Articles

I've been in the real estate business for over 35 years: new construction, residential resale, some land, a lot of REO properties. In all honesty, I'm not bragging nor exaggerating when I say all of those years, all of those transactions have given me a lot of experience. Coupled with my ongoing efforts to educate myself about the real estate industry, I think it's safe to say that experience translates into expertise in several areas of the real estate market.

 

 

Recently, I was the seller in two relatively small commercial transactions. When I had purchased these commercial pieces, I did so self-represented. When it came time to sell them, however, I felt a commercial broker might be better suited to handle the ins and outs of the transactions.

 

 

The commercial broker I chose was an expert; I knew I could count on her experience and expertise to see me through these transactions. What I hadn't counted on, though, was my emotions. Even though I am more than familiar with the buying and selling process, the ins and outs and mechanics of it all, I found myself being driven not by knowledge and logic, but by emotion. I can't tell you the number of times I said to my agent, "I hate sound like one of my clients, but..."  

 

 

But...

 

 

But suddenly I was no longer a seasoned professional, I was a seller with pride in his properties, a little sentimental, a little wary, absolutely terrified of making the wrong decision.

 

 

It felt awful going through it. But, turns out, it was absolutely a good thing for me. Not selling the commercial real estate, but what it helped me realize about our business today.

 

 

When someone gets to the point in their careers where they have a lot of experience and are even sometimes referred to as an "expert," then they tend to get caught up in their knowledge base and skill set. We expect buyers or sellers to unquestioningly follow our advice. We forget that these aren't just houses we're helping people buy or sell. Buying or selling a home are major events in their lives that we are guiding them through. It may be a transaction to us, but it's their life, their home...and all of that carries an enormous amount of emotional weight.

 

 

This experience was a great reminder that we owe our buyers and sellers more than our experience and expertise. We owe it to them to remember a home is not the biggest investment most of them will ever make, but the place where the biggest parts of their lives will happen. This is the place they will bring babies home from the hospital or grandma home from the doctor. This is the place where Thanksgiving and Christmas will happen, where someone will dress for their first day of school or their wedding day. It will hold birthday parties, graduation parties, anniversary parties and every other kind of party. This isn't just a house to them, it's their home.

 

 

I am very grateful for the(nerve wracking) experience of being a seller with an agent. It reminded me of one of the most important duties we as real estate professionals have. We owe our buyers and sellers compassion and empathy just as much as we owe them our expertise and experience.  

 

 

About the Author

Tony Smith is a second generation REALTOR® and owner of Wanda Smith & Associates with over twenty years handling Real Estate Owned (REO) properties and is proud to represent HUD through KM Minemier & Associates Real Estate Services.  Licensed for 35 years, Tony has been active in leadership in the industry for decades; he is past president of the North Carolina Association of REALTORS® (2015) as well as past president of the Charlotte Regional REALTOR® Association. He is currently a Federal Political Coordinator for the National Association of REALTORS®. Tony is a passionate advocate for both REALTORS® and consumers in today's fast moving real estate market.