

Good luck with life's balancing act Audrey, I'm jugglin' it with ya !!!

Mar 19, 2009 05:01 PM