Musings From a Realtor

I wrote this a few years ago — probably late at night — and posted it to Facebook. It got quite a bit of traction, so I’ve reposted it each year and thought I’d share with you!

1. We spend a lot of time working to convince people that other people aren't trying to screw them over.
2. 99.9% of the time, people aren't trying to screw you over.
3. If you don't trust your realtor, ask yourself these questions:
   • a. Do I tend to mistrust most people? OR
   • b. Do I just mistrust this person? If the answer is b, get a new realtor. If the answer is a, get a therapist.
4. Finding the home or finding the buyer for your home is a small part of the entire process. A large percentage of the work happens after you go under contract.
5. If the considerable number of bumps in the road during the real estate process don't actually jostle the transaction enough for the client to experience them, people think we make too much money. If the road is so bumpy the client feels it, they think we're idiots.
6. While 6% seems big, 3% immediately goes to whichever agent brings the buyer, 1% goes to our broker, 1% goes to taxes, and the remaining 1% is for marketing your home, providing for the team that serves you, and feeding my pets. There isn't much left for me to give you a discount.
7. Contrary to popular belief, we don't work every evening and weekend. I start my day at 9:00 a.m. and end at 7:00 p.m. M-F, Sat. by appt only. Please don't ask me to meet at 7:30 p.m. as I won't be my sharpest.
8. When you say, ‘I've bought and sold a lot of houses,’ that usually means 3-4 in your lifetime. We help people buy and sell 2-3 times that every month. Please respect our expertise.
9. These clients have the best experiences. Those who:
   • listen
   • are reasonable
   • don't freak out
   • let us do our job
   • communicate effectively
10. It isn't what happens to people, it is how people respond to what happens to them that determines whether or not they have a good experience. We've had two sets of clients have almost the exact same things go wrong in a transaction, one client thinks we're idiots and yells at us, the other clients thinks we're amazing and sends us chocolate.
11. Money doesn't change people. Money brings out who people are.
12. Buyers who decide quickly and buy one of the first few homes they view are happier than those who keep shopping and shopping. And sellers whose homes sell in 3 days with multiple offers are happier than those who price too high and sit on the market.
13. We believe in doing the right thing. In win-win scenarios. In treating people like collaborators rather than enemies.
14. Every problem is solvable. The worst-case scenario hardly ever happens. Whatever it is, it's not the end of the world.
15. You get what you look for in life, make sure you're looking for the right things.

We look forward to serving you!