Well, it’s official: What I thought was going to be my first real estate sale has fallen apart. My clients cancelled their escrow two days ago after getting a serious case of “buyers’ remorse.”
Luckily, they’ll also get their $5,000 good-faith deposit back. The sellers were happy to return it, because another couple last weekend offered $7,000 more for the property than my own buyers had agreed to pay.
So, my buyers get to break their contractual obligation without losing any money. The sellers, meanwhile, get $7,000 more than they originally bargained for–which means their sales agent will make a few extra bucks in commission, too.
Everybody’s happy. Except for me.
I don’t cry a lot, but I did last night.
For almost a year, I’ve tried so hard to make my first deal. I’ve passed out thousands of flyers, and sent out hundreds of letters.
I’ve cold-called people whose listings have expired, and I wear my real estate badge wherever I go in the hope that someone will ask me to help them buy or sell a home.
I’ve knocked on so many doors, I’ve literally got calluses on my knuckles.
What else can I do?
Should the Rookie Realtor quit real estate sales? Take a survey.
My boss, who’s wonderful, says that all of the work I’ve done will eventually pay off. He says that I’ll do fine if I just keep doing what I’ve done for the past year, and that my first sale is “just around the corner.”
Unfortunately, he cannot tell me which corner to stand on.
I’m just so sad and disappointed. I’ve worked my butt off for a year, and still haven’t closed a deal. I feel like such a failure.
I have always been one of those “glass-is-half-full” types instead of those who think their glass is half-empty. It’s one of the reasons that I decided to try my hand at the real estate business.
Now, I’m looking at the glass with a different perspective.
I’m sorry, but I just can’t stop thinking about my buyers who backed out of my first sale.
Call me foolish, but I was raised believing that a “deal is a deal.” If you agree to do something, that’s it–you do it.
The real estate business is a little different. Some people are allowed to break contracts and walk away, without losing any money. And remarkably, like the sellers can attest, sometimes those who are left with the broken contract make some money off it, too.
Being in the real estate sales industry isn’t the Greatest Show on Earth, but it’s certainly the goofiest.
Do you think I should quit? My spouse thinks that I should, or that I should at least cut back to a part-time position.
My spouse says that by getting a “regular” job, I’d earn some money to help pay the bills and also meet new people who might eventually become clients.
But the way I look at it, cutting back to a part-time position would only ensure that it would take even longer to sell my first home.
I just don’t know what to do.
Except, cry.
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Got tips, ideas or advice for the Rookie Realtor? Send them to Rookie@inman.com.
