This is Part 1 of a 3 part series that gets you inside commercial real estate and our minds.
Secret Thoughts of a Real Estate Broker Part 1
In reflecting over the past year and starting into 2015, I realize that I am approaching my twenty-second anniversary in my real estate career. I’ve seen many changes over the last two decades. Real estate sales and leasing is a rewarding career as helping people gives me tremendous satisfaction and joy, but it can also be a really tough job. I thought it appropriate to be transparent and give you an inside look into the secret thoughts of a real estate broker. So, I am going to share with you some thoughts that go through our minds. There are a few differences between a broker and an agent I will explain later, but I use the terms interchangeably here.
We love loyalty.
One of the biggest complaints many of us have is the lack of loyalty from our clients. Remember, we do not get paid until the sale closes escrow or the lease is executed. We usually have a myriad of work up until that time. Plus, we may have completed a daunting amount of work up to the point that an offer is made or a letter of intent to lease is executed. Hard work doesn’t bother us and we even enjoy the complicated deals with lots of moving pieces. But, it is hard to justify when a client isn’t loyal. Yes, things do happen where the timing ends up not being right for the client so be sure to communicate that with us. A loyal and committed client goes a very long way with us and we will work really hard for you.
We really are professionals…well most of us.
There are a lot of good commercial and residential brokers out there. This is one of the reasons many spend so much time, money and effort on marketing themselves because there is a lot of competition. Unfortunately, there are a handful of brokers who give the rest of us a bad name. They find quickly they either need to change the way they do business (let alone reflect on their personal values and integrity) or they will be out-of-business. Those of us inside commercial real estate are truly embarrassed when we hear of those who do not uphold a higher standard. It does hurt.
We are human beings.
We really do not like taking calls, texts and urgent emails after hours, but we know it is part of the job. We are a connected world and even though it definitely helps us help our clients by being easily accessible, quite often the late night phone call or text could had been made via email or postponed until the next day. The majority of us are always ready to talk real estate, remember it is competitive out there. Family time and time unplugged is valuable for all of us to recharge.
This reminds me of a neighborhood shopping center I was selling. The buyer called me in my wife’s room in the hospital as she was giving birth to my son 14 years ago. Yes, it is true and yes, it could have waited until the next day.
I hope this gives you a glimpse of our who we are, check back here for more in part two and three.
Photo Credit: “Top Secret Rubber Stamp” by Stuart Miles FreeDigitalPhotos.net
