“As a real estate negotiator, I managed to close my first rental case less than a month after I joined IQI, and soon, I even managed to close 2 cases within 24 hours!”
– Cindy Teh, Real Estate Negotiator from IQI.
When people ask me about my job, I happily share with them how #IchooseIQI. This became an important turning point in my life for the better. Let’s backtrack to time I first joined; although I didn’t realise it at the time, my real estate trigger was pulled the moment my mother became sick.
Back then, as we were approaching the end of 2017, we began to notice that my mother’s arms were infected and as a result-she was hospitalised for three days. Even after being discharged from the hospital, I had to fetch her every day from the outpatient department to change her bandages, wash her wounds and tend to her every need. As my time was already occupied with taking care of my mother, a full-time job wasn’t within reach for me. In addition to her present injuries, her dementia was getting worse. Besides her injuries, my mother needed to go through routine consultations regarding her high blood pressure, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.
Through a recommendation suggested to me by a friend, I started exploring the real estate industry. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the flexible working hours that come with this field of work perfectly complemented my situation.While she was recuperating from her injuries, I took charge of the household chores. She was adamant about not wanting to use hearing aids despite her failing hearing, so she couldn’t watch television or listen to the radio at a past time. Her worsening dementia and rapid loss of hearing made her less viable to do household chores, and it was truly a heartbreaking time for us.
As a REN, I easily navigated through my mother’s checkups and treatments while still having the time to liaise with my clients.
Working from home was normal to me when the pandemic started. I had already grown accustomed to being in front of my laptop, checking on clients and posting write-ups on the coffee table that resided in the living hall while my ill mother sat beside me. As a real estate negotiator, I only had to leave home to conduct viewings, have meetings with landlords, clients and project site visits.
However, there were difficult times as well. But I acted as the sole support for my mother. Whenever I closed a deal and made some profit, even if the commission weren’t much, I would buy a new toy or plant for my mother to keep her happy and occupied.
Read also: Time For Real Estate Negotiators To Adapt And Change!
Before joining the real estate industry, I was working in the education industry for 12 years, my full-time job dominated my time, which required me to leave my house at 7:30 am and only be back at 6 pm. Some days, I even had to stay back after dinner and even work on weekends.
I will never regret my decision to join the real estate industry because it has allowed me to spend time with my mother during the last years of her life.
My mother’s words of advice nudging me to manage my finances well and ensuring a proper retirement plan still rings loudly to this day.
I planned to venture into a more challenging platform by joining IQI in January of 2020. But the full lockdown that started in March of 2020 due to the Covid-19 outbreak forced me to pivot and adapt to the new social norms where zoom meetings, Facebook live videos and virtual presentations stood as the pillars of virtual communication.
As a result, the professional conduct and principles that I uphold have brought me to the seniority level in real estate. I look forward to challenging myself and knocking down barriers now that I’m here in IQI.
This article was written by Cindy Teh.
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