One day my friend Mike said: “Jo, have you ever thought ofbeing a real estate agent?” Now, this question wasn’t as left field as itsounds. I had just spent three hours telling him how he could make a propertyhe was selling more attractive to buyers. I said: “Mike, I just don’t seemyself as that person.” What I was really thinking was: “Mike … are youfreaking kidding me. Real estate is sleazy. Real estate agents are sales sharkswho drive around in fancy cars, bigging themselves up and it’s all about money,money, money. Of course I don’t want to be a real estate agent.”

No one likes real estate agents, right?

Except that’s not true. Because Mike is a real estate agent. And he’s a good guy. I likeMike.  I thought about it more. Irealised that I’d bought and sold and built houses. Not one of the real estateagents I’d dealt with had been like that either. In fact, some of them werekind people who I now saw as friends. “Maybe,” I thought, “most real estate agents are decent, but the badeggs give everyone a bad rep.” Fast forward a few months and I can’t get Mike’ssuggestion out of my head. I’m wondering where my career is heading. And I’mlooking for something that will use my skills. So, I do some research, and itturns out Mike was right. Real estate is a really good fit for me. In fact, Ihave an unusual skill set that works for both home buyers and home sellers.

Just see me as your home buying attack schnauzer (butmore dogged)

If you’re buying, it’s my job to get you the best house foryour budget. I make buying your new home a smooth, safe process. I’m yoursingle point of contact for the whole journey and I fight in your corner whenit comes to finding out the truth under the fresh paint (you can’t be toocareful in post-quake Christchurch). The thing you need to know about me isthat I am determined. I do not stop until the job is done. I will go all out tofind you your dream house. Nothing beats that feeling when I see your eyeslight up because you’ve just found your new home. That’s why I do what I do.

Selling houses is actually my superpower (not evenkidding)

If you’re selling, you really need to talk to me. Tounderstand why, we’re going to take a swift detour into my past. Before Ibecame a real estate agent, I ran a successful photography business for 15years. Then I became an interior designer. It’s kinda awkward blowing my owntrumpet, but my work was featured on Grand Designs, so I’m pretty good.  Why does this matter to you if you’re sellingyour house? Because my job is to get you a price that exceeds yourexpectations. It all comes down to how your property is marketed. And I knowhow to market the snot out of your house: