Many times people ask me how I like the change that I’ve made in occupation, going from teaching to real estate sales. After a year-and-a-half, I can honestly say I love what I’m doing right now. I’ve had a good year in 2017 considering it really was my first full year. Many say it takes two to five years to get established, but God was faithful to provide many opportunities for me right away.

Of course first of all, I’m thankful that I’ve been able to financially support my family and continue to pay my monthly bills. I think that goes without saying for any vocation.  But even more than that, I’m thankful for the opportunity that I’ve had to work with some really great persons in each real estate transaction. I love my job because it allows me to work with some really wonderful people.

I can think back to more than 40 clients this past year with whom I’ve spent quality time looking for homes, or getting a home ready to sell, or getting a transaction from offer to closing. These times of agent-client relationship have been very special to me. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the people I’ve worked with and there is a special satisfaction in finding a home that meets their needs, or in helping them sell their home so they can move on to something new.

I have been putting pictures of the homes on my website that I’ve worked in selling or buying. As I scroll down through these homes, I can see the people behind the home, and they are all good memories.  Honestly, when the deal is closed, I feel a little sadness that I won’t be spending the same amount of time/communication as I have been spending with these friends. So I always enjoy seeing former customers.

Now as I enter 2018, I am excited to see who will need my services this next year. I think this next year could be a great year for real estate. It’s a great time to sell a home with the housing inventory being as low as it is, and still a very good time to buy with low interest rates. And with the economy growing and the new optimism for prosperity that is out there, I think this is going to be a great year.

I continually depend on friends like you to put in a good word for me if you have an opportunity. If you or someone you know is buying/selling a home, please give me an opportunity to show what I can do. I now have many good and varied experiences with transactions behind me. I learn from each one. My expertise is growing, and I am also surrounded by many wonderful persons at Century 21 Vista who have been very willing to answer questions I might have. So if I don’t know something, I can find out.

I’m beginning to recognize my style as an agent. I would say that I am not a salesman. I do not push or manipulate. I am a guide, a coach. My approach is to come alongside and work with the client to find what is best for them. Their satisfaction is most important to me.

So if you’ve read this far, thanks. I’ve appreciated the support I’ve had from family and friends, and of course, from my wife. I think in this age of HGTV we all love to see and talk about homes. I am lucky enough to be the guy who shows them. I am truly blessed.

“Work is not primarily a thing one does to live but the thing one lives to do. It is, or it should be, the full expression of the worker’s faculties, the thing in which he finds spiritual, mental and bodily satisfaction, and the medium in which he offers himself to God.”—Dorothy Sayers