Does Real Estate have to be personal?

Question

I have always considered Real Estate a personal business. The traditional Realtor who builds relationships and gets their clients that way. The investors who network at meetings and become friends. The schedule can often be more beers at the bar than meetings in the office. Is this how it needs to be?

The recent change in the world has taught everyone a few things and made most of us readjust our lives. I now go to Zoom meetings and rarely leave my house for business. Is this the future for Real Estate?

I see virtual wholesalers from all over the world doing deals in markets they will never step foot in. I see people buying rentals in markets that are on the other side of the country. The world has gotten smaller and opened a lot of doors but is it to the detriment of the personal side of the business?

I must confess I prefer it this way. My schedule is wide open now. No more time spent in my car driving from place to place just to feel at the end of the day that I did not get much done even though I was constantly on the run. I sit down in front of my computer with my two phones propped up and get down to business. I have a ton of work everyday and I am still super busy but at the end of the day I feel like I accomplished stuff. I spent my time working both in and on my business. I am growing every day and the future is bright. Has the lockdown helped me? Has it helped you?

Forrest Faulconer · Answer

Hi Account Closed, thanks for your post.

Personally, I did enjoy working at home and getting to be around my baby daughter for several months, however, my production level was not the same both as a dad or while working. Turns out I am better off keeping them separate. I can focus and get my work done, and then come home and be completely free to invest in my family. Although the lockdown has proven that many things can be accomplished remotely, there is something to say about interacting and being around people, I believe we are meant to be social beings, not social media beings..

Martin Lindsay · Answer

Account Closed Exactly. Like I mentioned I definitely learned how well I can perform while at somewhat of a distance during lockdown. Essentially it taught me the real value of building a system to run your business. To me, having systems in place allow you to distinguish the difference between a "project" that you're working on WITH your team versus a "business" that you're running and leading your team.

Account Closed · Answer

@Martin Lindsay

Yes. It was an interesting experiment in forcing us to do what we knew we should have been doing all along.

Account Closed · Answer

@Martin Lindsay

I just can’t imagine that we come out of this without some major changes to our mentality.  I would be interested to see how the US changed after the Spanish Flu (probably a racist term by today’s standards).

Account Closed · Answer

@Forrest Faulconer

Spoken like a true extrovert.  What about us introverts?  :)

Martin Lindsay · Answer

Great insight Scott! I have to agree I feel I'm at my best performance when I'm somewhat at a distance. The more hands on I am on every part of a project the more it takes my mind away from the bigger picture of running and growing the business. Relationships are always going to be valuable if not imperative to the success of a lot of real estate investors, but business relationships can be strong without getting personal. I think if we didn't learn anything through the lockdown and pandemic, we either did something wrong or missed something huge to learn from.

Does Real Estate have to be personal?

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