Why I Became a Real Estate Agent
My occupations have included – Christian campus ministry, Soma NeuroMuscular Integration practictioner, allergy elimination practitioner, commercial loan broker, real estate investor, and real estate agent.
The common thread through all of these has been my burning desire to help others. And my journey in real estate started out for the same reason. What follows is that story, with a prelude:
A Chick, A Cat, An Unethical Real Estate Agent
It was a brisk 52 degrees (okay, laugh my northern cousins – I’m a Texan girl). I awoke early, was greeted by Dakota, our English Shepherd, and, donning a jacket and my barn boots, stepped out with Dakota into the cool, dark morning. After letting our goats out of their shed and into the field, I turned to my favorite livestock activity these days – the tiny chicks. After tending to their water & feed, I turned to leave and opened the gate to their enclosure.
That’s when chaos ensued.
Our cat darted in, ignored the onslaught of mother hen beak and claws, seized a chick, and just as quickly was out of the shed and into the dark field. With the chick cheeping madly in the cat’s mouth, I ordered Dakota, “Get the cat!” Thrilled with this most unusual order, Dakota immediately complied. I couldn’t see what was happening, but the sounds told the story – the frantic cheeping moving at cat-speed, the yowl and hiss when the dog pounced on the cat, and then the loud ruckus of Dakota chasing the cat around the side of the garage – with the cheeping, thankfully, going much more slowly in the opposite direction.
I ran inside, grabbed a flashlight and located the chick, huddled against our fence. She had no bite marks, so I placed her gently back with the mama hen.
Dakota raced up to me, panting, immensely pleased with himself, and I praised him lavishly. Dakota and the cat are normally best buds and often ‘play fight’, and aside from that initial yowl and hiss Ossie made no other noises, so I’m guessing he ran up a tree.
I’m not angry at the cat – he just did what his cat nature compelled him to do. I was flooded with that satisfaction that only comes when you have protected another being from harm.
It was only a few minutes after I stepped back inside that I began to see the correlation between our cat and certain realtors I know – they prey on sellers, because that’s what their greedy nature compels them to do. That’s why I love what I do – because I and my team are able to protect some sellers from those agents.
One of those unethical agents is responsible for my decision to become a real estate agent.
In 2010, I joined a real estate investing club in Austin to network (I was a commercial loan broker at the time). I soon met a lady who owned 50 acres in Rockdale as well as her homestead in Dripping Springs, and we became friends.
One day in early January 2011, she called me in a panic – unbeknownst to me she had been threatened with foreclosure on her Dripping Springs homestead, so had signed what she *thought* was a loan agreement to borrow $36,000 using her 50 Rockdale acres, appraised at $250,000, as collateral.
Then she discovered that the ‘lender’ had swindled her – the ‘loan’ was actually a sales contract!
She was horrified, and called me to share what had happened. I was brand new as an investor, but I asked her to share the contract with me so I could read it over, which she did. I then asked her permission to share it with a real estate attorney that I knew to get his opinion, and she gladly agreed. The attorney looked it over pro bono (a rare thing!) and confirmed that it was indeed a valid sales contract.
What made this all even worse, was that the man she thought was ‘lending’ her the money was a licensed Texas real estate agent. I knew that we could make a complaint to the Texas Real Estate Commission, whose goal is to protect consumers in real estate transactions. But going that route would take time – and what my friend needed was quick action, before the agent could turn around and re-sell her property.
So, I dug a little more for info about this real estate agent and discovered he lived in a small town west of Rockdale. Going on a hunch, I called the lender of the local bank there – typically these individuals have their finger on the pulse of the town. I explained what was going on, and then shared the name of the agent. Immediately, the lender said, “Oh, I know him. And, better yet, I know his daddy. His daddy is not going to want his name associated with anything like this. Let me give him a call.”
Within a few minutes, he was talking with the agent’s father. Well, that agent’s daddy must have given him a chewing out, because lo and behold, a few hours later, he contacted my friend and released her from the contract she had signed. Whew! Crisis averted.
And while the whole experience was stressful, when all was said and done, I felt very happy – happy that I was able to protect my friend from an unethical person. That was the experience that inspired me to obtain my real estate license. I wanted to be able to protect real estate buyers and sellers from anyone who might take advantage of them. It also inspired me to continually build the best team of professionals to help me serve my clients – just as my faithful English Shepherd helped me protect that chick!
I’ve been a real estate agent for 7 years.
And in those 7 years, I have sold residential homes, new construction homes, raw land, condos, duplexes, and a few homes with acreage. I love the challenge of discovering the story behind each property and marketing it in a unique way.
I’ve worked with wonderful people, and some not so wonderful people – and I have been reminded again and again of my original reason for entering this occupation – to be a protector. My goal is to protect everyone I work with, sometimes even from themselves :-). With all clients, I firstly listen to discern their needs. With sellers, I work with them to prepare their house to have the highest perceived value and then execute an advanced marketing campaign. With buyers, we fill out a detailed wish list so that our time is spent most profitably when we hit the road to look at homes.
I look forward to working with you.