What's Your Story, Morning Glory?

While sitting with a good friend at Olivetto's last week, we were commiserating about the generation of young workers who have unrealistic expectations as to what a REAL job looks like, and just exactly how hard they are going to have to work to get ahead. (That includes our own naive offspring and yes, that makes us old.)

"Do people really work 9-5 every day?" my younger son had complained last year, after taking on an ambitious summer internship in The City and discovering rather quickly that he'd need to get up even earlier to catch BART, and arrive home much later than he intended. (Life's rough.) Happily, he got up to speed rather quickly. 

My friend's story was much better . . .

"We've taken on a recent college graduate; this is her first real job and she actually asked to leave early for 'yoga time' yesterday. Evidently she was stressed by the 'work load'. Who does that?" 

People unclear on the concept; that's who.

While I'm poking fun of our kids, the simple truth is, they really don't know, what they don't know and it's up to us as parents, teachers, mentors and employers to set them straight. ("No, I'm sorry but I don't even have a parking space, so finding you one certainly won't be high on my list of priorities.") That's true of Buyers and Sellers as well. In spite of the endless parade of real estate web sites extolling everything real-estate related, most people don't have a clue.

Among the long list of Realtor duties is the need to educate, teach and inform our clients as a home sale is likely to cross their paths only once every decade or two, or three, or four . . . . Given how infrequently you're going to call, it's no wonder Buyers and Sellers are, often totally lost when it comes to the process. Why would we expect anything else?

Let's start with the premise that picking up your lives and moving is no easy task and that both sides of the home sales transaction can be incredibly complicated and nuanced, not to mention down right anxiety-provoking, stress-inducing, and let's not forget, life-altering (not to put too fine a point on it), which is where experienced Realtors earn their keep - in spades! 

Here's what I know about stress, anxiety, fear, and future-tripping . . . it never improves the outcome.

So take a breath, walk the dog, work out, and bake some banana bread (wait, that's how I handle stress) and let's cross one bridge at a time. But first things first . . . I need to know the whys, whats, whens and wheres?

So what's your story, morning glory?

• Why are you selling/buying?
• What's your motivation?
• When are you moving?
• What's your budget?
• What funds do you have available?
• Where are you going?
• What are your expectations?
• What hurdles do we need to overcome?  

That last question is the doozy, because sometimes the hurdles are very evident as in: the home is in MAJOR disrepair, there are too many stairs to the front door, or the floorplan is hinky. While in other cases, the hurdles come up as ugly and unwelcome truths: the property encroaches on the neighbor's, the siblings are fighting over the estate, OR THE BIG KAHUNA, the client's expectations don't align with reality! (That's okay, we're here to help.) Whatever the roadblock, it's my job to get beyond it, over it, or through it (We do it one step at a time.) and then to set your expectations appropriately based on relevant circumstances - not on pipe dreams. 

So let's discover your story together (Heck, I may even blog about it.) because I don't just understand the dream of homeownership, I understand the process as well (I've lived it over and over) and I'm here to help you write the next chapter. Whatever your story - and no two are ever alike - my role is to create the happy ending; one community, one family at a time. 

How can I help you?
Check out some "before and after" photos on my website at: juliegardner.com

P.S. My new email address is: julie@juliegardner.com