Real estate agents work
hard.
Well, let me rephrase that.
I work hard, and
every successful real estate agent I know works hard. I put in long hours. I juggle multiple tasks. I self-motivate. But sometimes, when you're exhausted ... sometimes when your motivator needs motivation, you have to wonder if it is all worth it?
On a day after you run into a demanding renter --- a client who really won't make you any money in the best case --- makes unreasonable demands on your time, you can feel a little worn down. Sometimes transactions blow-up. Sometimes a real estate agent ends up working late into the evening for the chance to make money ... but doesn't make anything. I remember the days when I crawled out of a warm bed on a Saturday morning, and rushed to make an early appointment and then was stood up.
But this isn't a post about poor little me.
This is a
thank you to God and to friends and family and life.
In a slowing market,
I am busier than ever. My phone rings all day long. And, I'm happy to work the long hours I do. I don't think there is any secret to my success. I just work hard and try to take care of people. And, the best part is that when I take care of people, people take care of me. Sometimes we forget that simple truth, but I was reminded of that this Sunday.
Sunday evening, I was exhausted. My wife was not feeling well. I wanted to go home, curl up and hide from the world for a few hours. But, a client of mine wanted me to come to her new home at
the Fountains condominiums. She had asked us over to share a meal and to check out the improvements she had made to the home.
I was too tired to have fun. I didn't want to go.
I called her and told her this. She wasn't very happy. She told me she had been hard at work cooking and that her efforts would be wasted. I told her my wife was not feeling well. (She wasn't.) This client is Brazilian, and she said that in Brazil she would have kept her thoughts to herself. But here in the US, she was going to blurt out her disappointment.
I groaned to myself.
My wife is a gourmet cook. I've seen her silently suffer after she worked hard at preparing a meal that guests blew off. So I had no choice. Tired or not, I had to drag myself to
the Fountains to meet my client and her husband.
Guess what?
It was one of the best dinners I've ever eaten (that my wife didn't make). It turns out my client is a wonderful cook and a generous host. Her condo was tastefully decorated with items from Brazil, her childhood, her familial roots in Austria and with interesting pieces art from around the world. The meal was well-prepared with foods that took time, love and effort to make the right way. While we enjoyed foods from her Brazilian and European heritage, her husband put a little Brazilian music on the stereo.
Then after dinner, her husband pulled out his guitar and played a few classics in Brazilian and Spanish. He was amazingly talented. While he sang, she translated. It was quite a performance. The best part was when he played an original tune.
And to think what a fool I would have been if I hadn't gone.
I was exhausted and needed some good food. The universe had carefully pre
pared me exactly what I needed and I was about to walk away from it! This only reinforces my belief that you should always do what is right.
If you do what is right, the universe, and God, will look out for you, providing exactly what you need exactly when you need it.
For more information or to set up an appointment call Nesbitt Realty at
(703)765-0300.
The goal is to find the rental that suits all of your needs, most of your wants and fits your budget. What's the most effective choice to realize that goal? You can:
Do it yourself; or
Enlist the services of a rental agent.
If do it yourself, then you are in effect your own rental agent. That means you must rely on your own personal knowledge of the area and your own contacts to find your perfect rental. Of course, you could change your own oil, put in your own stitches and you could cut your own hair, too. The only difference is that you have pay for these services and a rental agent's services are totally free to the renter!
A rental agent's job is to listen to your needs and then help you identify rentals that meet your needs. rental agents typically have in depth knowledge of the community and they are often aware of market rates. It's not uncommon for a "connected" rental agent to know of rental opportunities that are quietly listed and generally unknown to the public. A rental agent's fees are paid by the landlord, so there is no expense to the renter.
In some parts of the country, energy efficient and eco-friendly homes are easier to find. The real estate brokerage Redfin recently ranked cities that have the greenest homes, basing its rankings on the number of homes for sale that boast green features—such as solar panels, LEED certification, and Energy Star appliances—as well as taking into account each city’s carbon-dioxide emissions ranking.
"The residents of these cities are reducing their environmental footprint and saving money at the same time" by lowering their monthly utility bills, says Julie Jacobson, a real estate agent with Redfin.
The following cities emerged on the top of the brokerage’s list for greenest cities for homes:
Twenty-four percent of married couples surveyed aged 18-to-34 said they had purchased a home before they were married. Of married couples aged 45 and up, only 14 percent said they had purchased a house before marriage.
Unmarried couples who live in the Northeast are the most likely to buy a home together prior to marriage, according to the survey.
In the Northeast, 60 percent of those surveyed said they waited until marriage to buy a home together, compared to 72 percent in the South.
For some young couples, buying a home together has become “the new engagement ring,” says Dr. Robi Ludwig, a psychotherapist and Coldwell Banker’s “lifestyle correspondent.” Millennials “know that they have an opportunity here, with low mortgage rates and low housing prices. And they think, ‘We’re moving toward marriage anyway, so let’s buy.’”
Some are even choosing to bypass the fancy wedding and honeymoon and save up for a downpayment instead, Ludwig says.
Couples are finding they can learn a lot about their future spouse when buying a home first, including about one another’s finances and even how many kids the other wants one day, since that often comes into play in finding a suitable size and style of home.
“It’s easy for couples to not think or talk about these things, but they’re forced to once mortgages and banks are involved,” Ludwig says.
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