Episode 19: So, You Want To Be A Real Estate Agent
Are you considering a career in Real Estate? Hear Lori's first-hand experience on what it's like to build a business in Real Estate. And boy it's quite the journey. Think you can do it?
Takeaways: 5 Things Lori Suggests
Don't go into Real Estate if you think it's easy.
If you can't take criticism, this isn't the job for you.
You choose how you want to run your business.
Get educated.
Choose the kind of realtor you want to be.
Did you watch our video on our Backyard Kitchen Makeover? Check it out here!
The Question: How did Lori know she wanted to do Real Estate? And should you?
Side Perk To Being An Agent: You know how to manage your own real estate portfolio.
Since the interest rates are so phenomenal right now, it’s time to get that home re-appraised! So Lori is pulling some money out of her current property value and paying off her other investment property! Yes, cashflow!
How did Lori end up in Real Estate?
It all started when she was 18. And said, “ I want to be a realtor.”
And the fear and discouragement that poured in and made her reconsider.
So she agreed with their valued opinions and words and decided to pursue another path. So she went to college, worked in sales at a shoe store, still trying to figure out what she wanted to do.
A few years went along, then around 23, 24, she had, Nathan! Her sweet boy, and now licensed agent and executive assistant to Lori Alvarez and Team.
Baby turned into staying at home, had a few more lovely babies. And her amazingly supportive husband said, “why are you doing this retail business thing? Why don’t you do Real Estate. You really liked that. Why don’t you do it?
Thankfully, she was surrounded by a family who said, “Go for it! You’ll be great!”
Real Estate is a beast.
So she hustled, and studied, and studied some more. Got her license. And the journey began.
And her first client—was her Father-In-Law. Oh boy! Then great friends came by her side and trusted her with their homes. And then… the market crashed in 2009. And Lori was up for the challenge. She wanted to help families make their move.
One of the great things about Real Estate is that you decide how much you want to earn. If you put in the work and the time, you can earn as much commission as you aim for. Lori was inspired by the grind.
And she got busier. With little to no time for family, for herself, or to breathe, during her first year in real estate she picked up a book seeking to learn more about having a real estate business: The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, by Gary Keller.
“It’s not about the money, it’s about the life you’ll live,”- Gary Keller. Those words changed Lori’s life.
Lori didn’t get into Real Estate for the money. She loved that it was different. It was outdoors, it was fun, she could meet a lot of people.
And of course, like anything that’s fun and exciting it still takes work!
You have to get hired every day. You have to interview for your job, every, single, day. You need to walk up in the morning and ask yourself, “okay, who is going to hire me today? Who? Who?” and if you don’t get hired, guess what? You’re out of business.
So every day:
Stand up
Get your bet clothes on
Get your best attitude on
Get prepared to be interviewed
Real estate is emotional.
Not only do you face a lot of criticism every day, you take in the emotional ups and downs of the clients you serve as well.
Lori wholeheartedly believes every single client is from God above. And it keeps her thankful, grateful, and blessed. to be in real estate.
First year in business
During her first year in business, during the market crash, Lori was in for a lot of ups and downs. Not only did she not understand everything that was happening in the real estate market, she didn’t understand all that she was going to become as a person, yet.
And that first heart-wrenching moment has stuck with her forever.
Lori and one of her first clients walked into a really dark, dismal feeling home. It was in foreclosure, an unfortunate event due to the market crash. It was not a happy sale for this family. The family who owned the home was in the house, and there was this little girl sitting in her bedroom. And on the other side of the door Lori would hear her crying and yelling, saying, “Don’t take my house from me!”
It was that day, that Lori realized what she was doing. She was helping families in one of the toughest things they’ll ever do. Moving. Finding home.
Sometimes moving is exciting, sometimes it sucks.
Emotions with your clients are good, bad, exciting, confused, aggressive, crazy, etc. Some people can be truly mean. And unfortunately that is part of the business.
Over time Lori placed a clause in her contract that goes something along the lines of, “if you are not performing the way Lori wants you to perform, you can’t work with Lori Alvarez and we will release you from your contract.”
To work with Lori you need:
Great energy
A positive attitude
A desire to work with her and her team
Perk of being a Real Estate Agent: you get to choose who you work with.
A Few Years Later Into Business
Your business will grow as you get busy organically.
Lori hired her sister, Amy, to help her on the weekends holding Open Houses, and she fell in love with the business. And that’s how Amy Cruz became the Lori Alvarez and Team Buyer’s Agent for the past 10 years or so.
Then Nathan graduated high school, and filled in the assistant position Lori had been trying to fill for a few years.
She hired a Transaction Coordinator…
Then all of a sudden Lori looked around and realized, shoot. She has people to pay, people to support, people that are relying on her financially.
That means you have to really work. You have to decide to get up every day and get an interview for that job. Sometimes it’s the weekends. Sometimes it’s the evening. And when it gets to be too much you need to decide what makes best sense for you. Do you hire someone on so you can relax your schedule again?
Perk of being a Real Estate Agent: you get to choose your schedule more than others.
You Will Be Stretched
You need to be willing to let go. Lori chooses to let her teammates do their jobs, to do what they do best. Lori loves to represent Buyers and Sellers in their move. And as she grows her business, she’s leveraged off. They do their job. She does hers. All Lori need to do is train them well. Support them. Coach them. Mentor them.
Now, Lori Alvarez and Team is in the Top 1% and Top 2% agents in the neighborhoods that we serve.
But in order to grow that strong, you have to do more than just wake up every day. You need to start making real business decisions.
When she brought on Hasina as her Buyer’s Agent, Lori said, “You have 90 days to find a family to serve. If you don’t find a family in 90 days, I’m sorry you’re not going to be a part of this team anymore.”
And because Lori always hired people with a heart and passion for what they do, Hasina found a family. And another one. And Amy found a family….and Lori Alvarez and Team get’s to say, “Keys Please!” and is blessed to serve each and every one of them.
5 Things Lori Suggests
Don’t go into Real Estate if you think it’s easy.
If you’re not one of those people that can get up and be interviewed for a job everyday, this isn’t the business for you. You need to get up and show up every day.
2. If you can’t take criticism, this isn’t the job for you.
Some people just don’t understand how much a Real Estate Agent does. And they can be harsh and unreasonable and undervalue you.
Sure, Real Estate can be great money. But you have to work for it. You need to realize that when you close a transaction, that whole commission check isn’t yours. You have to divide it between:
The IRS
The Broker
Your Bills
Your Team if you have one
And You
3. You choose how you want to run your business.
If you’re going to do this every once in awhile as a side job (and many people do), are you going to truly be of service to your clients? Are you going to understand the market? They are relying on you to give them wisdom and guidance in selling or buying their home. Are you going to be able to consult them with the best strategy to maximize the sale of their house so they can fund their retirement? And still please the buyer on the other side with a win-win transaction?
It’s not just about one person. It’s about a family. It’s about more than one family. People are relying on you to do the professional and right thing.
You get to choose to have a healthy work-life balance. Make business hours. Make boundaries that are going to help you thrive and perform to your best ability every day.
4. Get educated.
You need to know how to market. Market what you love. Market the things you love. If your heart is in real estate, pour into it. Talk about it. Share things about it. Encourage people in it. And invite them to participate. You need to know how to manage. You need to know how to manage a calendar, manage people, manage a team, manage a profit and loss statement, manage emotions.
5. Choose the kind of Realtor you want to be.
In Lori’s first six months of business she had a disagreement with another Real Estate agent during a transaction. He got angry, she got angry and rose to the occasion, and she hung up on him during the conversation. Then, Lori’s broker looked her in the eye and said, “ Lori Alvarez, you are not going to be known as the realtor who gets angry and hangs up on people. You pick that phone up, you apologize. I don't care what he said to you, and you get your deal done.”
And Lori thought, he’s right. I don’t want to be that person. So she picked up the phone, called him and said, “I'm sorry, that did not go the way we planned it to be. Let's work this out.”
So are you going to be the hang up realtor? Or are you going to do what’s best for your client family?
In Conclusion
Real Estate is truly an amazing business. If you’re built for it, or if you want to attempt to do it, reach out to Lori Alvarez. She would love to mentor and train you.
She’s already walked with two of her clients getting their own real estate license and now they have their own thriving businesses.
If you want to talk more and find out if this is the career for you, call Lori to chat for 30 minutes at 909-227-4196.
Even if it’s not Real Estate, Lori will encourage you to dive deep into anything you want to do. Find those around you that are do what you want to do. Find an agent that is Top Producing. Match them. Follow them. That’s what Lori did! She saw an agent with a bunch of letters after his name (accreditations) and she got those too. And soon enough she surpassed him! And when you outproduce them, raise your incentive.
Maybe you just want to know how to start a business. Lori can certainly help you there! As she learns more and grows she will only become a better mentor and business owner! She always aims higher.
She will continue to build businesses. She aspires to start a non-profit. She aspires to make a difference in the lives of families.
She wants to educate. She wants to serve. That’s why she started this podcast and this blog.
Love what you do and you will be successful.
Be who you are. Lean into it and you will be blessed.
Lori Alvarez has been in the Real Estate Industry for almost 15 years. If you’d like to contact her call her at 909-227-4196. She loves helping families find their home sweet home.
Our podcast is geared towards our current clients. We love to give our buyers and sellers great information. Wondering about something we haven’t covered? Send us a message.
Thanks for reading. What’s going to be your next step to finding your home sweet home?
Real Estate is an ongoing, beautiful story. That’s why we love to share ours and to help you begin yours! Tune in to the next episode where we will continue the conversation.
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909.227.4196
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Be boldly blessed.
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