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The 24/7 Job – On Being A Realtor
By Artur Ciesielski | Essay
As a preface, let me state that I was a full time Realtor for about 13 years. Although I still am a Realtor, I don’t need to be and my professions have changed somewhat. I’m still in the real estate business, but I’m more selective about the clients I take on. I guess that is a luxury for which I’m very grateful, but it is one I worked toward.
One of my beefs with being a Realtor is how “we” the Realtors demand attention 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. I recall seeing quite a few Realtor ads stating their availability as being 24 hours a day every day.
These ads still exist en masse.
What prompted this post is continued cannibalism of this professions by the very people in it. I’m of the mind that once it’s past a reasonable hour like 6 or 7 pm or on more traditionally leisurely days like Saturdays and especially Sundays one should be more flexible and at least not demand of others that they work long and odd hours even though others may.
This is a reply of an agent who disrespected a Sunday and demanded an odd hour replay within about a day that required both myself and more importantly the client to rearrange their day, which was not completely possible thus resulting in the offer being accept post the offer expiration time.
This is what he wrote.
Unfortunately our jobs are 24/7. I don’t like that either.
My request is that you don’t demand that an offer be replied to on Sunday and especially not before noon. That an offer not have to be replied to after 6pm unless there is at least a 48 hour cycle from submission to response.
While SOME Realtor do work 24/7 they don’t have to push their lack of life or their overzealousness on others.