I sat down with someone new this week. A referral. When I asked what made them reach out, they said a friend told them to call me because I’m the one who figures stuff out.

I sat with that for a second.

They’re going through a hard stretch right now. The kind where the ground feels less steady than it did a year ago, and one win, just one, would change the whole week. They came in a little braced. A little apologetic. And I knew that look from the inside, because I’ve worn it.

So let me rewind.

I didn’t come to real estate with a five-year plan and a blazer. I came to it because we were behind on our mortgage payments and I needed it to work.

Did I mention it was 2008?

Before real estate, I had a home décor business. Custom draperies. I loved it for more than six years, the kind of work where you stand in someone’s living room and help them picture it finished. But when the economy fell apart, nobody was buying anything custom. The business couldn’t hold, a judgment landed against me personally, and we ended up filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

So that’s the ground I’m talking about. Not a slow month. The actual bottom.

Quincy came seven weeks early right in the middle of it. You’d never guess it now. He’s 6’5″ at seventeen, and he eats like the house is on a meal plan. But back then he was tiny and brand new, and I was studying for my real estate license while I held him. 

That was the moment.

I picked the next door and walked through it, because the old one had closed and I had a family to take care of.

The market matched the mood. There were over 65,000 listed on the market (for reference, we currently sit at 25,000 homes on the market). My very first short sale was a little condo in Glendale that was listed for $27,000. I learned the business the hard way, on a deal where everybody had already lost something before I walked in.

And there was the afternoon I got pulled over with a client in the car. We were on our way to a showing. Expired tags, because renewing them was the kind of thing that waited in line behind the mortgage that month. I kept my hands at ten and two, smiled at my client like everything was fine, and hoped he couldn’t read the whole story off my face.

That’s where I started. Not polished. Not padded. Just showing up to the next appointment because the next appointment was the plan.

Here we are now.

And here’s what all of it gave me. A built-in radar for the apology. A buyer sits across from me and opens by saying sorry. Sorry they’ve only got so much saved. Sorry the credit isn’t where they want it. And sorry they’re asking a question they think they should already know the answer to. Or a couple comes in after a layoff or a divorce, starting over with less than they had before, bracing for me to tell them it’s not enough.

I don’t do that.

What I do is tell them how far they actually are, which is almost always further than they think. Then we make a real plan from where they’re standing, not from where they wish they were standing.

Here’s the part I want you to hear, though. My reassurance means something because I’ll tell you the truth when the truth is hard. If the numbers don’t work yet, I’ll say so, and then I’ll show you what it takes to get them there. I’m not in the business of blowing sunshine at people. I’m in the business of giving them somewhere solid to stand. That’s what “less stress, more hope” actually means around here. It’s a method, not a mood.

So if you’ve been apologizing for your starting point, consider this your reminder that a starting point is just that. A place to start.

And if you know someone bracing for a no, someone convinced they’ve missed their window or don’t have enough to bother trying, send them my way. I’ve been where they are. I’d love to show them how much runway they’ve actually got.

Whenever you’re ready, I’m here.

Joyful real estate that feels like home.

WITH JOY,

P.S. What’s Jennuine Living, again?

We’re a gaggle of REALTORS®, Lenders, and Creatives that makes joyful real estate feel like home.

We bring creativity, peace of mind, and a sense of delight into one of life’s biggest transitions, so that our clients’ experience:

➝ More joy, less stress and fewer ‘oh crap’ moments.

➝ No guesswork, no surprises, just honest communication.

➝ Connection first – here, you are family.

We love new friends, so visit our website, see a bit of our good work for our community, or follow us on the ‘Gram to join the family.