The Passion The Training
As many of you know, I love real estate. It’s my passion since I can remember. Many ask me what nurtured this passion, it was actually not the buildings it was the people. At a young age, I was sweeping warehouses as a summer job and learning the business, it was not always select homes with the story of lavish lifestyles. The man that owned the company I worked for invested in me. While I am not that old, I was taught differently than we typically have the opportunity to learn today, in the way of apprenticeship. Someone took the time to pour into me their experience, their lessons of mistakes, and their passion for why. The love that was poured into me has only grown as I have been able to travel the world and continue to grow that knowledge. It was a tiny investment that has paid dividends.
I recently had the chance to tour a large home or let’s call it a mansion at 32,000 square feet. I drove up what had been a grand entrance and its grandeur captivated me. I was taken back to the excitement of where I started when I was actively selling homes as a REALTOR in Grands Rapids, Michigan in the early 2000's I didn’t see a house over 12,000 square feet. Michigan probably has a handful of homes over 20,000 square feet. That excitement fuels the passion for me to keep looking at homes as opportunities. To share with others my knowledge. This 32,000 sq ft house had been vacant for a few years and has been on the market for awhile, it has quite a story. It had been listed for 30 million, 23 million, 18 million and now is in foreclosure for under 5 million. It needs a lot of work, and many of the things are not as they seem. The sheer size captivates you, primarily because this is something you rarely see. When I moved to Chicago to work as a consultant, there were more maybe a dozen or two that where over 30,000 Square feet. Our exposure to the world allows us to understand the perspective of something. A 32,000 square feet is more common in Los Angeles and specifically Beverly Hills, California. When you hear a house is 2 million dollars you assume it is a teardown. It is all seen from the perspective of what we know.
Anthony Bourdain captures how our exposer lights our passion, “It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I have still to go, how much more there is to learn. Maybe that’s enlightenment enough — to know that there is no final resting place of the mind, no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom, at least for me, means realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.”
What use to be seen as historical or something that would live on forever, investors are tearing down to make even large estates. There is always change. That is what is impressive about real estate it is hyper-local and global at the very same time. While one region is building opulence, another is moving to tiny houses. This 32,000 sq ft home I saw was massive for its location and where it is located. So you may be asking why is it in foreclosure, first off there are only 4 bedrooms, that is just plain functional obsolescence, the buyer for this home is going to have to do significant work to make the house feasible. The grandeur that is found in size is quickly removed when you realize the pillars in the home look like marble but its fake its actual wallpaper. Your stomach sinks when you lose that first moment of wow. This is where I am so grateful for training, it is our training that keeps us grounded and humble. It helps us see beyond the wow to ensure that we truly know what we are doing and not get caught up in the hype. Our passion drives us to explore our training guides us to success.
I am reminded through all this who we surround ourselves with is so important I have always thought of myself as a connector. As a connector sometimes it is to help myself grow, and other times it is to help others develop. You see if you look at what the connector regarding a plumbing fixture you will realize that it is a piece that connects two parts, and it allows for liquid to flow both ways. I take pride in my connections because it is what keeps me grounded. Now as the world is more accessible, I have been blessed to grow into a Global Connector. My network is growing every day as I still have this goal of meeting 100 people face to face to see what I can learn and what I can help others learn. So while I get to see a lot of really cool homes and buildings, the passion for real estate comes from the people I get to meet that shape my knowledge for use in the future.
