THE TRUTH ABOUT REAL ESTATE This is for all the people who resent Real Estate Agents because they think they make way too much money for doing very little, who think they contribute nothing to humanity and who think they cannot be trusted and would sell their own Grandmothers. Now let’s just establish that there is good and bad in every profession (do I dare call Real Estate a profession?). Good and bad doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc. and no doubt there have been some Grandmothers sold along the way by all these professions, but Real Estate is one of the most challenging, multifaceted and precarious occupations that you could ever enter because you are dealing with people, and the diversity of characteristics amongst people can be enormous. With some you can do no wrong, with others you can do no right. Some will love you, others hate you, most will judge you, and many will resent you. Some will support you, others will try and bring you down. So firstly there is no room for sensitivity if you are in Real Estate. If you get easily offended you need to leave right away. You have to hang on to that age old phrase “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. I don’t know of a successful Real Estate Agent who is not thick skinned
enough to cop the abuse that one gets when selling homes. Now as Agents, we understand that this is generally a stressful time more than an exciting time as a great deal of sales are revolved around Divorce, Death, Debt or other unfortunate circumstances.
another planet, and being woken in the night by an overly anxious client is just par for the course. The fast cars that you see are generally owned by the bank and are just there for clients who want to be “seen” using a successful Real Estate Agent and only 3% of Agents ever make a decent living
...there is no room for sensitivity if you are in Real Estate. If you get easily offended you need to leave right away. So, as Agents we recognize that there is a lot more going on in the background than just the sale of a home, we are poised and ready to bear the brunt of some of the emotions that are flying around. We often have to counsel, mediate, advise and physically assist in many areas not generally considered in the realm of a Real Estate Agent. We spend hundreds of hours doing things that we never get paid for, the enjoyment of “weekends” belong to
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Most people when they finish their days work they “knock off” and can relax – not so with Real Estate Agents. That romantic dinner with your partner can well be peppered with phone calls you feel obliged to answer as it may mean a sale for your vendor. Or that dinner party you were really looking forward to may have to be missed because you had to write an offer and, as we all know, the client comes first. So next time you decide to take a swipe at Real Estate Agents, maybe when you’re down at the beach on a Saturday or Sunday, think about what they’re doing, and why none of them are down there with you.
out of it long term. Successful Real Estate Agents have always invested a great deal of time and money on marketing, training and improving their business to remain competitive and effective. There are huge overheads associated with running an Agency, with staff costs, insurances, equipment, rent, stationery, marketing, etc. so only a very small percentage of their REAL ESTATE
commission goes into an Agents pocket.
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If you are in Real Estate, you have to absolutely love what you do, because, believe me, there are other far cruiser, far less stressful, far more uncomplicated and far less demanding occupations to choose from. NIKI PEINKE
THE PROPERTY EXCHANGE