Helping People…The Real Estate Way

I never thought I’d see the day that I would be referred to as a blogger, but here I am and I’m thrilled with the opportunity to share my thoughts on housing on this great new Coldwell Banker blog. One of the things I most enjoy about my job is answering questions from customers. I […]

I never thought I’d see the day that I would be referred to as a blogger, but here I am and I’m thrilled with the opportunity to share my thoughts on housing on this great new Coldwell Banker blog.

One of the things I most enjoy about my job is answering questions from customers. I travel so much and every time I meet someone in the airport, on the plane or in the hotel and say who I work for, they immediately have questions on housing.

Helping people was the reason I got into real estate 35 years ago.  At that time I was fresh out of the University of Illinois (Go Illini!) and working at a YMCA in the suburbs of Chicago.  I loved working with the kids and teaching them skills.  I thought it would be my life’s work.  But the guy I played tennis with owned a local real estate company and he convinced me that I would be a really good real estate agent because of my personality and love of statistics and math.  But what really got me was when he said I would be able to help people in real estate too.

He was right.

The first deal I worked on was for the receptionist at the Y.  She and her husband had never owned a home and didn’t think they ever could.   I knew that wasn’t true.  I walked them through the process, helped them get an FHA loan and find the right home.  I’ll never forget their tears of joy when I told them the sellers agreed to their offer and they were going to be homeowners.  I even turned over my small commission check to them to help with the down payment.

I look forward to writing about important topics in housing.  Consumers are facing one of the most challenging real estate markets in history.  So the usual questions I might get about mortgage rates, home prices and how upgrades impact potential resale price have now multiplied.  The recession, unemployment and job stability, the impact of adjustable rate mortgages, foreclosure fears and so much more has made the decision to buy or sell a home tougher than in normal times.

Yet one thing remains a constant.  People buy and sell homes usually because of changes in their lifestyle.  Growing families, marriages and new jobs are just a few reasons.  So a home is an investment in our lifestyle made even better because of the tax advantages our government provides homeowners.

I look forward to sharing so much more of my thoughts and suggestions as time goes on.

 

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5 Comments

  1. Terrry Pierce
    February 24, 2010

    Interesting and looking forward to reading more!

    Reply
  2. Martin Millner
    February 24, 2010

    Jim;

    Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging. I look forward to reading and commenting on your posts.

    Reply
  3. louis pontani
    February 25, 2010

    I think its fantastic that Coldwell Banker has jumped into the world of web 2.0 Welcome and I look forward to reading your posts.

    Reply
  4. Debbie Ashbrook
    February 26, 2010

    Jim,

    Way back 25 years ago I go into the business of real estate because we made peoples dreams come true! And that one aspect of the business has not changed after all these years! What a great business we are in!

    Debbie Ashbrook, Business Consultant

    Reply
  5. Ken
    March 29, 2010

    Great post. People like you have inspired me to get into the real estate profession here in N.C. after a long career building small businesses up from scratch I relish my new challenges that are about to begin. I look forward to your future posts.

    Reply

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