Solano Real Estate Scene: Age, gender not an issue in real estate

Tom Brady is defying the odds and has a chance to win his sixth Super Bowl at age 40. Kathryn Bigelow busted through the glass ceiling in Hollywood in 2010 when she became the first female to win an Academy Award for best director for “The Hurt Locker.” One of the great things about being a real estate agent or broker is that a person can work into their 70s and be an effective advocate for their clients, friends and family. I can’t mention any names in this column because I don’t want to embarrass anyone or, even worse, anger one of my friends about disclosing their age, but there are quite a few top producers in Solano County who are approaching 70 and some even 80. Most of the post-65-year-old agents slow down to part-time and refer out some of their clients or work jointly with other agents so they have time to travel and enjoy semi-retirement. Some agents and brokers cannot slow down; their job is their passion. They live for the rewards that come with helping people achieve their goals. They love helping the kids and even grandkids of their old clients they originally helped in decades past. There is no glass ceiling in real estate for women, or at least there hasn’t been one that I have seen since I started in 1980. Women dominate in real estate because there is no limit to their success and income. Women do well in the mortgage business, too, because like real estate, you get out what you put in and women have just as much ambition and energy as men. Doing a great job for clients in the real estate business requires patience and a nurturing attitude. Yes, a person who is in sales has to be aggressive, tenacious and competitive, but sometimes it takes a year to even two years of nurturing a client before they actually buy. I have learned a lot from women real estate professionals over the years in my job as a mortgage banker. My favorite lesson was from a top producing woman in Fairfield who had 30 years in the business and worked for Jim Stever on Texas Street back in 1990 or so. She is gone now but I will never forget her advice. She said, “Hey Porter, one thing I suggest you always remember is that when you are talking you cannot listen.” Her point was, “listen to your client and don’t talk so much, kid.” Now all I need is a veteran writer to teach me how to stop the run-on sentences.