Real Estate
Since my blog is titled, "Real Estate + Travel + Mom," I wanted to give an introduction on each topic and why they are important to me.
I have been selling real estate, off and on, since 1998. My older sister decided to get into it, and it looked fun so I followed suit. She killed it. She quickly became uber successful, and I...well, I was very young, and I completely took advantage of the flexible schedule. I was never as busy as I should have been, so I filled in the blanks with babysitting jobs to help me get by, which took time away from my real estate business. A vicious cycle. I lasted 2 years, and left to finish my schooling at University of Washington. I graduated with a BA in Communications, Journalism. I loved to write and dreamed of being a magazine travel writer. I didn't fully think that one through, and didn't realize I would have had to move to some tiny town to work for a local newspaper to work my way up to magazine writer. I did NOT want to do that. I became a recruiter and recruited engineers for several years, until...
I decided to get back into real estate in 2009. A great time to get into the business, right!? I lasted 6 months, if that. It was a joke. Even some of the best real estate agents were getting out of the business.
That last stint in real estate coupled with my dad telling me I, "don't have the real estate/sales gene," put a bad taste in my mouth. I decided to run as far away from real estate as possible. Until...
In 2012, my partner (at the time) and I went house hunting. Fun! It was the bottom of the market = a GREAT time to buy! We walked into an open house and decided the agent holding the open was going to be our agent. He was a seasoned agent who knew the local market very well. I found myself asking a lot of questions not only about the homes, but also about the process. Even reminding him of certain steps of the process. It felt really good to be back in the real estate game! I had already been asked numerous times (prior to house hunting) if I would consider getting back into real estate. My answer was always, "no." I had failed at it twice, why would I torture myself a 3rd time? Our agent brought it up a few times during the home buying process so, I considered it. I said, "If I don't have to retake the test, I think I will try it." So, I called Olympia where our licenses are held and asked for the status of my license. It was inactive, which meant I only had to get current on continuing education and pay some back fees. I didn't have to take the test.
I took some time to think. Our agent had invited me to join his team, which was far less scary than starting by myself. He said he would be providing leads, and he would pay me a certain percentage of each transaction. He also said he was looking at retiring soon and was wanting someone to take over his business entirely at some point. It was all very intriguing, and seemed like the perfect way to reenter the real estate world.
I decided to take the plunge. In 2012, I got relicensed, and re-entered the real estate world. I vowed NOT to fail this time. I was older, wiser, and my work ethic was different. I didn't want to fail my family, my mentor, or myself. So, I hustled. I hustled so much, I branched off from my mentor after 6 months and started working solo. I did very well, and quickly became a top producer in my office, with goals of starting my own team! Then came babies, and my priorities changed.
I loved selling real estate. So, so much, but I wanted (NEEDED) something with more stability for our family. Redfin has a different business model: we are salaried employees, and the benefits/incentives are amazing. I decided to purse an open position. So, when I was pregnant with our second baby, I was hired at Redfin as a West Seattle Listing Specialist. Meaning I only worked with sellers. This was August 2016.
A little over 5 years later, and every year I have been the top agent in all of West Seattle. I have been a top producer at Redfin, earning a President's club trip every year I have been with the company. I just earned the 400 centurion award, meaning I have sold over 400 homes. I closed 85 homes last year. I keep winning, and winning, and winning. Making the move to Redfin was the right choice.
I love what I do. I love real estate. I love helping people with the biggest financial decision of their life. My job is fun, stressful, exciting, stressful, intriguing, important, and stressful! I honestly cannot picture myself doing anything else. This is my forever career, and every day I feel lucky and honored to be doing what I am doing. I am setting a good example for my kids that a woman can be independent, can work hard, and can be successful. I want them to understand, and BELIEVE they can be/do anything they want! Maybe one day, they will follow in my footsteps. Or maybe they won't. I just want them to be happy, because I sure am. :)
Comentários