Real data. Real results. - A Day in the Life of a REALTOR®

Thursday, September 22nd, 2022 - By Amber Nestor - TN Broker - Land, Luxury, & Water Feature Specialist Agent

It's 10:57 AM Eastern Time, and I have been at it working hard, and intelligently, for several buyers and sellers, since about 6 AM this morning.

I get up every day around 5:30 AM. I typically spend 6 AM - 5 PM handling phone calls, texts, emails, and mail communications with a large variety of customers, clients, agents, title companies, advertising people, attorneys, soil scientists, records offices, utilities companies, internet and cable companies, builders, excavators, engineers, TVA, TWRA, counties, cities, Zoning, Deeds, and more.

I also interrupt these communications with studies of maps, diagrams, topography, water features, property lines, plats, surveys, road frontages, proximity studies, and more.

Mix in a bit of setting up showings, giving people directions, assisting other cooperating agents, negotiations, and also, much more.

Between 5PM-Dark (about an hour after sunset), and on Friday-Sunday, is when I conduct the bulk of my in person visiting of properties for the purpose of the following tasks: previewing property for a buyer before they visit, verifying characteristics of a piece of land, or a home, like topography, size of bedrooms, quality of creek and water way, professional on foot and drone photography, or deep hiking a property, and even boating out to verify harder to reach shorelines, or to see what it is like to boat in a general waterway area that a client (buyer or seller) has a vested interest in. (None of this would be possible without my incredibly valuable business partner. As a woman in this field, even carrying a weapon, it is not practical, nor sensible, for me to venture off alone doing these tasks. And I really have not mastered the art of boating alone yet, but I am working on it. LOL.)

Being a high volume agent, that covers a broad regions (Middle and Eastern Tennessee), requires travel, organization, diligence, intelligence, data analysis, strategy, and a true passion for doing this job, a love for the land, a love for my state of TN, and a love for serving people, and their interests and goals for both selling their assets, and for acquiring news ones.

These are some of the largest and most valuable and impactful, life-changing purchases of our lives: real estate. Ending my day knowing that I was able to help a buyer or a seller achieve a goal that pleases them, can impact them on many levels, and for me, it is a wonderful feeling, being confident that I have served them well.

I also practice a "no rush and no pressure" mentality. Don't get me wrong, there are situations where time is of the essence, but I always try to convey what options my clients realistically ought to consider, so that they can make a choice that will make them feel happy at the end of the day, having weighed all of the risks and rewards to be considered.

Being a real estate agent, and Broker in TN, is more than just a full time job. It's a 7 day per week job, and I truly love it. I love being out-doors. I love seeing the plant life and wildlife. I love visiting these structures and towns. I really love what I do.

Lastly, but certainly not least, is continuing education. As a Broker in TN, I am held to a higher standard and requirement for continuing education that Affiliate Brokers are held to. This means that in the next 3 years I am required to complete around 120-150 course hours of education that is recognized by the state in my field just to maintain Broker status. My goal is to exceed that requirement, and I will. I am a lifelong continuing education type of person, and have done year round continuing education in 2 or more fields my entire life.

Currently I have prepaid for 8 courses in my field of Real Estate which I will be taking online between October-December, took a day course this week, and have another day course next week. I am also enrolled in 2 courses in another field of interest, and those are likely going to be completed in October of this year. Next year, on top of doing course work for more Real Estate topics, I am considering taking course work in another field related to Real Estate practice indirectly.

My goal in sharing a bit about me today is to help buyers and sellers who are considering hiring me to work for them understand that Real Estate is my passion, and serving them well is my top priority.

Here is a little back ground about me and my history and how I became so passionate about real estate:

I am currently 38 years old, as of August of 2022.

A lot of things happened in my childhood, teen years, and young adult years that inspired me and fascinated me, causing me to fall in love with the land, the waterways, and the wildlife of East TN. I was also always very fascinated by architecture, and creative construction methods, and the ways in which these different types of structures created moods, experiences, and opportunities for people in all kinds of ways.

Before I was a high volume Land, Luxury, and Water-Feature agent, I was experiencing real estate from an intense perspective of curiosity.

We all have experiences that bring us to where we are. Below are a few nice memories from my life which certainly contributed to the passion I have for my field of work today.

My Roots in the Deep South & Comparative Topography Experiences

Between the ages of birth and 8, my parents moved us from Louisiana to Tennessee. I went from about the flattest type of topography to this beautiful East TN topography, that you fall in love with.

By the way, if you are seeking around 100 acres in the Sevier County area, shaped like a giant football stadium, ( wrap around ridge-line and big flat valley in the middle with a creek, historic farm site, give me a call. I have a property you would LOVE, that is a pocket listing! It's just a short drive into town too! Best of both worlds, and waiting to be turned into a luxury getaway, homestead, or AIRBNB or Cabin Paradise.

The Land & How Plentiful - Wildlife Changes

I remember when Maryville, TN was lots of farm land still, and when the wildlife was so plentiful, even the bugs were more plentiful. I recall screen windows covered with varieties of bugs and beetles that seemed to be enough to fill a museum, and moths and butterflies that made you feel a serious kind of awe at our Creator's ability to fill this earth with so much gorgeous variety and curiosity.

I spent a lot of time in my attic bedroom peering out and pondering the many things our land produces (including bugs), and was just beyond amazed.

Experience Big Game for the First Time In East TN

I remember visiting the mountains trails, rivers, and creeks with my father, and the first time I saw a deer. He put out his hand, and it walked towards him, and I was fascinated by this beautiful interaction with wildlife.

Bears & Flying Squirrels, Cabins in Appalachia

I remember visiting a home in the mountains, after my beloved Grandfather and Grandmother, The Nestor's, build a cabin in the mountains, and seeing bears for the first time, and flying squirrels. I also remember my father's folly stumbling to near a bee's next in a deep wooded hike.

Working with Property Manages at over 20+ Rentals in My Early Years

I look back and think about all the places I have lived in east TN. I rented in over 20+ locations, and that was an incredible education in property ownership, and the real struggles that property owners face. My father purchased and deeply renovated a home build in the 1940s when I was a young girl, before he passed away young, and that was also an incredible learning experience in the plight of the renovator, and the incredible hard work, time, and investment that must be undertaken.

Changing Economies and Cycles & Changing Internet Resources

I remember life before and after Realtor.com existed.

And, before and after the 2007-2008 Market Shift.

Studying these cyclical economic shifts is KEY in the way I analyze data for my clients.

Early Inspiration in Creative Construction Options

As a competitive Gymnast, I marveled at the massive ceiling height and massive square footage of our practice gym, and thought to myself, I'm going to have a steel building like this one day and turn THAT into a house! Then I can flip, dance, and tumble at home! That's the ticket!

Deep Study of Construction, Management, Long Term & Short Term Rentals

I have studied thousands of properties and micro and macro market data.

I worked for a hotel and studied their business model.

I have worked for AIRBNB buyers, and studies those business models.

I have built my own tiny home (very tiny) with help and contractors, but I helped, and I designed. Installing extra thick insulation and extra thick sheetrock made a WORLD of difference! Putting into place with my own hands was a seriously humbling experience.

I've helped many people purchase property that they plan to develop rental property on, vacation homes on, and also property that already has structures on it.

Right now I am working on designs for my dream project.

A Love for Adventure - Hunting & Fishing

My business partner and I are avid hunters and fisherman (he has FAR more expertise and experience than I do, and is a vast and valuable resource of knowledge). And our lives have carried us through journeys of public and private lands in a large variety of TN towns and counties over the years.

A Long History of Studying the Land & Real Estate - Not Your Typical Kid

When I was a young lady of driving age (teens, twenties), while most of my friends and acquaintances were going to restaurants, clubs, and parties, I will admit, I was very much focused on driving, traveling, and exploring the lands and waterways and wildlife, and usually by myself or with my daughter, because I had a vision of what I wanted to accomplish, what I wanted to learn, and what I wanted to be an expert at.

Even as a small child, in my room, I spent most of my time drawing designs for houses and hotel complexes.

Watching & Respecting My Father's Construction Pursuits

I remember as well my father working on finishing touches to the house he built for our family in Louisiana before we moved to Tennessee, while he was still working for the Big Oil Companies down South, on an Oil Rig.

Real Estate = Life, Memories, Income, Farms, Food, & Opportunity

These lands, these structures, they are the things that breath life into us, and where we build memories, and open doors to opportunities and happiness and adventure.

So, that is a bit about me. I really love what I do. And I've loved it all my life. It took a lot of years to get to where I am, and I could not be more thankful to God, and to the people in my life (customers and friends and certain family members who helped - Pops, Yaya, and Bonnie most especially). Thank you.

I pray that God blesses you with health, wealth, and happiness this beautiful day.

Amber Nestor - Broker