What do I do before I am a realtor?

I have been in the life insurance industry for 20 years in Hong Kong before moving to Canada in 2017. Since then, I decided to become a real estate agent. I have learned that both industries have something in common. They are “people businesses.”

What is “people business”?

You have to deal with people (Clients) in terms of their different needs, lifestyles, social background, future planning, etc. Everyone is unique, so as the product. That means you have to know your client very well before you advise them on the individual product in the market available. 

For example, in the life insurance industry, let say you meet a client who has been just working for a few years and got married. You have to know their hot button for what is most important to them.

Some may say their employment stability is the most important. Some may say earning extra income is the most important, or some may say accumulating a lump sum for a downpayment is the most important. 

Whatever their hot button is, there is always a story behind in conclusion. It is their “family.”They want to secure their job to support their family financially. They may want to earn extra income to support their expected baby. Or they may want to save a downpayment for a home to make their family live better. They are all motivated by their family. That means they are the critical persons of their family. Without them, all talking is just a dream. 

As individual families’ key persons, they are the most important and needed to be protected financially. That is what life insurance kicks in.

So how does it related to the Real Estate industry

People (Clients) buy or sell a home for any different reason.

Similar to the life insurance industry, for whatever reason people buy or sell their home, the story behind is also their “family.” 

For the buying side, they may want to buy a condo with a mountain view because the couple has promised each other someday in the future, their family home must have a breathtaking four-season scenic mountain view. They may want to buy a house with three bedrooms for their new family member in the future. Or they may want to buy a home near their old parents so that their entire extended family can become closer physically.

For the selling side, some may want to downsize their home for retirement; some may want to sell their home before they buy a bigger house as their family grows bigger. Or some may want to sell their home to support their children’s four-year foreign country tertiary education. It is all about family.

In conclusion, either I am a realtor or an insurance agent in the past, my role is to help out different families in different situations and find out what they need and what is most important to them.