Brandon Rodriguez
By Brandon Rodriguez
When I first became an agent just shy over 7 years ago, I was a novice and this dichotomy was not apparent to me. I was under the impression brokers were in charge. They gave you a desk space or office, nice decorated conference rooms, brochures, and you could even do desk duty for them. Not to mention nice team meetings. I am positive back in the 80s and 90s this was the case.
REALTORS(R), with their demand of technology and different commission structures, have changed everything in real estate. My dream of being a broker making lots of money put a glimmer in my eyes and a huge Kool-Aid smile! I could not have been so wrong. Brokers are competing for agents to join their firm. Buyers and seller rarely want to go to an agent’s office to sign papers because we live in “real time,” meaning, they do not want to waste their time and gas to go sign papers. They’d rather you fax (becoming obsolete in itself), e-mail (also becoming a nascence when you have to scan) and the most preferred way is something like DocuSign (not endorsing any company here, but I use them). “Click, click, send.”
The real estate sales people, who are more tech-savvy, rarely need to go the broker’s office anymore. At times I have heard, “I don’t know why my broker wants me at the office. I have everything I need at home.” Walk-in traffic is becoming unheard of since buyers and sellers do most of their hunting online. This is where tech savvy practitioners know how to capture the majority of their clients. Continue reading »
Brandon Rodriguez
By Brandon Rodriguez
Barriers are never good when selling a house. I know that all the good agents know this and have instructed to their clients the harm this can cause. However, the barriers are still up.
One weekend, I scheduled property to show for a client. The list was ready and the phone calls to our Centralized Showing System were being made. Mind you, I had at least 11 to show at the request of the client. These are real scenarios and my personal thoughts behind them.
House 1 – “Can only show between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. with a one-hour notice.”
My Thought: This is a four-hour window. You might think to yourself, “Brandon, there is a good reason for this.” The seller (insert your reason here). In a buyers market, this four-hour window will not get the seller many showings. Buyers are working people who usually have jobs between these hours. Buyers will only see homes when it is convenient for them. “Well, if they love the house, they will make time.” Not so. They will move on to the next house and forget “the home they loved.”
House 2 – Day one listed the property for $400,000 and day three listed property for $415,000. Continue reading »
Brandon Rodriguez
By Brandon Rodriguez
In real estate we always talk about the best technology, the social networking, the closing of a sale. We sometimes forget we are not super heroes, we are human. Our livelihood is dependent on our personalities and how we deal with stress. We all know real estate can be stressful. So how does one move on? The same determination, ambition and will-power that got you in the business will get you over the obstacle.
I see this day in, day out, practitioners give up because life placed a mountain in front of them that seems impossible to climb and overcome. That agent that was moving forward has now decided to get out of the business because of financial or personal issues. It does not have to be that way.
Why am I talking about overcoming life obstacles? I want practitioners to know they are not alone and to stay in the business. In December my grandmother was placed in ICU. She raised me from birth and I called her mom. My business was doing great, I won a national award, and then tragedy happens. I placed everything on hold to be by her side. She was bad and we had to make tough life changing decisions. Mid January she passed away. My heart was torn, and my mind confused. I could of fallen into a deep depression, and given up on my company, agents, and business. This was not something I was expecting, nor ready to deal with. This obstacle could have ended my career. Continue reading »
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