I love my job. All of it

Daniel Smyth

February 2011

I love first time buyers because they need so much help. They are so lost and worried about their purchase. What about the market? Where is it going? Is this a good price or not? What does the inspection report say? Will we make money if we sell in a few years?

I really don’t blame them because I was no different when I bought my first place. I love having all the answers and putting my clients at ease. I am supposed to worry; they are not.

It is amazing to watch the expression on their faces after searching to find the home that they will call their own; and then again at the notary’s office, as I hand them the keys; and finally as they walk into their home as the new owners. It is priceless, it really is.

Sellers are an interesting group, too. They are so proud of their homes and renovations, always wanting the most for their property. Every owner thinks that their home is the best on the market. However, it is a delicate matter explaining to them comparables and what market demand could potentially offer. Working with sellers to bring them the value they want from the sale of their homes is very rewarding. Taking a lump of clay and changing it into a work of art and then selling that piece at auction is really amazing. After all, that is why my clients hired me. Battling at the negotiating table is lots of fun, too. It is like Clash of the Titans with a different ending each time.

You never know what is going to be the deciding factor in the negotiation. I don’t know how private sales ever work. Sometimes it is the smallest issue that can make or break a deal. What’s important is to make sure that everyone wins something at the end of the day. Even if the deal falls through, it matters to me that we all shake hands when going our separate ways.

What is really nice is when I get a call from a client I helped before, and now they need my services again. Sometimes I will receive a call from a new client who is referred to me.

It makes me feel very proud of the services I provide.

What a rewarding experience it would be to receive a call from a buyer that was the son or daughter of a client whom I helped when they bought their first home. It is not unlike when a doctor delivers the child of a woman he delivered 25 years ago. I look forward to the day this happens to me.

I worked in the pharmaceutical industry for years and was very successful. I received lots of rewards, but ethics got in the way. I felt that I could no longer perform my job. When I left that field and entered the real-estate industry, I felt liberated and that I was actually helping customers to achieve a very important goal and to protect one of the most important investments they would make in their lifetime.