I have a friend who is a successful agent in my area who says she got very lucky a few times in her career, especially in down markets. When I asked her about her “luck”, she tells a story about one instance where she met someone at a luncheon and talked briefly about real estate and the market. The market was down, but she had a positive outlook and said homes are still selling if presented properly and priced according to the current market. A few months later she got a call from this same person, who said they had a client who was interested in selling their investment properties and asked if she was able to take on new business. Without diving into detail or asking more questions, she said yes. As it turns out, this person represented an investor who not only owned homes in the area, he owned SUBDIVISIONS in the area! Yes, SUBDIVISIONS!
The media was all over this story, talking about how this investor was evicting all of these tenants who had 30 days to find a new place to move, and there just weren’t enough rentals for all of these people. My friend could have said that this is bigger than her, that she didn’t want the scrutiny of the media, that it was only her and it would take a dozen agents to pull this off. But she didn’t hesitate, she said yes, I can do it. She put together a team of agents, worked with tenants to find new housing, put together a manageable listing schedule, and marketed the heck out of the homes. It took quite some time, and of course, there were some issues, but she sold all of those homes.
She says, “You just never know when that call is going to come that changes your life.” I say that she made that call come, it was no accident, it was not luck. First of all, she had a plan to market herself in a down market, she went to that luncheon, talked about real estate, and handed out cards to those who were interested in taking one. Second, when asked about the market she was honest, yep, it’s down, but had a positive outlook and said homes are still selling. Third, when she received the call, she had an open mind to the new business, she wasn’t skeptical or doubtful, even in a down market. Lastly, when she found out about the challenges, she didn’t hesitate to make a plan to overcome those challenges. She made a win-win-win-win-win situation for the landlord, the tenants, the buyers, her new team, and her! This was certainly no accident, it was hard work, planning, execution, and dedication!
As we continue in a tough market in most areas of the country, it’s important to remember to stick to your plan, get out there in front of people, talk about real estate, and most importantly, answer your phone and have a positive outlook! Be honest and say it may take a bit longer to sell a home than it did a couple of years ago, but homes that are prepared properly, priced according to the current market, and marketed aggressively, are still selling. Above all else, don’t give up, and don’t let a down market change your attitude. If you do this, who knows, you may just get “lucky” and get the phone call that changes your life.