I AM SO FLIPPING EXCITED, I CAN'T STAND IT
(ok, maybe I'm a tad more excited than it warrants, but it's still pretty darn good...lol)
My mom is a real estate agent with very high ethical standards (it's just the way she is). Unfortunately, the broker she works under (the entire office really) seems to think that ETHICS is a four letter word and that it's perfectly ok to work "in the gray". They treat my mother like crap because she won't play their games. (By the way, I have first hand knowledge of how the company works, it's not just because I love my mom...lol) Anyhow, I won't get into all of that, let's just suffice it to say that it is NOT a healthy work environment and could be quite damaging, to my mother especially.
My mother just bought a vacation home and plans on spending as much time there as she can. The problem is that she
can't trust anyone in the office to take care of her clients in an appropriate manner while she's unavailable. Notice that I stressed the "can't", not that she wouldn't like to. Well, I kind of mentioned that maybe she should look into hiring a Virtual Real Estate Assistant. Someone that only works for
her and has
her best interests at heart. I purposely didn't suggest myself just because, although I know quite a bit, I've never been a real estate assistant and I'm definitely not licensed to talk offers or anything. Also, I would want my mom to have the best, most knowledgeable assistant possible. Before I could barely even begin to talk about it, though, she kind of gasped (ok, maybe that was for dramatic effect...lol) and said, "
You could do that! I could hire
you!". She told me that what she needs is someone she can trust and who better to trust than her own daughter. Sooooo, I guess we'll be working out the fine details of what I can do for her and just how much I can get involved without a license or certification or whatever.
We haven't even talked price yet, but I would be very willing to sort of do it on barter. One, it'll give me the experience I need to work with a client from the initial consultation/presentation on and, I'm hoping, that it'll help me earn the money for the equipment and such that I need without having to work part-time at the local Shop N' Save...lol Plus, I owe her some money
(not to mention all the other help and support she's given me over the years), so it'll be a way to help pay her back and, I think, a win-win situation.
Oh, and also, she has a different last name than mine. So I can use her as a testimonial and it won't look like nepotism
So, here's my question for all of the real estate assistants out there. What are some things that I can do for her as an assistant without a license/certification?
Here's my quickie initial branstorming:
- Create a really good contact database
- Help her design her own personal website
- Be a contact for her clients if she's not available (so that they're not dealing with anyone in the office, but her)
- Follow up with clients for information that may be needed (not sure how involved with this I can get)
- Create personalized marketing materials and maybe find some inexpensive advertising
- Take pictures of houses
- Act as a courier when possible (most of the home buyers will be from out of town)
- Be available as a go between for when she's out of town (fax or email her stuff that she has here that she may need)
- Put together thank you notes and welcome packages
- help arrange for lodging if a client needs it (goes back to clients being from out of town)
- Keep her schedule (although, she may want to do this herself)
- Field her emails
Basically, I want to position myself to where I'm an extension of her and where the clients are able to trust me as much as they do her and she can enjoy her new vacation home without worrying about what she left behind.
I am so flipping excited!!!!
My FIRST REAL client!!!! (What can I do for an RE agent?)
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