To then wondering OK now can I really make a living doing this, and coming to grip that there was no fall back or back up plan. If I could not convince people to allow me to help them buy or sell their home, I was in trouble. I heard at some point very early on that once you are a Real Estate Agent for 2 years, you virtually become unemployable anywhere else. (Maybe they were on to something here actually.) So with all of this weighing on my mind I got mad and quit my salary job one morning before 8am. Great idea right? I still remember that call to my wife, "Uh well I told Tom to kiss my butt this morning and I quit. He tried to fight me but that's a long story..." Then the inevitable "Now what...?" So I took a job building a fence for a guy that day...that lasted 1 day but I did build the fence. Then sold the house a few years later, and then sold it for the guy I sold it to, and may be selling it again in a few months...
So the next week I studied a little bit and schedule the exam. Since I had real estate as my degree emphasis in college I did not have to go through the classes again, which I did not know as they do not tell you that in class I guess. Once I passed the reality hit me, I had to find a broker. I didn't even plan for that so I called one of my buddies who graduated before I did and was already in the business and he gave me a name of someone who would take a part time agent who really didn't have a plan yet. From day one sitting in my new brokers office/living room wondering what the heck am I doing here, to going straight home and office shopping for a new place and trying to find the place I felt I fit in best. I did find it, after a couple tries, and the rest is history. I made more that year that my old job so I could see that this was going to be something I could handle.
Well that is the story of how and why, I still remember that first sale...here it is - (I never even got credit for it in the MLS she put the wrong agent on there??)
From there is went crazy the market that next two years was ridiculous. I remember listing a house, putting a sign in the yard and driving home all the way across town, and being worried that I had not had a call on it yet. I also remember selling one the split second I put the sign in the ground, and not really even remembering the price when they asked. Then there was 2008-2011 - we will just say I hope that is something we do not have to deal with again. The last two years have been incredible, and I think we are going to see an excellent market the next several years. Lexington, KY Real Estate is booming right now, and so is the Bluegrass Region. Yes we do wear shoes, and no we don't all ride horses, or drink bourbon and moonshine. At least not everybody all of the time anyway.
But through it all the one thing I really say is the best thing is helping people. Sure its how I make a living and put food on the table, and buy my kids all their shoes and clothes etc. But really knowing you do something that helps other people provide a safe and stable place for them and their families future is paramount in my mind. And when they call me back a few years later saying they need to sell and buy a bigger one, that is awesome. Seeing the look on a first time home buyer's face when they buy their first home, and handing them the keys is an awesome feeling.
Sometimes its calling a seller up and telling them they can finally move on because they have been living out of a suitcase for a few months, or that they can now be all together as they are in the new city and the family is still here, waiting on me to get the home sold so they can be together again.
That call is priceless. I even like the call saying you know what we bought this house for this much, and now we are selling it for this much. So you are getting a check for this much. That is cool too.
But it really is addicting. The feeling of helping others do that, no matter how really significant my role. Because lets face it what we do is not rocket science. Houses almost sell themselves, especially when they work with me on the front end to zero in on things like area, price, location, amenities etc., not to mention everyone needs to live somewhere. So there is a good size market to tap from.
But I have always been real cognizant of the fact it is a BIG deal. No matter how many I sell I alway remember that to that client it is the biggest decision they most likely have ever made. My job is to make it a great experience. The one thing experience.
I alway refer to the sale/buy as "we" are buying, and "we" are selling. Because I am invested in the experience too. I really sometimes feel like I get more tied in to it than they do at times. Most of the things we do for our clients they never know about, like squeezing an extra thousand out for a seller just to see if you can, or helping a buyer get a refrigerator when is is not included in the sale. But I truly believe it is not a you or a they, it is a we deal. Maybe that is why well over 80% of my business is repeat and referral business. I don't know.
But I do know this, while writing this post I have been trying to think of 1 person or 1 deal I have done that I have regretted. Because you hear all the time that we real estate agents are greedy and try to push homes on people, we caused this and we did that...I cannot. Even on investment property deals, where it's numbers not emotion, I feel good about them all (except for a few I have bought myself that is....). Even through all of the foreclosure mess and down market I can't think of one person I sold a home to that lost it. I have some who may have lost some money, but all of them who came back to me to help, I did everything I could possibly to to lessen that loss. I feel really good about that fact. I really can not think of 1 out of several hundred sales that I felt the buyer or seller did not really do the right thing.
Now that I am also the owner/broker of the company, my role is not only to help my clients, as I still and in the business full force, I am responsible for the team. I not only have to recruit and train agents to the company, but I feel a strong need and desire to help them succeed. Every time an agent leaves our office, or decides to get out of the business I take it hard. I wonder what I could have done to keep them. Could I have been more accessible, offered more training, more leads, been less of a pain in the butt about activities?...whatever. But for the agents here now and for those to come, I am totally committed to helping them succeed. The hard part is getting them to see what their potential is in the business. Some expect it to fall in their lap, some think other pastures are greener, but I can really say that the system we have, and where we want to be in the future as a company is pretty damn good.
If you are considering a career in the business you owe it to yourself to come check us out. We may not be a fit for everyone, and we don't want just anybody, you have to be committed and accountable for your success. But most of all you have to be the one thing for you client. The one thing is a big deal around here, but its my trade secret, sorry. If you are considering buying or selling a home in Lexington or the surrounding areas, I want to talk to you. Here are a few links for just this purpose:
www.Weichert.com/careers
www.SearchLexingtonKYHomes.com
www.TySellsHouses.com
www.MovetoKY.com
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