Editorial
Front Page - Friday, December 31, 2010
Realtor giving her career all she’s got and then some
David Laprad
Realtor Marsha Cowan obtained her license in 2002 on the advice of her husband, who said she’d be good at selling real estate. She currently works out of the Remax office on Shallowford Road, taking full advantage of the tools the company provides for reaching out to and serving clients.
- David Laprad
If Realtor Marsha Cowan ever needs to pick a theme song for her life, “She Works Hard for the Money” by Donna Summers would be a good place to start. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, she mans the front desk at the office of Dr. Nicolaas Van Zyl, DDS, for 12 hours. While that would be enough to put most people off their feet for the rest of the day, Cowan spends her lunch breaks and evenings keeping in touch with her real estate clients. Thursdays through Sundays, she wears her “little blue R” full time, meeting with buyers and sellers and hitting the streets between appointments to drum up business. If God created an eighth day in the week so Cowan could rest, she’d fill it with work anyway.
Cowan says she loves real estate, even though the work is different from what she was expecting when she obtained her license in 2002.
“I thought I’d dress up pretty, go to the water cooler, wait for someone to call me and then write up a contract. Wrong!”
Instead of lounging by the water cooler, Cowan and her work partner, Realtor Sherry Criminger, work together to contact clients; get in touch with the owners of FSBO properties, withdrawals and expired listings; introduce themselves to the residents in the areas where they have listings; and hand out promotional materials in selected neighborhoods. In a market that requires a huge investment in time before yielding a return, Cowan is rising to the occasion.
“I’ve had to make some sacrifices, one of which is exercise. I used to run 40 miles a week and lift weights. Now, if I get in 20 miles, I’m doing good, and if I lift weights two nights a week, I’m happy. I actually hurt my hand trying to go up on the weights so I could do fewer reps and finish quicker. Don’t ever do that,” she says, laughing.
Cowan’s secret for getting through each day is to maintain a steady pace and tend to one thing at a time.
“I don’t have children or pets to care for, so I just take baby steps and get through it,” she says.
While her schedule can be demanding, Cowan says the most challenging thing about selling real estate is the current lending situation.
“It’s difficult to push a contract all the way to closing. A lot of that is due to our financial institutions tightening their purse strings. Even people with good jobs are having a hard time getting a loan. A bank will prequalify one of my clients, and we’ll go out, find a home, write up a contract and send it to the lender, and then the underwriter will return it. After I add what they want, they’ll send it back again, wanting something else,” she says.
Cowan says the grueling process of closing a contract is worth the effort when all of the parties come together at the closing table to sign the necessary papers.
“It makes me feel good to get to that point, especially when I’ve listened to my client and done what [he or she] wanted me to do,” she says.
Listening falls just below the lending issue on the list of things that challenge Cowan while she’s wearing her “little blue R.”
“I’m a talker, so I had to teach myself to shut up and listen to what my clients need. That’s the only way I’ll be able to determine whether or not they can actually afford what they want. Owning a home should be a good experience, not a burden,” she says.
Cowan obtained her license on the advise of her husband, Michael, who was impressed with her ability to sell dentistry and said she’d make a great Realtor. She liked the idea, as she and her husband were looking for something to do together when they retired, and her day job working for an orthodontist wasn’t keeping her busy enough. Cowan and Michael earned their licenses together, but he’s since retired his.
“He wasn’t as enamored with real estate as I was,” she says, smiling.
Cowan spent her first year in the business working for Crye-Leike. The bulk of her early experience was in condominium sales for older people who were downsizing in an effort to simplify their lives. The events of 2007 forced her out of her niche and into the “big world of real estate,” where she says she’s always learning something new.
“Every day is Real Estate 101,” she says.
Cowan currently works out of Remax on Shallowford Road, where she takes full advantage of the tools the company provides for reaching out to and serving clients. She uses the word “interesting” several times in reference to Remax and, in particular, its Internet services.
“Remax is a well-oiled machine. I’m glad to be a part of it,” she says.
Born in Texas and raised on the west coast, Cowan comes across as professional but down-to-earth. She’ll talk about the ins and outs of the housing market, and then crack a joke about how she’d rather work for dentist than an orthodontist because she likes her patients numb.
She also makes fun of her “advanced age,” but her firm handshake, energetic presence and new hair style make that unnecessary.
Cowan might not have been raised in the South, but her charming Southern drawl, constant smile and friendly manner make her seem like a native girl. So does her deep love for Chattanooga, which she’s called home since 2002.
“Chattanooga a wonderful place to live. People genuinely are for each other. That makes this an easy town to sell,” she says.
As much as Cowan works, one would think she barely has enough time to stop and smell the roses, but she does. She spends her down time with her husband and his grandchildren, making every moment count before it’s time to go back to work. Even then, Cowan says she enjoys her life.
“I’m lucky because I like my work,” she says.
Her clients are fortunate, too, because Cowan definitely works hard for her money.
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