A career in Real Estate can be one of the most rewarding, yet one of the most challenging types of careers you can choose. The industry offers many avenues to explore whether it be residential, commercial, or property management, each speciality brings a variety of nuances and legalities but all being necessities for those who own or rent real property. As a company, we’ve served our clients with their residential needs for buying and selling single family attached and detached homes since 2013.
Being a part of the community has been a cornerstone of our business which has brought exciting opportunities like the High Tech High Internship Program where we host interns for 12 weeks. The students get to experience what it’s like to run a local business and help facilitate aspects of day to day operations. We’ve enjoyed participating in this program which helps shape the students perspective on what life will be like in the real world, after their path in education.
Most recently, our friend/teacher/artist who introduced us to this program asked if she could shadow us for the day to learn and observe a day in the life of 1850 Realty. We were happy to oblige. Below are her reflections of the day, we hope it’ll give you an insiders perspective of how we operate in our career in Real Estate.
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Carol Cabrera: Career Day Reflection 2018
I spent the day at 1850 Realty with Broker & Realtor Carol Farrar. She’s been a good friend of mine for years, is active in the community, serves on several boards including one that I am also a board member for, and sold me and Skyler our first house. It was an incredible day seeing the world through Carol’s eyes (or as our friends call her “Carol Realtor” since I’m “Carol Teacher” so we’re not all confused). Some of the things that struck me the most that she said:
“Sometimes it’s my job to simply activate the imagination.”
Carol said the above quote as she was talking about a property that they are selling that has not yet had any offers but has had positive feedback from prospective buyers. There is one thing that prospective buyers are complaining about though: the small backyard. Carol talked about how yesterday, she went to Costco, saw some artificial grass and decided to stage the backyard which is currently just pure concrete, so that people can imagine the gatherings and the lifestyle that can live in that yard. What struck me about this is Carol’s (and everyone at 1850 Realty) ability to modify and adjust what they are doing when they are not getting the results that they are seeking. I think this ability is something that students have to be able to practice before they enter the work force and it left me wondering: How can we better design projects where students have to figure out the adjustments and the modifications themselves instead of simply being told what to do?
“We see the potential in the property.”
Carol and her husband and partner at 1850 Realty have also recently bought a new home of their own. Eric is doing a lot of the rennovations at this new place while they reside at their home in the meantime. She talked about seeing the home they purchased, and how it was one of the most inexpensive homes in the best neighborhood. This advice is advice that she gave me when I was her client–find the cheapest home in the best neighborhood–advice that she follows herself. She walked me through the rennovations they are making, and talked about the vision for the home that they are creating. She has an incredible ability to see something that is not yet there and she and Eric have the skills, drive, and the work ethic to make it exist. This left me wondering about the open-endedness of projects and how I can better design projects so that the outcome is something that I can’t imagine myself and instead is something that the students are asked to imagine for themselves.
“Silence is golden. Sometimes, giving things time and space means things might figure themselves out. Immediate action does not always need to be taken.”
In the morning, I was able to observe Carol interacting with one of her agents, Dev. The interaction was akin to something that might happen at work with me and Mr. Schwartz–it was about how things were going, how the weekend was, how the events Dev attended recently for fun panned out. Something that struck me here though is that Dev talked a lot about how Carol and Eric are teaching her to not respond so quickly, and to put the phone away. This is something that I am still having to learn myself, as someone who is constantly trying to repair and take action immediately. The pause between getting information and then taking action is one that I think I need to learn to take more often not just as an educator but as a human being. I saw this quote in action a couple more times during my stay with 1850. When everyone was in the office, there was a period of time that was pure silence. When someone tried to spark conversation, Carol reminded gently, “Let’s save it for the meeting so we only have to hear the story once.” I then saw everyone in the office efficiently continue working independently for a chunk of time. Lunch came about and then we went into the conference room for a team meeting where everyone shared what work has been like for the week, what the action items for the week were, and what the calendar for the following week looked like. Seeing both the silent independent time and the collaborative time made me think about the structure of my classroom on a daily basis: How can I foster independent work habits while also cultivating a culture of collaboration and support so that students are learning that their individual work is important but that it is also part of something larger than just them?
“Risk is never comfortable but it can be calculated.”
Carol talked about taking risks throughout her career and the importance of dreaming and imagining the future. I was floored to learn that 1850 Realty has only been in their office here in San Marcos for 3 years and that they’ve only been a brokerage for about 5 years. Carol, Eric, and 1850 Realty has always felt so established and it has always felt like a part of the community as I’ve known it here in San Marcos since I moved here in 2013. While their small business is young, Carol has been in the business for over a decade now and has always sought to learn more. She has used her time working for other businesses as a tool to better herself and her practice, and she has dreamt up the future and then made it reality through hard work, perseverance, and grit. She is continuing to dream too, and is starting to imagine what it would look like for Eric not to work at 1850 Realty anymore and to instead have his own contracting company.
“People overestimate what they can do in one year.
They underestimate what they can do in five.”
5 years ago, Carol was a guest at a conference for the North San Diego County Association of Realtors. This year, she was elected President. Carol talked a lot about leveraging social media when other realtors weren’t using social media at all, and about thinking differently and imaginatively. I talked to her about schooling and she talked about how she was interested mainly in art and how that interest is something that she continues to feed with her work with 1850 Realty and with NSDCAR. She is very hands on with the marketing that 1850 Realty does. I watched her adjust boxes on a marketing postcard that was being made in a very particular way. She also showed me some information videos she has made with/for NSDCAR that have unique, quirky, and funny spins on them which she emphasized was important to do when you are trying to relay information. I feel that I can see Carol’s personality shine in everything that she does, which is what I hope my students are able to do in every project, in every class, in every career that they enter in the future.
—Are you interested in a career in Real Estate? Are you a Realtor looking for a new office that feels like a home away from home? Connect with us! We are hiring.
Email: info@1850realty.com or call/text (760)814-1850 for a confidential coffee chat.
