Why Real Estate?

So, I need to start a blog, or that’s what they say. They who, you’ll ask, and I’ll tell you “they” are every single speaker I have met during my weeks in training. Whether we’re talking about a multimedia specialist or a seasoned broker, the message stays the same - start a blog.

My problem isn’t the blogging itself, as I have already been blogging since March of 2012. I started my first blog when my firstborn got diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and I have been blogging ever since. I have blogged about my journey to special needs parenting, and life in general as it comes to my own aspirations, dreams and yes, that thing called motherhood. So, what is the problem then, you might ask? Is there one? You might tell me to just start writing. But I have never written in English. I have been blogging in my own language – Finnish. I have chosen to do so, to keep up with my Finnish, and partly because Finnish still is the language of my emotions after fifteen years in United States, at least at some level.

But this is not about emotions, isn't it? This is about Real Estate, hard core business, all softness aside. What do you envision when someone tells you they are in Real Estate? 

I can tell you I have already received some baffled smiles, and the same look as you would give the sleazy used car salesman, you know, the one who would sell you something for three times the price it’s worth and then it’ll end up stop working on your way home with you “great deal”. The thing is, I hate sales guys. I hate them so much, I refuse to enter a car dealership, even when not talking about used cars. I’m talking BMW, Volvo or Audi here. That being said, I don’t think I would ever be selling you anything. I would love to consult you though, or walk you through one of the biggest, if not the biggest transaction of your life; the purchase or sale of a home.

A lot of people think I have hit the fast track to wealth, easy money. Just show a couple of homes, and pick up that huge commission. The math seems simple enough, but in reality, it isn’t quite that simple as that big commission gets split a few times before it ends in my bank account, and then I would be paying for my taxes, and insurance, and social security, and desk fee, and yes, the marketing expenses for that beautiful home of yours. I pay all that from what is left, after the commission has been split those few times.

By the way, did you know that as a Realtor I am held up to the same standard as an attorney when working on a transaction? That means I kinda have to know my stuff. I really need to know what I’m doing, and I need to hold my clients best interest first, above mine or anyone else’s. Then there is the fact that I am a Realtor. A Realtor, not just a broker, and as a Realtor I will be held up to the code of ethics of the National Association of Realtors. So, on top of knowing the law, and the minimum standard of practice, I will kick it up a notch to meet those higher standards.

I chose this path because I love working with people. I love helping people, and I think I am pretty darn good at problem solving. Just ask those people I worked with at Overlake, dealing with insurance problems, negotiating with them, making sure your care was paid for. I loved finding financing to patients that could not afford their meds, and by financing I’m talking about finding a third party to pick up the bill. So, I chose this path. I chose to become a Realtor to be able to drop my kids off at the bus stop in the morning, and to be there for their school spring performance. Not to be sleazy, or to make a lot of money, but to get the honor of consulting you and your family, to find solutions and to be of help. That’s why I chose Real Estate.

Previewing homes.