Well, it’s Friday and I’m currently sitting at my desk in the corner of my room reflecting on the week I’ve had. Eventually, I’ll upgrade to my own home office but for now I work from my room (don’t judge). Anyway, as usual, I’m filled with gratitude!
My day today started bright and early at 6:30 AM. One thing I’ve discovered about myself since becoming a Houston real estate agent is that I’m not the type of person who can roll out of bed and jump straight into work and have a super successful day, no matter how hard I try. Believe me, I've tried a lot. So I made it my New Years resolution to start waking up early and taking time for myself before getting to work and it’s going well so far. Something my boyfriend's uncle said to me once that really stuck with me (he’s also a business owner), was “The reason I’m up at 5:00 AM everyday is because once I start working, the day isn’t my day anymore, it’s everyone else’s day.” Now I use those words as motivation to stop snoozing my alarm. Let’s get into it.
I started my day with a cup of coffee, 1 mile on the elliptical, then I read a chapter of my book. I’m currently reading A Little Life… if you know, you know. Next, I took time to clean up my space, jump in the shower and have breakfast. By the time I sit down and get to work its about 8:30. Right on time. I usually start work by checking my emails and responding to any texts from the night before, so I open up my laptop and the first notification I see is a reminder email from our escrow officer that my buyer’s closing is scheduled to start at 10:00 - great way to start the day! After I finished up with emails, I send a text to a client of mine, who’s getting ready to start her home search, with some lender recommendations, and another text my cousin, soon to be client, about scheduling a buyer consult. Also responded to a client who wants to see homes in Downtown Houston this weekend. Side note- Eeeeek! I love it when my family comes to me for their real estate needs.
Fast forward through a couple phone calls, a few texts exchanged with an agent I’m hosting an open house for in Hockley tomorrow, and some interaction on social media its about 11:00 now. My buyer did a mobile closing, which I would normally attend but this one was taking place at his parents house so I hung back! I send a follow up text to my team lead who worked this deal with me since she was present at closing and she let me know that everything went off without a hitch. Score! Now it’s time to sit down and plan all of my social media content for February. Yes, in addition to being a kick ass real estate agent, I’m also a social media influencer LOL. 17 Posts outlined and added to my calendar took me about 45 minutes, not bad. High preforming real estate agents wear so many hats, so I've learned to live by my calendar by time blocking.
Back to my emails because if you’re a Realtor who doesn’t have to check their emails 20 times a day, are you really a Realtor? And if you’re curious about how tedious real estate can sometimes be, I’ve got a great example for you... Another email from our escrow officer letting us know that my buyer’s lender “didn’t like the way he signed all his closing documents" so he’ll need to resign EVERYTHING before we can get this closed and funded. This was honestly a first for me. Oh well! By 1:48 the title company had received the re-signed documents and by 2:01 we were closed!!! Time for lunch! By lunch I just mean another cup of coffee... oops. It’s time to prep for that open house I mentioned earlier, and this is where I’m reminded how grateful I am to be a part of my team- more on that in a minute. I bet you’re thinking “What do you need to prep for an open house? Don’t you just… open the house and stand there for 2 hours?” So close! But no. The advantage to working open houses is the possibility for unrepresented buyers to roll through, so you want to make sure your signs are great and your marketing material is too, in hopes of capturing yourself a new buyer to represent. And to circle back to what I mentioned a couple sentences back about my team - our marketing material is unmatched and our open house strategy is so seamless that it basically does the work for you. I’ll use this as an opportunity to give a shout out to Rylie, my team lead, for doing what other agents won’t. She’s truly one of the best in the business and working with her is an honor.
Yard signs are now loaded into my car, MLS documents are printed, marketing materials are prepped and ready to go and I’m thinking it’s time to give my brain a break before diving into some more prep work for February. Fun fact about me... I can’t do anything without preparing for it extensively and way ahead of time. I truly live by my calendar and to-do lists. Not that I’m not a spontaneous person but also…. Don’t ask me to do anything without giving me 3 business days to prepare for it.
Today has been a catch up day for me, which is usually what I'd use Monday’s for but this cold weather called for an adjustment. So I’ve spent the last couple of hours crossing more things off of my to-do list. Between knocking out household chores, a pro of running my own business as a real estate agent, running comps for a friend whose getting serious about selling her home, and a trip to the store to buy stamps for some letters I’m sending out next week, it's about time to call it a day.
Here we are, y’all. It’s 6:30 PM. Real estate isn’t always cashing checks and popping champagne as you can see from the day I’ve had. But these days are just as rewarding. All I have left to do is decide whether I’m having sushi or mexican for dinner... I'm thinking mexican.
XOXO
Payton
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