The real estate market in San Benito was somewhat less active
last week. There were 18 new listings, 18 accepted offers, 15
closed escrows, and 10 removals from the Multiple Listing Service
(MLS). It is not surprising it was a slower week than usual because
Monday was a holiday.
The real estate market in San Benito was somewhat less active last week. There were 18 new listings, 18 accepted offers, 15 closed escrows, and 10 removals from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). It is not surprising it was a slower week than usual because Monday was a holiday.
Whoa, doggies! The thought of a holiday brought pleasant memories of paid holidays in past jobs. Did you know Realtors never get a paid holiday? Nor a paid vacation? Nor a regular paycheck?
Realtors do not get sick leave, nor health benefits, nor any other common job-related perk. We pay for our own business cards, our own promotional gifts, and our own postage. All the advertising you see? Individual agents foot the bill, but we are required by our code of ethics to include the name of our brokerage.
We pay for our own membership to the San Benito County Association of Realtors (SBCAOR) which gives us our Suprakeys for accessing the lockboxes…which we pay for individually.
See the sign rider with our name that hangs under the brokerage sign? You got it. Our dime. Any web sites we maintain? Bingo.
I’m not whining. (Do I sound like I’m whining, Monica?) We do have many benefits, however. We get to help people make the biggest financial investments of their lives. What fun it is helping expecting parents find that perfect three-bedroom home, the one with the picket fence with sweet peas growing over it. And how rewarding seeing empty nesters get on to their retirement dreams in Florida or Tuscany. We assist people in their down times as well. Grieving families pack up their childhoods and sell the family homesteads with us. We help broken couples dissolve their mutual financial commitments, freeing them to get on with their lives. In short, we help people move up and move down, move in and move out. (You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around…)
The common myth is we set our own schedules. We all have tales of missed dinner parties or kid’s games and recitals when we put our clients’ needs above our own. But if there’s a day the sun shines exceedingly brightly, or the doldrums of winter are too arduous to bear, we have no time clock to punch. And no boss to punch, either.
Becoming a Realtor is easy. Becoming a successful Realtor is not. It takes a certain skill set. Realtors need a tough skin (your friends will list with other agents…and sometimes your family, too!), endurance (there are often weeks where each day is 14 hours long with no days off), great organizational skills and an ability to keep focused on the end game, intelligence and creativity, and – though it isn’t mandatory, it helps – a sense of humor.
There are many wonderful agents in San Benito County. Find yourself a good one, just as you have found your dentist, your hairdresser, and your doctor. You’ll be glad you took the time to research it ahead of time.
And be kind to your Realtor!
Nants Foley is a Broker Associate with Intero Real Estate Services in Hollister. Call her at 831.630.1300 or online at www.nants.com.
