What are some lessons that you have learned in real estate and how did you learn them?
“Follow up, follow up, follow up! And always call back the same day even if you don’t know the answer. Also, deliver bad news with the same efficiency as good news, but have some options before delivering the news. I learned by losing business!”
— Perry L. Wilson,
Washington Mutual Home Loans
“What I have learned over the years: listen carefully, watch closely, be honest, be patient, be flexible, stay calm and pray like crazy.”
- Karen Swinson,
Re/Max on Park Avenue
“Two things I have learned in real estate are that there is no such as ‘having seen it all’. There is always something new out there. And don’t let it keep you up at night. Do your best, and do all you can do, and let it go until the next day. Or whenever. How did I learn this? It’s really basic good sense, and also, it’s good to maintain your sanity!”
—Toy Scott,
Norville Realty, Inc.
“Lessons I’ve learned in real estate are get it in writing! A mortgage is never approved until it has been through underwriting and you have a letter from them stating so. If you have a gut feeling something is not quite right then it usually isn’t. Go with that feeling immediately! Document, document, document. Cover your tracks. If you don’t get a response quick enough from another agent, call the broker. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you! All these are lessons learned from experience!”
—Josie Deal,
Coldwell Banker Jasinsky
and Associates
“OK, time to be humble. I learned a lot of lessons! Never procrastinate! It will cost you a sale or a listing. Never underestimate your buyers or sellers! It will cost you a sale or a listing. Never judge a book by the cover! It will definitely cost you a sale. Always work on a rainy day. Some of the best prospects come with umbrellas. Share and learn from your peers. It’s surprising how much business you can generate by sharing your knowledge. Respect the field and be take pride in the craft of being a Realtor. It will shine through. Thanks for the chance to share this. It feels good!
— Sylvie McCann,
Watson Realty Corp.
“Everything I have learned from real estate has been a lesson, Although, I learn the most from my mistakes!”
— Jason Hoffman, Coldwell Banker Palazzo Realty, Inc.
“That moving to a new company can be good, but it can also be very expensive at first with great hopes of a bigger volume.”
—Todd Arnold,
Re/Max on Park Ave.
“One of my all-time best lessons happened to me years ago. I still don’t know exactly how I would have avoided it, but it now always makes me ask certain questions. I was the selling agent on a home where the buyer had made me find them a home before I put their home on the market. We put a contract on the home and just before closing received our survey at the last minute, on closing day. Lo and behold, through the survey it was found that half of the pool was not on the property they were buying. The listing agent had not disclosed this, and it was not a question I had even considered. But, she claimed she didn’t know. However, a quiet title was being filed by the whole neighborhood, with her seller being head of the committee to claim the land behind him. Obviously, the seller knew and perhaps never informed his Realtor or somebody thought it wouldn’t be a problem. I’ll never know for sure. The husband [buyer] blamed me, feeling that I must have known and not disclosed this to him. I pointed out to him that had that been the case, I would have been working against myself, as I don’t get paid until it closes and I would have not put us in that situation. It worked out, with the sellers allowing them to occupy until the quiet title came in, but I swear that husband really felt I was lying to him, no matter what I said. It was an awful and painful lesson, but it worked out OK. I still check surveys and especially where pools are involved, whenever a survey is available or I ask the question, just to make sure.”
— Connie Mabry, Coldwell Banker Ponte Vedra Office
“Service, service service! This applies to every level of our business, from the Realtor servicing the client, to the lender servicing the loan, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters and what will ultimately be remembered, is the level of service provided. Period.”
— Phyllis Staines,
Re/Max Coastal Real Estate
“Title this story ‘Ya never know.’ Sitting in a resort site on a dreary winter Saturday, I had appointments with two couples. The first couple showed up and had all the trimmings, expensive outfits, newer Jaguar, shiny big jewelry. He had a big human resources job with a major international company, she was a private school teacher. Their address was in ‘the’ neighborhood. All they wanted to buy was a weekender. He had financing against his 20 years of stock. No brainer. Found them a property, wrote it up. Close in 30 days. Let’s have lunch! Couple number two show up, nothing special, nice people quiet about who they are and where they were from. Had an older Jeep Wrangler, staying at a small resort. Wanted to see a few of our resales, never say no, but I wasn’t counting on anything to come of it. Toured a few of our midpoint nice resales, but couldn’t get a read on the objections. I thought price, bad read, as we were heading back to the office they saw a sign on one our most expensive customs and asked to see it. OK, let them taste the dream, I thought! They liked what they saw, and we went back to the office and sent them on their way. On Sunday at 9 a.m. it was raining and cold. I thought, ‘This was going to be a long day!’ Couple number two called back, want to take another look at the ‘dream house” before they drove home. They met me there, looked around again, handed me a $20,000 check for earnest deposit and then made a full price offer - they needed to close within 45 days, reverse 1031-exchange. Here is the name of our accountant and our attorney. They are leaving for Tortola in the morning. Come to find out that they are major commercial developers and that they just closed on a huge project. Deal closed no problems, did a few more with them over the years. Still friends. As for couple number one - well, they failed to mention the credit issues and the child support. This loan against the stock could not be secured, and the company he worked for went/is bankrupt. Deal never closed. Can’t remember their names. So the moral of the story is “Ya never know, and just cause they got the show doesn’t mean they got the dough!”
— Jeff Kern,
Embassy Realty Services
“Real estate empowers us to be involved with financial decisions of our clients that can and do affect their lives in many different ways. The best example is a good example! Always do the right thing and don’t just do things right. We are the only ones that can help change the perception of what a real estate practitioner is.”
— Dan Daniel,
Prudential Network Realty
“Rene Pollard from Watson Realty taught me a very important lesson. I was a very green rookie in the Watson San Jose office. My first listing was a beautiful old home in Lakewood. A contract came in almost overnight. I was overjoyed and thought this real estate stuff is easy. Then the problems started such as termites, roof leak, etc. The buyer was out of control, or so I thought. My sellers were not easy. I didn’t know how to solve the problems and began to take them personally. In talking to Rene, the selling agent, she explained to me in her sweet southern accent. ‘Now, Naomi, this is just business.’ I was very lucky to have Rene at the other end of the transaction and at the beginning of my career. I will always be thankful to her and the other seasoned agents who helped me. That lesson along with the following customer story says it all. Years ago, sitting across a closing table with a prominent doctor, the discussion turned to some of the construction selection issues that came up while his home was being built. I found myself apologizing to him for the trouble and thanking him for his patience. Not all buyers understand the building process. He looked me in the eye and with a voice I will never forget said, ‘Well. Naomi, if no one dies, it’s not a problem. I see death everyday. I wish I could call the painter or plumber to fix my patient.’ Sometimes we get so caught up in the stuff, we forget that as long as we have life we have another chance to right a wrong or tell someone we love them. Maybe spend a day with a friend, walk in the rain or just smell the roses. While I am giving out advice, I think the old timers who have been successful should make it a point to find time to help the new agents. Just a word of encouragement can make a big difference in their success or failure. When was the last time you helped someone or just told them what a great job they did on a sale?”
— Naomi Lumley,
Palencia Realty, LLC./Hines
“An instructor had once told us that the most difficult sales we would ever have would be to family members and friends. I heard his words over and over again last year when I sold a new home to someone I had known for a number of years. She could not understand the delays of new construction, etc. and of course her Realtor/friend, who was getting a commission was expected to control everything, including the weather, and the contractor! ! Sometimes it is tough to say no, just have to weigh the consequences!”
—Kathy White, Re/Max Professional Group, Fernandina Beach
“I learned the hard way early in my sales career not to qualify a prospect by appearance alone. During my first few years as a site agent, I was working at a high-end condo property during a terrible economic recession. A young man came into the sales center who seemed too young and not well-dressed enough to afford the homes. I didn’t want to use my ‘up’ on him and so I disqualified him. He later called me from the “park” to ask some questions. The park turned out to be the White Sox baseball park in Chicago and this young man had just been signed as the new designated hitter!”
—Linda Mathis,
North Florida Builders
“It is helpful to know a little about your client’s culture when working with someone from another country. Years ago, I was working with a Japanese couple to find them the right house. After viewing a home for the second time, the husband, in limited English, told me he was going back to Japan. He bowed and we shook hands. When he returned from Japan several weeks later he was upset with me because the home had been sold. Apparently, when he left for Japan, he was indicating to me that they wanted to purchase the home. He was not aware that we needed to enter into a contract with the seller and that a handshake was not enough to secure the home. We continued to work together and we finally found a home. I had obtained the assistance of a Japanese-speaking lady to assist in the translations. It was a good lesson learned.”
— Bob Hawley,
Sid Higginbotham Builders
“When I joined this industry in 1997, everyone that I knew or met contributed their success to their involvement in the Northeast Florida Builders Association’s Sales and Marketing Council. So, within days, I joined and I was sitting in my first class, Certified Site Professional. I felt like I was sitting at the feet of the masters absorbing their wisdom. Then, as I attended the breakfast programs, I felt that I was missing something. It wasn’t enough just to go and say hello once a month. I wanted to get to know people better, and I wanted to surround myself with the best of the best. So I volunteered for committees and jumped at the opportunity to serve on the board of directors. It has been a delightful seven years. Best lesson learned? Stay involved in SMC and always look for an opportunity to ‘Sit at the feet of the masters’ and absorb their words of wisdom.”
—Linda Moore,
Harmony Homes of North Florida
“Some of the things I learned from my Dad, Dan Jones, were to be educated and knowledgeable about everything thing related to real estate. Take all the courses/classes you can. Do the right thing and do the thing right. Try to make every situation a win-win! Be involved! Enjoy! To live, love, laugh and leave a legacy!”
—Gene Jones,
ERA Dan Jones and Associates
“Don’t count on the money until the closing is complete.”
—Jacqueline Parrillo,
Southtrust Bank
“Lesson No. 1 is, when you run into a problem, tell all parties quick! Denied loans or whatever only creates more of a problem the longer you take to tell everyone. I have had loans that I priced at the application one way and then in the process to closing we had to re-price the loan due to changes during the process. Recently, after the appraisal was received and after the underwriter evaluated the loan. The second home loan changed to a non-owner occupied loan instead of an owner-occupied second home as I classified the loan at application. The price is different on the investor loan by 2 points and I had to renegotiate the price with the borrower in the middle. It costs the borrower more and it made me less because I ate half of the extra cost to get the loan to continue going forward. I never told the Realtors involved because I was able to resolve the problem and we are still on the way to a closing. Lesson No. 2 was to undersell and overproduce! When I quote a rate or tell a time to close, people make plans. When I cut the price too close to get the deal and it takes longer to process, the price goes up and all are unhappy. If I quote an aggressive rate in a rising market and they come back the next day to lock and the price is higher, all are unhappy. I work on 100 percent customer satisfaction as a goal. Sure, I miss it on occasion, but since 100 percent of my business is referral from former or current customers it is the only policy.”
—Paul Halter,
Guaranty Residential Lending
“I have learned that there are very few things that cannot be resolved. As a new agent, I think we panic and don’t want to deal with difficult situations or people. I’ve learned to shut up and let other people talk! I have learned that it is always easier and better to counsel sellers in the beginning of the relationship about what to expect and do to their property than try to sooth over low offers because of condition of the property. I have also learned that many of our agents are fine individuals with the same stresses that we have and I have formed some very deep and lasting friendships in my 11 years.”
—Judy Hicks,
Re/Max Coastal Real Estate