As an independent contractor working in the real estate industry, I have chosen to work with the Engel & Volkers Vancouver Island, a brokerage with an international presence. What this means to my clients is that they have access to a wider audience and more resources available to them whether they are buying or selling their most important financial asset.
It is a challenge being a real estate professional. In a great way! You run your own business and that entails all aspects of a corporation; from determining an exceptional customer service program, accounting and administration, to creating strategic marketing campaigns. It's got it all! And, as you probably know, I love a challenge. For me, there is nothing more creative than a successful business plan. It’s a bit like sewing, where you put the pieces of a pattern together and, after a pinch here, a dart there, a garment appears. There is nothing that compares to the feeling you get when you have negotiated a deal that makes everybody happy!
The challenges are really the small things that happen. Of course, they tend to be the things we take for granted. One day, at a meeting with a customer to show a condo, I couldn’t get the lockbox to open, no matter how hard I tried. To my great embarrassment, the customer solved the problem and got the box opened! And let’s not forget the time I got the address wrong, and tried to get into the right suite in the wrong building! Horrifying! Fortunately, I was working with a client with a great sense of humour and we had a good laugh.
That, in the end, is what makes this profession so amazing! The people! Interacting with people from all walks of life. There are the clients and customers, the service providers that assist us in our daily lives, like mortgage brokers and house inspectors, our fellow real estate professionals, and, of course, our support staff, who make our life here at the Engel & Volkers shop easy.
When you are ready to buy or sell and would like to work with someone who loves their job, has a great sense of humour and common sense 99% of the time, you can reach me at 250-588-1343 or email me at aileen.eakins@engelvoelkers.com
