A day in the life of a REALTOR

You know what? Being a REALTOR isn’t easy and it demands a lot of time and attention that most people might not think about. A lot of people that I chat with have an impression that real estate isn’t a “real job” because we don’t work traditional hours.

I happen to know first hand that a full time real estate agent works a lot more hours than most people realize. In addition to going on showing and listing appointments we have a lot of running around, phone calls and computer time that can absorb a day. I thought I might use my day today as an example of what a full time, hard-working real estate agent goes through.

8:30 am – coffee while reading emails and real estate news
9:00 am – gather up my kids (it is school vacation) and head to the office. Thankful that Park Square Realty in Westfield is family friendly!
11 am – drop kids at play date and head out to deliver purchase and sale agreements to listing in Chicopee for signature
1 pm – present marketing and pricing plan to potential listing client in Westfield, MA
3 pm – back to Park Square Realty’s office to check messages, emails and prepare for evening showings
4 pm – pick up my kids and work from home for an hour. Work on website marketing for listings and start editing video for a virtual tour.
5:30 pm – head back to Chicopee to show three properties to some first time home buyers
8 pm – home to research recent comparable sales because buyer is considering making an offer, write this blog post, write a blog post for my column at Masslive and another for Agent Genius Magazine.
10:30 pm – finish emails and blog posts – ran out of steam and will have to finish that virtual tour tomorrow.

During the course of the day I am answering calls and emails on the go…thank goodness for smart phones!

All of this costs my household something though, and I know other agents pay the same toll….

The laundry is piled up, the dishes need doing, dinner is late and sometimes not so healthy and don’t even get me started on the garden!

Ah well, it is all worth it when a buyer signs for a house that they love and a family selling their home is able to make their next move!

photo courtesy of Robbert van der Steeg on flickr