Impressions

"End Session" That's what it says at the end of my online banking activity. This morning's session ended after the successful transfer of $29 to assure that yesterday's $75 check will clear. But I still have an available savings balance of 83 cents if another situation should occur.

Okay, sure, we do have another account for most household expenses and personal needs. That account will still have upwards of $100 remaining at the end of the month if we are careful for the next week. Might blow part of that fortune on my birthday "celebration" on the 27th.

From 2:25 until around 4:30 this morning, I struggled with many matters, including the above, and forced myself to stay above DEpression. The result of all that thinking brought me to this topic of IMpressions when I re-awakened at 6:15.

People here in my little senior village see me as successful in real estate and readily stop me on the street or at the golf pro shop, etc., just to comment or ask advice about properties and such. It's very nice to have that respect. And in general, my wife and I have always carried ourselves with an air of success. Friends and acquaintances simply assume that we do quite well, befitting our residence here on the golf course among many fairly wealthy neighbors. Hardly any of them could guess that our nice-looking clothing once belonged to someone else. I often wonder if some golfing buddy here who is my size has figured out that the sweater he dropped off at the thrift store last week is the one I am now proudly wearing. He may not as easily identify the shoes - my most recent find is a pair of top-of-the-line golf shoes that cost me $3! I have to assume that these came from a widow who didn't want to see her deceased husband's new shoes gathering dust in the closet.

My constant activity around our village, listing and selling properties, has really given folks the most ludicrous (and a bit frustrating) impression: Big money!

Here's a tiny look inside the reality of my realty success. Home sales are not brisk but we had a dozen escrows here that involved me last year. These manufactured homes are selling now for above $100,000 but only last spring, we were finding it hard to sell for more than $85,000. My sales over-all just barely averaged the 100k level for the year. People think of a 6% commission as part of most sales, so they tend to think I earn $6,000 every time I'm part of a home sale. Don't I wish! Truth is, that $6,000 is typically split between my agency (if I listed or sold the property) and some other agency (whose agent listed or sold). The $3,000 on my side is then split between my broker (40%) and me (60%) - so I would earn $1800 on a 100k sale.

That amount isn't bad for having struggled through many small responsibilities and paperwork over an average of three months to complete the sale, all the while handling problems and concerns with an "at your service" attitude and smile.

But the real truth for me is that when I began suffering with cancer and had to rely on pain meds, then worked through three surgeries and down time, I was aware that I couldn't trust myself to be on top of every situation. So I began co-listing all my new business with another associate, splitting the work - and the commissions. Now take that $1800 and see where it ends up. $80 goes out first for Errors & Omissions insurance. Then the remaining $1720 is split evenly with that associate who helps me avoid most of the errors and omissions I would probably commit on my own.

So the folks who see me as getting rich from local home sales would be shocked to learn that my net income from real estate last year was less than their social security income. And I dare not tell them. I'm better served by their incorrect impressions because "nothing succeeds like success!"