Life as a Realtor.....REALLY!?

I met with a client today, a great older gentleman who've I've worked with now for a couple of years. In our conversation he referred to his frustration as feeling lost in the process - uncomfortable with his lack of understanding of what was happening, what was going on with the process and what exactly was MY job - what do you do to make this happen Amy?! At first, that sort of 'questioning' came across with a bit of discomfort. In my reality I'm working 7 days a week, well into 10-12 hours a day most days with a light day being just 3-4 hours and some days are as brutal as hitting the ground running at 7am and not getting back to my home and family until after midnight and that's with a full bag of files and papers to deal with. Seriously - if someone had told me before I got into this business that this job would run this hard non-stop I would have laughed at them in disbelief! So when this gentleman posed this question my mental defenses went up a bit - on the outside I smiled and paused. I reflected to just last week when I told my children I would take a Thursday off and as my phone rang and I took care of 'just one little thing' that would end up being several little things and my day off didn't start until well after 1pm. So what do I do?? And what was he really needing and wanting to hear??

So what do I do??

First off, I don't think there are very many jobs that people expect you - not just hope but actually EXPECT you to be available 7 days a week. Even doctors know what days they are on call and when they can clock off and relax. Not in Real Estate. Deadlines rule the world along with client schedules and needs.

Grief counseling - Imagine sitting across from the average family at their dinner table in a house they call home and trying to make sense that even though they are hard working and responsible they will loose their home - no choices - sell it for a loss or give it back to the bank - there is no way of getting out - nothing that can be done. I don't even know if the term "deer in the headlights" really conveys the shock and disbelief that most folks are dealing with.

Good Fairy- My Buyers are happy campers, deals and interest rates of a life time! One client just had an offer accepted for almost $70,000 below what the house sold for in 2007.

Paperwork - to term the phrase from my 12 year old - "OMG" - I think the Real Estate industry has an inside deal with the paper mills in our Nation.... We can kill a tree with one transaction.

Legal and Education - Don't think for a minute I don't feel the weight and responsibility of each individual I work with either buying or selling their home. I fully understand and respect the amount of heartaches and headaches that they may deal with if I don't do all I can to help them as much as I can. I don't think there has been a transaction that I haven't learned something. It would take a book to share the bizarre and interesting situations I come across. So keeping up on the contract changes and market changes is an never ending process. It's been amazing learning through each transactions' unique events not to mention the continuing education required and needed.

Things have changed - as a Realtor I have to change to be able to effectively help my clients. I have to understand why we do what we do and how it's supposed to be effective. Even more importantly - I need to remember that no matter how savy my clients may be about the financial world, how much good old fashioned common sense they posses or how many houses they've bought and sold through the years -It is my job to effectively communicate what and why is happening - even the obvious. Maybe even more especially the obvious. Isn't it the item in the refrigerator that you see each time you open it to grab the milk that when you need to find it you look right past it calling out "honey, where is the mayonnaise?" and "honey" walks up and helps you find it right in front of your face! I think in many ways Real Estate is like that.

Some things are so obvious - most people know these things already but while in the processes of Real Estate they need and want someone (yes, that would be me!) to talk about the details of the day, the simple little details of how things are happening or why they aren't. Some good and some not so good, but at least they have a hold of what is happening. When I first got in this business communication was one of the biggest points of service to me - I felt each client needed to know EVERYTHING. As time went by with each transaction I felt sometimes I was explaining things my clients already knew so while I was sure to explain and talk with them about the bigger events of a transation or marketing, I did allow the smaller pieces to go unoticed. After a while it just felt like - "they probably already know that".

So today was a very good day. It's days like this that make me a better Realtor. It is critical to go back to basics! While I may not drive people nuts going over every single crumb of the transaction - I will be sure to take a little more time to slow down to ask a few more questions to ensure my clients feel as comfortable and confident as possible!

What's ahead?

Life is always full of change - that's a no brainer - so why when the change actually comes along are we so overwhelmed sometimes? Right now our family is floating through quite an interesting time - albeit exciting!

We are remodeling a bathroom to take our household from 2.5 baths to 3 baths. Normally that would be really exciting and even fun. Picking out tile and vanities, paint colors etc......While this is taking place our youngest is in the height of her Softball season - this requires constant transportation to practice 2 times a week and then of course tournaments on the weekends....some in Bend, some in Washington, some are thank goodness closer to home but none the less - taking all weekend most times from 6:00 am through the end of most days..... both days. Cheerleading starts for her in just over a week so we will add that to the schedule AND my father-in-law is visiting from Florida right now too....

Oh - but wait - there's more.... our oldest daughter is moving home June 1 to attend George Fox University in August for her Master's Degree - and - bringing her dog Molly.... (she's my grand-dog). So, we will be up to 5 people and 3 dogs.

Seriously, 3100 square feet never felt so small!!!

:)

Oh yes, and besides our home and wonderful children there is work and clients to take care of for Hubby and me!

Thankfully we are making it through each day with a bit of accomplishment an occasional breakdown and of course hope that more will get done tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we know the bathrooms will get finished, the house will be organized and clean again , we will all enjoy having our oldest daughter and dog Molly home, our son will get back to wrestling and finish his Eagle project this summer, our youngest will enjoy her ball season and I will exhale.

The best part, when this is all finished, we will all appreciate the calm after the storm. Just as we appreciate the sunshine after the rain or the shade on a hot day - a little chaos and stress helps bring the gratitude for the calm.