I never gave real estate much thought. I always knew I wanted to own a house with lots of land one day, but that was the extent of my interest. Well, until I met Mel. 

Our conversation took place on a quiet Sunday morning. When we were getting ready to record, we found out we were both wondering why we willingly decided to get out of bed so early when the remnants of sleep were still in our eyes. I am so glad we both decided to press on; to be women of our words. Our connection and conversation was amazing. 

 I thought this interview was going to be about a woman who decided to sell real estate. I did my usual research so I could keep up my end of the dialogue. I am not sure about you, but I had no idea that there was a difference between a real estate agent and a Realtor. 

A real estate agent is a professional whose job is to guide people through the process of buying or selling property. An agent has no access to MLS - the Multiple Listing Service - a system that provides detailed data about properties for sale. An agent would simply be able to be a liaison between you and the seller. There would still need to be others involved in the process. 

A realtor - an agent that is also registered with the National Association of Realtors - has access to MLS and networks of people to help find the best property for their client. Ideally, a realtor would be your partner in the process. They would assist with negotiations and since the realtor would be aware of the prices of the houses in the neighborhood - thanks MLS - they are guaranteed to get you a fair price. 

If you happen to do your research and get yourself a broker, you have the best of all worlds. Mel is a broker and she has the ability to walk you through the process from start to finish. She is very hands-on and has a heart for her clients. Mel has been in the business and real estate for about 20 years. One day her supervisor crossed her boundary and that was all she wrote. Ready or not, Mel decided it was time to strike out on her own. With enormous amounts of tears and tenacity, Mel pulled out her real estate magnets and got down to business. 

I am impressed with every bit of Mel’s story. As you will clearly hear in the episode, she is my new girl crush. She was afraid but did the hard thing anyway. 

Someone had the audacity to cross her boundaries and thought there would be no repercussions. 

It was more important to Mel to be in a space that supported her mental wellness than to put herself in a position that made her a servant to a job. Fear of the unknown was better than tolerating another minute of disrespect.