Making a living as a Realtor is something most people don’t understand completely. They may think it is just a matter of picking up huge checks at the closing table for very little work. But it is truly a very misunderstood form of income.

It is perhaps one of the very few jobs where you do all your best work up front, never knowing if you will be paid for it. No matter how hard you try you can’t make every deal work. Often there are last minute problems with the house, with the conditions the lender sets for the borrower, a change of job circumstances, and a myriad of other things that can cause a contract to end up not closing and most times it happens within the very last week.

Prior to this time, the Realtor has shown the buyer numerous homes, written possibly more than one contract, negotiated terms and prices, met home inspectors at the house, requested and supervised repairs if needed, worked with lenders, closing agents and other agents to keep everything moving along smoothly, and kept in constant contact with their client. Much time and often a lot of gas and mileage have already been spent.

Then something falls apart, and with amazing skill and diligence the Realtor does their best to salvage the contract for their party if they still want to proceed, always trying to bring about win/win circumstances for both sides. Sometimes it is not possible to save the situation.

Then there is the heartbreak on the part of their client to deal with, all the while the Realtor is bound to notice that after six weeks of hard work, there will be no paycheck for them that month. If the buyers are ready, they will resume the hunt from the beginning and start all over to find another suitable home. When one finally does close, the Realtor is  paid, and many think overpaid for their services. Only the Realtor knows how many times they showed up and basically worked for nothing and why that commission check has very little to do with that particular sale and everything to do with maintaining their skills, education, licenses, and optimism through year after year of many disappointments and some successes.

After all is said and done, everyone else in the transaction still has a paycheck. Everyone except the Realtor, without whom the entire process would have been impossible, because someone had to be available to make all the bits and pieces come together. They have no salary, and their gas and phone time has to be paid for regardless. So if they ever seem a bit weary after things get turned upside down, please appreciate that they are always trying to put others needs ahead of their own, and very few people would show up for work everyday and do their absolute best, with no guarantee they will ever be paid for it.

It takes a certain kind of person, and a lot of dedication to stay committed to a full time real estate career, particularly in a down market as we are experiencing now. But that is exactly the person you want to accompany you on your search for your new home.