Real Estate: Houses in the Marketplace
Amanda Abramson-Clarke 鈥�09 may be a real estate agent, but there are definitely times when she feels more like a therapist. 鈥淏uying or selling a house is a very emotional thing,鈥� she says.
Emotions can range from the joy of buyers who didn鈥檛 think they would qualify for a mortgage to the sorrow of children selling their family home after the death of a parent. Sometimes there鈥檚 even anger, like when the sellers are divorcing. 鈥淚鈥檝e had cases where I could only speak with attorneys,鈥� she says.
A real estate agent鈥檚 job can be a combination of handholding, cheerleading, advising, coordinating, and project managing. When Abramson-Clarke, who lives and works in Greenfield, Massachusetts, meets with first-time homebuyers, she pulls out a binder that lays out everything they should expect. 鈥淪urprises are the worst thing in real estate, because usually they鈥檙e financial,鈥� she notes. 鈥淪ometimes people are just barely able to buy a home, so to be hit with another six grand in closing costs a few days before you鈥檙e supposed to close can be shocking.鈥� She also asks questions 鈥� the first is whether the potential homebuyers have talked to a bank to secure a mortgage and the second is their timeline. Then she asks about price range, square footage, number of bedrooms, acceptable towns and school districts, and distance they are willing to commute.
A key tool of the trade is the Multiple Listing Service. The MLS maintains an online database of property on the market, and emails information about new listings to clients.
Abramson-Clarke, an independent contractor who works through Cohn and Company, is following her father鈥檚 footsteps. A sociology major, she was working in sales when her Realtor dad approached her about seven years ago, saying, 鈥淚f you start thinking about becoming a Realtor now, by the time you鈥檙e in your prime there won鈥檛 be any competition left.鈥� Local real estate agents were aging out and young people weren鈥檛 getting into the field.
鈥淚 worked under my father for the first year and then went out on my own,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd have not looked back. It鈥檚 not an easy, straightforward job. It is a lot of self-driving, time-sacrificing work to get yourself off the ground. And it also helps that I鈥檓 a competitive person, because it鈥檚 a competitive work environment.鈥�
Pay is entirely commission, so if she doesn鈥檛 sell houses, she doesn鈥檛 make money. Business is based on word of mouth, so good customer relations is critical.
The job鈥檚 appeal? Flexibility and autonomy, she says. And it suits her outgoing personality. In addition to her job, Abramson-Clarke is active in the Franklin County Rotary, Fair, and United Way. This year, she鈥檚 co-chairing the United Way鈥檚 annual campaign. Last spring, she made the BusinessWest 鈥�40 Under 40鈥� list recognizing young professionals in Western Massachusetts.
She鈥檚 also the new owner, with her husband, Sam Clarke, of a seven-acre former dairy farm, where she plans to stable her horse. The farm, purchased from relatives, is the second home she鈥檚 owned. When she first sold real estate, she realized that to do her job well, she had to go through the process herself to understand it from a buyer鈥檚 perspective.
As a Realtor, she navigates the pleasures of helping clients find the right home to the disappointments of a buyer backing out or a seller rethinking plans. 鈥淟ife happens, and your house is directly correlated with what鈥檚 going on in your life,鈥� she says.