My First Month as a Realtor
Hey there :) Matt here. I’ve officially been in the real estate business for just over a month now, and I thought this would be a great time to check in and let you know how it’s going. And IT. IS. GOING. You can see my first post in this realtor blog series—in which I talk all about why I decided to get my real estate license—right here!
Quick note: if you’re reading this because you’re looking to become a realtor, just shoot me an email and I’ll tell you all the things that I wish someone had told me, and help you out where I can!
Due in large part to a lot of luck and in also-large-part to some really helpful connections and referrals, my first month as a realtor has been pretty successful. In just that one month of being active, I’ve put three houses under contract, plus I have two additional clients for whom I’m actively writing offers—which is, I have to say, wildly busy for a rookie. Frankly it’s been a little overwhelming having to learn very very quickly how to navigate all of the intricate details of the industry, while still juggling all of our work here and on our super secret Poconos project. Good news is I thrive when I don’t have a lot of down time. You could say I’m at peak thrive right now.
But here’s some piping hot tea: something they don’t teach you in real estate school is just how much they’re not teaching you. I learned all about adjustable-rate mortgages and the basics of contractual obligations, but how to write an attractive offer? Nada. But thankfully between my mom (a realtor of 20 years) and my broker (Keller Williams, Metairie office), I’ve got a whole network of resources that have helped me to do my job as if I’m way more experienced than I actually am.
That’s sort of been a theme for me my whole life—taking on projects that I know will be challenging or that I’m not the best candidate for. Beau brought that to my attention last week in what may have been the sweetest backhanded compliment I’ve ever received: he said, “You work really hard to do a good job on things you’re not naturally very good at.” That’s pretty accurate. I’ve gotten comfortable with discomfort, where resourcefulness rather than experience is my strongest tool to do a good job when it’s only the first or second time I’ve done the thing. Ideally, in the future, my resourcefulness will stay as strong as it is while my experience grows, and then I can take over the world or something.
That said, this crash course of a month has led me to all sorts of unique and specialized real estate scenarios. I’ve handled predicated offers, less-than-stellar inspection reports, offers on foreclosed/REO properties, lease listings, showing blighted would-be construction projects, and multiple multiple-offer situations. I’ve about run the gamut. Which is to say, hey, I’m definitely way more experienced than I was when I started.
Over on the marketing side of the business, I’m doing my best to be a cool realtor and not push y’all too much to follow my real estate pages with tired phrases like “Hello sir/madam, are you looking to buy or sell?” But … if you are looking to buy or sell, check out ArmatoHome.com and let me know how I can help. In the mean time, want a free tip? Here goes, and this one is for all you renters: lots of people don’t know that homeownership could be a realistic option for them, but with federal programs like FHA, and even with some creative conventional mortgages, you can sometimes buy your first home with low or no down payment. Step one of buying a home is going to be talking to a lender to see what you’d be pre-approved for, so hit me up 📩 for recommendations on that!
And that’s all for now! There’s some more exciting news coming up, but that’s…coming up!
And one last time in case you ignored it above: If you’re like “I’m just here because I maybe kinda want to get started in real estate, too.”
reach out to me and let me convince you to do it. I like it a lot and I think it’s a relatively risk-free way to start your own small business. As someone who’s already started a different kind of small business with a lot of risk attached, I can highly recommend real estate for people who are tired of working for someone else. If you’re on the fence or don’t know how to get started, let me help you out.
That’s all for now. :)
Have a great week,
XOXO Matt