Real Estate Experience Is a Good Teacher

April 16, 2009
Volume 3 Issue #7 

I woke yesterday morning and I was reminded that it was the third anniversary of our company, Next Level Solutions.
 
I am going to tell a story this month. It is rather long but it explains a lot of things about real estate. If you can relate to this, chances are you will survive.
 
Time really flies when you are having fun. I knew from the time I was 23 that real estate was for me. I was bartending and saving money to be a teacher when I tipped-off a real estate broker who was a bar regular that another patron was moving. The result was a $25 tip. Hey, this real estate seems like a good deal.
 
My first client, picked up from the bar, of course, wanted to see a house in a town I did not know existed. After getting lost (no cell phones in those days), we finally found the property. They didn't like it. I was so nervous on the way out of the property that I backed over a bicycle in the driveway. $75 later we left the property and the prospective clients were out of my life.
 
I was amazed to learn that houses had styles --until getting into real estate I only knew 2 styles, Big & Small. Mortgages were also a mystery --people actually borrowed to buy homes! To this day, I remember a woman telling me that mortgages over 7% were just too expensive. She was right. It took only 15 years for the rates to get below 7% again. Hmmm, think if she had waited until now.
 
I caught my first big break in a somewhat round about way. About 3 years into my real estate career, I was again showing properties in a town I had never heard of when the son of my newest customers became ill in the back seat of my car, a sound like the scrunch of the bike that I will always remember. The parents decided the house wasn't for them but were apologetic as they vacated the car.
 
Later that evening I got a call (no email in those days) from the people I had taken out earlier in the day as they were feeling guilty had and decided to buy the house. Yahoo! (an expression in those days) I sold one! Doing what I was taught to do, I called the neighbors to see if they wanted to sell. I had a great response. It turned out the house was in a flood plain and had been for sale for 3 years. People thought if I could sell that house, I could sell anything. Over the years I had over 30 sales in that neighborhood.
 
I changed offices after a while. Actually, I was fired if you must know, but again it was a good break. I ended up working for the best office in the area and learned to sell.
 
As things will happen, our office had a salesperson revolution; we were doing really well and wanted more from management. Who better to be the spokesman than the youngest salesperson? No blood was shed but within a year, somehow, I was in management, running an office in the middle of nowhere with no training and with the salespeople none of the offices wanted. The highlight of my 4 (seemed like 40) years there was the sales staff walk-out while I was on my honeymoon, complete with leaving the office door wide open which I found when I returned.
 
With my staff now consisting of one 80 year old semi-full time salesperson and 1 part time agent, things were bleak. Good fortune smiled on us and our company was purchased by a much larger one. The bad news: my office was closed. The good news: I was made manager of another office, staffed by salespeople the other offices didn't want and the old manager as my assistant...make that "sort of" good news.
 
Our first month, we had no sales, a new company record. Rates were very high and financing was tough to get. (Sounds familiar) Somehow things got better. We became early adopters of adjustable mortgages and started to make sales, lots of sales. Within 4 years the office was number 1 in a whole national franchise of listings sold per person.
 
Life was good. Neither good things nor bad things last forever. Salespeople left, competition grew fierce in a good market. My office did well, some years better than others, some more fun than others.
 
Along the way another trend popped up in real estate --technology. It was very confusing for someone like me who went to full serve (old type service in gas stations where someone actually put the gas in your car for you) because I wasn't sure how to work the pump. After being the victim of a public humiliation by our company president for suggesting we needed help learning how to use technology, I was mad and decided I would learn on my own.
 
By some miracle, I learned how to use computers and technology at an age where it wasn't age appropriate. I now had the new version of fire.
 
In the next few years I was obsessed with learning technology. A few things happed. My company had a merger. I was not judged worthy to manage the new combined office in my town and was given a lesser office where the manager was still on the sales staff --is that déjà vu? Actually this turned out to be a break as I got to try new things and shed some bad habits.
 
Good news, it turned out I was worthy of managing my old combined office - another salesperson revolt but I didn't have anything to do with it --honest! Within a year I was managing both offices simultaneously - technology came in handy. The new combined office did great and another manager was found for my second office after a year.
 
Three years ago, April 15, I decided to start Next Level Solutions. Timing was good! I still love what I do.
 
What is the point of this abbreviated (or long-winded) history of my life?
 
Hopefully you were entertained.
The market and life has plenty of ups and downs. Neither ups or downs last forever.
You will get some breaks along the way. The breaks may not always look like breaks
Stay up with the trends in the business as they present opportunities.
If you do what you love, it isn't really work.
If you need website help, we understand your business
 
Tech Tip- Everything Google in one place. Google offers a wide array of products, services and applications. If you want to get to them all in one place go to http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/ . You will be amazed at what you find. From this page and the Custom Search Page you can find over 100 useful ways to get information.