A significant portion of my job is spent in the car. Being a resident of Los Angeles is a little different than other cities I have lived in. While we are making great strides in notching up our public transportation (ie the new EXPO Line, and our ever-improving bussing systems), the sad truth is that our city is not set up to conveniently support public transit yet. In addition, to be a good Realtor, I must be available to my clients. A typical day requires me to jump unexpectedly into the car for any number of reasons including seeing a house with a client that has just come on the market, previewing houses to see if they are the right fit for clients, attending inspections and appraisals, dropping off paperwork to Escrow companies, meeting new clients at their homes, and any number of other random activities.It was time for me to get a new car, and I spent a lot of time thinking through this decision.
My decision was a SMART car for my work vehicle. While the general consensus amongst Realtors used to be that a 4-5 person car is necessary for agents, a new wave is coming. With all the driving we do as Realtors, I believe it is important to lesson our impact on the environment by being as respectful of our roads as we can be.
Not only do Smart cars use less gas than many cars, take up less room on our crowded streets (especially in areas like Santa Monica and West Hollywood where parking is at a premium), and their light weight is also less damaging in the long run to our roads. With road work being such a problem in LA, especially with the freeway expansions forcing more and more drivers onto surface streets, I feel it is my responsibility to be as friendly to our streets as possible.
Of course the first question I get (aside from the safety aspect) In general, I have found the majority of my clients prefer to drive themselves when we are looking at property. I understand they want to get a feel for driving in their soon-to-be neighborhoods, and that they like the privacy it affords them to have frank discussions about what they've seen and a chance to process their thoughts before we speak next. This works for them, and it may or may not work for you.
Yes, I can take you out to look at houses if you want to carpool! No, I cannot take more than one of you at a time in this car looking at property. Never fear though, I do have another (family) car if our party expands past two people!
So make sure to wave the next time you see me! I hopefully left a great big parking spot for you, while squeezing into something you may not have fit into.
