Saturday, January 12, 2008

Back to the classroom

I signed up for a community ed "real estate for dummies" crash-course on home buying at the end of January. Seminars like these always make me wary. It's being put on by a local realtor, and although the course is not sponsored by his agency, I wonder how objective it will be versus just an opportunity for this guy to expand his client list with unsuspecting fresh meat. Sheesh, I really am a skeptical ol' codger, aren't I? But, you have to start somewhere, and this seems as good of place as any.

Real estate, auto, and investment marketers all make me circumspect. I'm always anxious about handing over large amounts of my money to someone who (in the end) is just trying to turn a buck off of my dough. Do they really have my best interests in mind? I fear I'm overly pessimistic & skeptical in these situations, and my defense is always to arm myself with as much knowledge as I can. But, ultimately, that self-learning only goes so far, and I have to yield something to their expertise & experience. Armed with knowledge, the next step is to build trust. And trust is not always an easy nut to crack for Team Chris ;)

I'm curious to see how the course goes. And many thanks to J, my awesome sis-in-law. Your help so far has been great - I'm not done picking your brain yet, haha!
----------------
Now playing: U2 - hold me thrill me kiss me kill me

3 of y'all tellin' it like it is:

Anonymous said...

Speaking for myself and my line of work (insurance), I sometimes have to ask folks to hand over large amounts of money as I sell insurance to commercial client, business, churches, contractors, etc. Some of them are very skeptical, but they know they have to have the coverage. My boss and I are very concerned and do care about our clients as if obvious in the many steps we take to ensure they have no lapses in coverage and we are readily available to discuss their insurances, or make changes when needed.
On the other hand, I do know what you mean. Car salesmen will kiss your butt to the enth degree if you let them, and same for realtors. Good luck in your class, and I'm sure you'll all be receiving the instructos card before it's all over.

Anonymous said...

I wish there was spell check on these comments!!!

Sorry, I meant to say, we care about our clients AS IS OBVIOUS...
and at the end, I'm sure you'll all be receiving the instructors business card before it's over.

Chris H. said...

Thanks for the comments, I agree with your thoughts. And I'm sorry if I come on a little strong with my hints of mistrust - I certainly hope not to offend you or anyone else in any way. Heck, I work for a large bank, and although I don't work in sales, my paycheck ultimately comes from people trusting me to do smart & proper things with their money. So, the irony of my spiel is not lost on me ;) I think you are right - I do expect to have a card in hand at class end! But, maybe he'll end up being that rock-star real estate guy who'll lead me to my dream home! You never know! I'll definitely take an open & optimistic approach to it :)

Post a Comment

Write on!