A couple months after making my mid-career shift to sell real estate, the late great John McEnearney invited me to lunch. He recognized some of our similarities. In the months after I started my new career, what became the largest global economic crisis since the Great Depression began disintegration of the housing industry. Similarly, when he opened the doors of McEnearney Associates in 1980, the housing market was in crisis with mortgage interest rates hovering around 18 percent.
"All the newspaper headlines read 'Real Estate is Dead' citing no one could sell because no one could afford to buy," he told me.
He went on to share with me the core principals and mission that drove him, and that still drive McEnearney Associates 37 years later. "What truly drives the sale and purchase of real estate is nothing more than personal circumstance - someone gets married or divorced; a couple have children; job loss; job gain; job transfer. These are all the primary drivers of real estate. Mortgage interest rates and a down economy are merely the challenges we need to help overcome for our clients. It's up to us to be the most educated and knowledgeable because that knowledge translates into power and ensures our clients are the most powerful consumers of real estate."
Before lunch ended, John McEnearney shared some wise advice. "Now that the market is more challenging, a lot of people are going to quit. The opportunity remains for those who learn to survive it."
So I kept his advice - all of it. I remained in my former career while also pushing the boundaries of my growing real estate business. I developed and trademarked my own personal brand: #UrbanCastle ...because home is always your castle. To date, I've managed well over 100 real estate transactions. I've helped people buy their first homes, and their last homes. And I've helped mitigate financial loss for several by short sale, sound advice and providing appropriate resources. I've helped buy homes ranging from the multi-millions to as little as $155,000. I've helped people buy in the DC Metro Area and around the globe.
The mission of my business is guided by what John McEnearney established for all his associates: to help. And in order to be the most helpful, I must remain the most knowledgeable. And like McEnearney himself, I never aspire to be the biggest - merely the best.
If information is power, my mission is to help create the most powerful consumers of real estate on the market.
-Brett
|
