Q & A: Cracks in the Foundation
What inspired you to write Cracks in the Foundation?
So many of the situations we get into as realtors are unbelievably absurd, so I guess I was at first inspired by that. I thought I’d write a funny book about the things that happen in my everyday life as a realtor, but in the end I didn’t want to write a list of vignettes with no narrative thread. Hell, I still may write that (and maybe someone has?) but this time I wanted to write a novel, so I needed to come up with a character like Ginger who could act out the insanity in an over the top way.
Why is real estate such a loaded subject for so many people?
A lot of people think real estate is just about the houses, or the condos, or igloos, or whatever. The physical objects pale next to the psychology of those involved: buyer(s), seller(s), realtors, home inspectors, attorneys, mortgage brokers, and so on. Like any group of people trying to work together, things can easily turn into a burning urn of churning funk. Most people’s greatest asset is their home, so of course that fact alone is enough to unleash untold levels of stress. Real estate touches everyone in the most primitive way: we all need shelter, and we all need to find a way to get it and keep it somehow. Real estate touches everything: memory, emotion, financial health and stability, quality of life, family, status.
Have any of the wild things that happened to Ginger ever happen to you?
Oh yes, most of them. Once I lost two little dogs in a yard, but even though it was fenced in, they were feisty little rascals and it took me close to half an hour to capture them both and get them back inside! I’ve listed and sold homes I could swear were haunted. And houses with intractable smells, well those are everywhere. I just pushed it all completely over the top for the book.
Have you ever met a “Ginger”?
I’ve met more Gingers than I can count. Everyone has a little Ginger in them. She does have some good qualities, right? She’s the unsinkable Molly Brown Kanadoo! Everyone should have a good look inside and find and love their Inner Ginger. Embrace her. Send her Godiva chocolates and take her out for a fancy lunch. Because, hey, realtors need love too!
Why do people become realtors?
For many people, being a realtor is the thing you do because you screwed up at everything else, but the kicker is, being a realtor is no easy gig! In fact, the strangest irony of all is that being a realtor really does require a range of skills and knowledge and experience in order to maximize a buyer or seller’s expectations. So maybe people go in expecting an easy dollar and soon realize that you are on duty 24-7, that you are a psychiatrist, absorber of stress, chauffeur, negotiator, stager, and strategist. You must constantly stay on top of all the inventory in the market you serve, keep up with technology, mortgage trends, what has sold and why, new ways to strategize a sale, legal issues, the list goes on and on.
Why did you become a realtor?
I became a realtor because after my third layoff from the publishing industry, I wanted to find something that I could not be laid off from, if such a thing existed. I asked a few realtors I knew how hard it was to get hired in real estate, and if they’d ever been laid off from their real estate companies.
The response was, “Are you kidding? If you can fog up a mirror, you’re hired in this industry. And it’s really hard to get fired. You’d have to kill someone to be fired from my company. And even if you did kill someone my boss would say: ‘That guy you killed? Don’t sweat it. We all have our days. By the way, any action on that new listing of yours?’’
Well, that’s all I needed to hear. I was also broke when I was casting about for what to do next and checked out some MBA programs. Average price: $65,000. Cost for the class to become a realtor: $200. I did the math and signed up the next day.
Can you ever go to a party and not be asked, before you are asked how you are, “how’s the market?”
No. Next question.
What would you do if you weren’t selling real estate?
Sell used cars. Love that used car smell.
Will there be a sequel to “Cracks”?
You better believe it! Ginger lives! To cash another commission check and blog another day on “The Kana-doodler”.
What are some traits of a good realtor?
I think real estate attracts a certain kind of person: rebellious, cunning, illiterate, alcoholic, opportunistic, lazy -- you know, the usual portrait that America holds dear. That said, I’m going to contradict myself and say that selling real estate has drawn on almost every skill, resource, and belief system I have: strategy, psychiatry, pure stamina, honesty, creativity, patience, compassion, thinking on my feet, flexibility, listening skills, not to mention math. So I do feel that the good realtors out there (ok, myself included) are unfairly ridiculed for accomplishing what we do: acting as reliable and skilled consultants for these transactions. Like almost any profession one can name, you simply cannot know what it’s like, what it will require from you, what myriad skills will be demanded of you, until you do it, yet the public perceives of us as all Gingers, since there are so many Gingers (and worse) out there.
Who do you think would be interested in reading this book?
Realtors have been loving it, but I think anyone who’s every bought or sold a home would enjoy it, as well as wiccans.
What is Ginger’s message?
Never give up. Keep on rockin’. Ya get lemons, make lemonade!
