THE TRUSTED ADVISOR…..

This week a woman came to see to me about a career in Real Estate. It took no time to recognize her keen intellect and good heart. Two decades ago she had earned a scholarship to a fine college, but her parents who had come from the “old country” discouraged her and she did not pursue her dream. She does not hold anything against them. “They did not mean any harm.”
Because she had always loved houses and people, she obtained her real estate license as soon as she graduated high school. At the tender age of 18, she joined a small company and sold three properties in her first year. Although she loved it and would have been hugely successful, she left the industry to marry and raise several children. For years she helped make ends meet by running a children’s day care out of her home. She also managed offices for companies part time and did their books and accounting at night.
For all of these years this lovely woman continued to love houses and people. She was drawn to open houses where she soaked up all she could learn like a sponge from Realtors she studied. She read the classifieds and studied the prices and trends “out there”. She researched market values and different companies on line.
She sat forward as she listened to how the industry has changed over the years when she was changing diapers. For someone who had not practiced in decades, she had an impressive handle on the rules, regulations, laws and standards of practice.
Moreover, she knew her surrounding markets and I found myself engaged in a conversation as stimulating as any one I have enjoyed with the Realtors I most admire.
She wondered if she would be “right” for the profession. She still had one more child at home, but did I think there was a possibility of her re-entering the world of real estate she loved? Would it be worth it for a company like ours to “take her on”? She would certainly understand if it took “too much time” to bring her “up to speed”, and she thanked me for even taking this amount of time with her. She “knew how very busy” I must be.
When you need a Realtor, you look for certain qualities that assure you that you are in the hands of a trusted advisor. When you are a real estate company, you look for the exact same qualities in a Realtor. Many folks can pass a test. Many licensed folks can practice within the rules and regulations. Not everyone earned a full scholarship to a college she was forbidden to attend, yet still hold no ill feelings toward parents who meant “no harm”. Not everyone has sacrificed professional and economic advancement for decades in order to contribute to a more perfect world by raising good and decent new inhabitants. Not everyone has self taught herself to organize and run the businesses of others. Not everyone has such passion about homes and such genuine warmth for those who wish to sell or seek homeownership.
This beautiful and intelligent young lady who sat “wondering” in my office this week is your neighbor. Her children have played with your children and she has wiped their little noses in her day care center for years. She is the curious guest who showed up at your open house, but was “just looking”. She is the “go to” person who stays up all night with sick children, whose schedule rivals the busiest CEO’s schedule all day, who pays the bills, negotiates better deals with office vendors, and manages budgets with creditors. She is also exactly what we look for when we say “trusted advisor” and we can hardly wait see her pretty face on her own yard sign soon. You’re going to love her!