Tammy Whitehead of Help-U-Sell Riverside Realty in California believes you can go home again.
She and her husband, Charlie, owned a Help-U-Sell Real Estate franchise from 2000 until 2007, when they sold it to pursue a building business. The state of the economy forced them to close the business in 2010. Looking for a new opportunity, Whitehead decided to return to her roots. “I ran into [Franchise Opportunities Director] Ron McCoy, and he asked me if I would be interested in coming home to Help-U-Sell,” she said.
Whitehead has had her new Help-U-Sell office since the fall of 2010. While she holds hope for the future of the market, she also holds a practical view of its current state.
“I still see a lot of upheaval in the real estate market,” Whitehead said. “People are not settled yet.”
More optimistically, she added: “I think next year may be a long year, but we will pull through. We must be positive to everyone we meet and give them hope. I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
One way she helps her current and potential clients is simply by being responsive. Like Kimberly Zelena, last month’s Broker Focus subject, Whitehead makes a point of answering the phone, day and night. “That always impresses people,” she said.
Her top achievement this year is hiring an assistant. “She helps so much,” Whitehead said. “I can now take a minute, think clearer and spend more time with my agents training.” Her goal for 2012 is for her office to do 50 transactions outside of her REO account.
She encourages new brokers to hang in there, put their heads down and pull through it.
“We all need a really good dose of the holiday season, I think this year much more than before,” she concluded. “We need love and hope from each other and for everyone to work together.”
