Being Honest

Perhaps in the real estate investment field there is nothing more than being honest. Being dishonest with customer and clients and the public will cause you to become disrespected and avoided. Being dishonest with yourself may cost you more. “No man is an island, entire unto itself” is from a sermon the poet John Done gave before becoming known as a poet. We all have strengths and weaknesses.  We as humans have a tendency to highlight our strengths and hide or try to hide our weaknesses. This diversification is the very foundation which a great real estate investing team needs.

When you are beginning you often have to wear far too many hats but as your business begins to grow you have the ability to help others. Do so. By helping others, you learn great things about the person many will not see. Every person you meet has the potential to teach you a valuable lesson or give you a valuable fact. When we help one another, we are also helping ourselves and society as a whole. It is by this process that we build our teams. In fact, it is that process I depend on to rebuild communities around the colleges I have attended. I intend to grow my business of service to these communities, these individuals and myself. I believe by helping others I provide a valuable service which no other I know of provides as I do. I should state some real estate people believe that we owe fiduciary responsibility to only our clients (Those who have signed a contract with us.) We in the real estate profession may legally owe this fiduciary responsibility then, but we are better off giving it to almost everyone we meet. I added that word almost because even the Bible acknowledge sometimes it is not possible to do. Romans 12: 18 “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” This to me acknowledges that there are some people we can not live peaceable with. I do not advocate harming or talking bad concerning them Just acknowledge that you shouldn’t be the person working with them, and move on.

When I was younger my aunt who took me in said she would hire someone to perform a task. I tried to explain that it wasn’t a hard task to accomplish, and that if she would do it each time, she would become better at performing it. She looked at me and said, “Why bother”. She appreciated it when the task was done correctly and when left undone it greatly bothered her. But she did not like doing the tasks needed and she didn’t perform it as well as others who liked to perform the steps to accomplish the task. It wasn’t money, it was the peace of mind knowing it would be done correctly and without the frustration which she underwent when she performed the tasks.

When we do not like doing a certain task usually, we do not perform it as well. We are not islands unto ourselves.  We are pieces of a real estate investing team. If we except a lower quality of excellence, we have lowered the standards of the team and ourselves. It is why when justice is denied to one it has been denied to all.

Real Estate investors are building a business. It is wise to note that each team member is most likely trying to do the same. Having the right people in the place of their greatest potential is how the business grows strongest. Admitting that you may not be the person to preform or oversee some of the tasks is a step in the right direction. Otherwise, you may be forced to wonder Why you evened bothered.

Note: Images on this blog site are from a free source or taken by the author. No image or group of photos is intended to represent the people the author serves. The author does not care about Race (that is a politically correct term that he does not like because we are all of the same Race, the Human Race. He prefers the term ethnicity, color, religion, sex, gender, marital status, disability, genetic information, national origin, source of income, Veteran or military status, ancestry, citizenship, primary language or immigration status.) He is a service provider for all people. We will all rise together when we band together and help one another. Joseph Erwin is a Real Estate Broker, DRE # O2131799, and a CA general contractor # B 696662. He’s a member of the CRMLS and The East Valley Association of Realtors located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California.