Neither Snow nor Rain nor Heat of Day….

February 16, 2009 · Kathy Wall

It is about 3:30 p.m. and I’m doing an open house in a lovely, although freezing, townhome in Pacifica. The rain is pouring down in sheets. The door is open, hoping to encourage someone to come in. I’m bundled up, including wearing long johns under my slacks, and am suddenly reminded of the postal service motto: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat of day nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” It occurs to me that, to a great degree, professional Realtors follow the same creed. An example of this would be my day today.

I started my morning at 6:45 a.m., preparing to show property in Oakland. I was dreading the drive across the Bay Bridge, with the rain pounding and the wind howling, yet, there was no way that I was going to cancel on my client. Fortunately, he called at 7:00 a.m. and asked to cancel, but my day was far from over. I still had another appointment to show property to a new client on the Peninsula, as well as doing the aforementioned open house. It was going to be a long day. And, much like the dedicated postal carriers, I would not let my customers down by cancelling due to the weather…no matter how much I wanted to and I really, really wanted to.

Real estate is considered to be one of the most disliked professions, which makes me sad, since the overwhelming majority of the Realtors I know will do whatever it takes to make sure that their customers are well cared for. Yes, there is (sometimes) a monetary reward at the end of the process, but the Realtors I know and respect take the utmost pride in their work and put their clients first. And, many times, work for months and months with a client only to have them cancel the listing or decide not to buy.

To those who decry our profession and the “easy money” they think that we make, I challenge them to spend a day like mine today, waking early to make sure that all of our showings would go off smoothly, carrying heavy wooden signs in the rain, sitting in a freezing house for 3 hours, waiting for the 2 people that actually came by to look at the home.

I’m not complaining. I’ve loved this job for almost 16 years, but it sometimes troubles me that people see it as “easy.” It is many things…exciting, challenging, and sometimes very stressful. But, easy, it is not.

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Filed Under Important Thoughts, Local Trends, Real Estate for Buyers and Sellers

Tags: Bay Area Real Estate, buyers and sellers, home buyers, Prudential California Realty, real estate, real estate information, real estate services

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7 Responses to “Neither Snow nor Rain nor Heat of Day….”

Michael Monozon on February 16th, 2009 12:27 pm

Interesting post Kathy, guess the old saying, do not judge unless you have walked in their shoes rings true in your post, (or something like that saying). Our world, real estate is a special group of people, who only get paid for results, think how much better our economy might be if everyone got compensated on results.
Kathy Wall on February 16th, 2009 5:56 pm

Thanks for your response, Michael. I agree. It makes a lot of difference when you only get paid for results. It’s a great motivator!
Shokoofeh Nowbakht on February 17th, 2009 1:12 am

Thanks for the post Kathy. I have shown property at 7AM, too. My clients were very appreciative. I agree with you that this is a challenging, but at the same time, very enjoyable and rewarding career.
Brian Boisson on February 17th, 2009 9:53 am

Kathy,

What you said is so very true, but that is what makes you a professional Realtor, and not a “fair weather”, “in for the easy times” only one.

Good luck with your listing in Pacifica!

Brian
Larry Franzella on February 17th, 2009 10:34 am

We as Realtors, make it look easy when we do our job correctly and the work we actually do often goes unnoticed.
Annie Chang on February 18th, 2009 6:46 pm

Hi Kathy,

Thanks for sharing your day as a Realtor with us! It’s so true that many have misjudged the amount of work and challenges Realtors have to undertake in their line of work. Perhaps certain irresponsible individuals’ way of conducting business has tainted the public’s perception of Realtors. We need more passionate, professional Realtors like you to uphold a positive image.

-Annie
Adam Chinn on February 20th, 2009 9:32 pm

Thanks for another great post Kathy,
I agree with Michael when he said, “guess the old saying, do not judge unless you have walked in their shoes rings true in your post,”. Before I was a Realtor I did not realize just how much was involved in this lifestyle/career. There is much to be done and learned but that’s part of what makes it so great. If we all got compensated for our results I’m sure the economy would be much better off. Keep up the great work.