Monday Morning Match is a simple post – maybe a quote, inspirational story or idea – intended to spark some motivation inside each of you so your week gets off to a fantastic start on Monday morning.
It’s Not Just What We Do
As Realtors, we help our clients move from one house to the next, but it’s not really about the house. Regardless of the sticks and bricks, kitchens, baths, and acreage that might be on the fact sheets, our job is to help the people that live in the houses.
We counsel with Buyers and do everything we can to identify their wants and needs and determine their urgency and motivations. We introduce them to our affiliate partners like lenders, home inspectors, and other service providers. We strive to help our Seller clients make good decisions on things like preparation and staging, pricing, timing, and other items that will impact the marketing and eventually, negotiating to the best terms and conditions. If we do a good job establishing expectations at the beginning of our relationship, we give ourselves the best chance possible to not only meet our client’s expectations but hopefully exceed them.
It’s Also Where We Do It
We normally work in branch offices, but there probably isn’t a Realtor alive who hasn’t popped a squat at a local library, coffee shop, restaurant or bar to work on a transaction. Realtors can work mobile as well, utilizing technologies and other tools to connect with clients from their car, kid’s sporting events, and gyms. I once wrote and negotiated a purchase offer for a client from an airplane, 35,000 feet above Kansas…or maybe it was Nebraska?
Real estate happens in quaint little offices off Main Street, or inside a modern, multi-level building with a common lobby and a massive parking lot outside. Clients meet their agents in strip malls offices with Starbucks on one side and a dry cleaner on the other. There are even some Realtors today who work in a “virtual office” with no brick and mortar, cubicles, desks, or conference rooms.
A Change of Address Might Require a Change of Attitude
These days, as the CoronaVirus pandemic affects our world, our country, our states, and our local neighborhoods, almost every Realtor is working from home. Maybe they’ve always had a place to work inside their homes, such as a 4th bedroom, a den or home office, but for some, the concept of “working from home” might have meant a comfy couch or bar stool in the kitchen.
As more and more states and municipalities are issuing “stay at home” orders to minimize the spread of the virus and begin to #FlattenTheCurve, everyone is being forced to work from home. Whether that means utilizing a home office or setting up a temporary locale in a dining room or corner of the kitchen, the good news is as long as you have a good Wifi signal and access to a smartphone, you should still be able to manage your current transactions and stay connected to your clients and communities. Sure, we might have a few extra children, grandchildren or pets popping in and out of our workspace and it might be a bit noisier than usual, but just remember to take a deep breath and control what you can in the situation.
In the event you determine that you just don’t have enough room, your family is intruding on your space, or the layout of your home isn’t conducive to working from home, the good news is…you probably know a good Realtor who might be able to fix that.
If you “love where you live” and “love where you work,” you’ll be just fine for the next few weeks or months. Just keep building relationships, solving problems and having fun.
Remember what we do – We help our clients find and adjust to a change of address all the time, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for us to deal with a change of address too.
