I saw a Facebook post a colleague made this morning.  He said, “My day started out great and ended with a real estate nightmare. Sleepless night and hoping that today is a better day. Real estate isn’t for the faint of heart.”

He’s right, real estate isn’t for the faint of heart.  Things can change on a dime.  At a moment’s notice sellers and buyers can go from carefree and feeling fine to wondering if they have to unpack and start from scratch – or worse.

The response that prompted me to right this blog post was this, “Keep telling yourself… it is only a house , it is only a house…”  True, it is only a house.  It’s the lives attached to the house are what keep a Realtor up all night, tossing and turning, concerned for a clients’ well being.

I have had buyers’ on the brink of homelessness at the possibility of a deal falling through.  I have seen family members heart broken at the sale of a long loved family home filled with memories.  I have seen buyers break down and cry over the stresses of daily life compounded with a home search/purchase/lender demands for documentation.

Real estate is not cut and dry.  Combine one of the largest purchases and sales of a person’s life with the emotional attachment/drain such a transaction can make, and a real estate purchase/sale can be one of the most emotionally challenging events of a persons life (next to marriage/birth/death).  If a transaction has bumps along the way, those emotions compound.

Many agents find themselves wearing many hats – including counselor.  We are attached to our clients.  We care about them and the outcome of the transaction.  Not for the paycheck – for the people.  We understand the heavy burden we chose to carry.  We understand how important home ownership – having a roof over your head is.  We care about you and are working towards your success.  It’s not about the mighty dollar, and those who think it is, are sorely mistaken.

We do our best, often time going above and beyond, to “fix” situations that are beyond our control, we offer alternatives and advise that may not be apparent, we work hard to ensure our clients are taken care of and their best interests met.  Are there some bad apples, yes.  Every field has them.  But if you ask me, most Realtors care about their clients.  They want them to be happy.  They want their dreams to come true and they will do everything in their power to make that happen, even, no especially, when the chips are down.