Back During My 1st Year In Real Estate

As I stepped into the sprawling 2,500sqft condominium, my heart raced with a mix of excitement and nervousness.

The year was 2010, and I was a rookie property agent struggling to find my footing in the industry. As an introvert, initiating conversations with strangers was a daunting task. I had doubts about whether a real estate career was the right fit for me, but a speaker at a career talk assured me that introverts could succeed in this field.

Despite my best efforts, I only started receiving my first calls from strangers asking me to help them about six months into the business.

Among the first few calls I ever received was one for this unit.

PROPERTY IN SINGAPORE’S PRIME DISTRICT 10?

That fateful morning, an elderly man called seeking help renting out his property in the prestigious Balmoral Road area.

I tried to contain my excitement and replied calmly.

Yes, sure. Let me take a look and see what I can do.

With great expectations, I rushed to the unit with my Panasonic point-and-shoot wide-angle camera. An elderly couple greeted me warmly and invited me in.

That was the first time I set foot in a 2,500sqft condominium. The unit was empty, with just one small round table & three chairs in the dining area. The elderly man invited me to take a seat. As I approached the table, my heart sank.

The Straits Times classified section lay open, with almost every advertisement circled in red. It dawned on me that the couple had contacted every agent listed, inviting them to visit the unit and help market it for rent.

The red circle was an indication that they had contacted that property agent.

Sitting beside him was a stack of classifieds that they had gone through.

LET’S GET TO WORK

I allowed myself to be disappointed for 3 seconds & decided to get on with what I was there for. Since I was already there, might as well do things properly & stay positive.

Even though there might be 1,000 property agents marketing the unit, who knows?

It was going to be a game of luck. Maybe it was going to be me?

After taking the photos, I spent a few minutes speaking to them to get to know them better.

The elderly couple were foreigners. They stayed overseas & would return to Singapore only when a lease had ended & they needed to look for a new tenant.

They carried out the circling & inviting exercise whenever they were back. Before I could ask more, we were interrupted by the chimes from the doorbell. Another property agent was at the door.

I thanked them for inviting me over & left. Time to get to work.

FAIRY TALE ENDING?

When hundreds of property agents market the same unit, it often becomes a game of luck.

How was my luck?

Since I took the time to write this post, surely I was the lucky one?

Someone must have called me & I closed the deal?

No. No one called me. Zero calls.

I did receive a call eventually a couple of weeks later.

It was the elderly man.

Thank you, Jack. Unit rented out.

In my heart, I always knew it was going to be tough.

I wished the elderly man and his wife well and thanked them for the opportunity. I told him I hoped to stay in touch with him via email, and he obliged.

His email went into my database. Whenever I had interesting real estate news to share, I emailed everyone in the database.

In the two years that followed, the elderly man never responded to my emails. I had no idea if he had read them—until one day in 2012, he replied.

A WORD OF THANKS AND …

“Hello Jack! Thank you so much for sending me email updates over the last two years. No one has ever done this for me before.“

“The lease at the Balmoral apartment is ending soon. Would you like to be our exclusive agent to handle the lease for us?“

I was thrilled beyond words. Since that moment in 2012, I’ve had the privilege of exclusively managing this memorable Balmoral unit.

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY

I’ve been blessed with numerous clients who have trusted me, leading to many successful transactions in District 10 and beyond.

I’m grateful for each and every one of them.

This experience taught me a valuable lesson: success in real estate and life often requires patience and persistence. Even when you’re doing the right things, results may not be immediate.

But if you stay the course and nurture relationships, you might find yourself just three feet from gold.

Have you ever faced a similar situation in which your efforts seemed futile initially but eventually paid off?

I’d love to hear your stories of perseverance and success.