It’s Time To Get With It!

Okay.  So I confess that I haven’t been the most tech savvy Realtor so far.   My career in real estate started back in 1990 (the olden days) when there weren’t any cellular phone, and fax machines (if you had one) used thermal paper.  Does anybody remember that?  And how thermal paper faded over time?  Not great for keeping records of contracts and supporting documents. I am now taking this very first proactive step of writing a blog with the goal of reaching out to more people via the WWW.  Sounds like fun eh?  I ask that you please bear with me as I learn and grow on your time.  Maybe we can grow together.

Although I have always had some interest in real estate thanks to my auntie Sharon, it was never my intention to end up as a Realtor.  After graduation from Cal Berkeley in International Political Economies, I had my sights set on being a top paid executive of an international company such as P & G or General Electric.   Traveling to and fro – jet setting.  Instead I ended up meeting Adrian while in Hawaii (yeah), and this changed my master plan forever.  Love does that to you, you know?  My Canadian sweetie drew me up to the Pacific Northwest in 1989, and I have been here ever since and never regretted it.

Since there was no demand for a top paid executive in Blaine (without any experience I must add), I began to explore the idea of what the heck else I could do with my education, sales and marketing experience.  How about sell real estate!   I set about getting the education for my license in Lynnwood where I happened to be in the class with the future managing broker for Resort Properties of Resort Semiahmoo Bob Nott.  Yes, you can put two and two together to figure that I began at Semiahmoo at the same time as Broker Bob.  He had loads of experience and I did not.  Which brings me to my first blog subject of whether agent experience is the most important thing when seeking a real estate professional to work with.  After all, buying and/or selling real estate is one of the most important transactions you will ever engage in.

Experience is a good thing – a very good thing.  But experience on it’s own does not make for a better real estate agent.  Experience must be met with passion, determination and people skills.  Fortunately for real estate agents, there are many places to seek council regarding rules, regulations, etiquette and ethics.  And the internet creates an immediate source of information that wasn’t available in years past.  Then there is always the age old practice of “boots on the ground” – going to the source for information in person.

Consider it a great use of your time to do some research on the real estate agents that you are thinking of hiring before you do.  Again, the web is a terrific place to start.  But don’t just stop there.  Interview the agents to see if there is chemistry.  Also, call on past clients to see if they would use that agent again and recommend them to you.  This little bit of foot work can save you many sleepless nights and much anxiety.  In the end, you need someone that you can confide and trust in during this journey.  What do you think is most important?  I’d like to hear from you.

Let’s make it happen – Leslie