Meet Erin Slater of Slater Real Estate

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Slater.

Hi Erin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I actually didn’t see myself as a Real Estate Agent for years or seek this world out, it kind of just fit like a glove at the right time and place in my life. My husband was serving in the US Army and we had just come back from a tour overseas. My oldest son Kale was born in November of 2002 and I loved being a stay at home mom!

After a few months, I realized that I wanted to be able to not only stay at home with my son but to have a career as well! I know everyone says you have to choose and that it cannot be done; believe me it isn’t always easy and I definitely had to make sacrifices to do it; but I was determined to make it work! I began searching for something with flexible hours, maybe even something I could do and stay home. Eventually after looking for a few weeks, I stumbled on an advertisement for an open house in our area. I started doing research on being a Real Estate Agent. I read stories of how much it cost to get your license, start-up fees and how it could be months until you get your first paycheck. It sounded like a challenge and I love a challenge! I put the gears in overdrive and before my husband Mark came home from work that day, I had already found the school I was going to attend and spoke to four different companies in our local area. I had an interview that week with Jim Campbell at Reilly and Sons; who would eventually be my first broker; my husband was very supportive, however thought I was crazy (he isn’t wrong :-)).

The next week I took a personality test for Reilly and Sons and they offered me a job. I was signed up for school and thought nothing could stop me!………… Until I took the practice test at school and completely bombed it! I was devastated! I had been waking up at 5 am every morning, taking Kale to my Aunt so she could watch him while I was at school(school was over an hour away from my house), coming home and doing things around the house, and then studying before bed. Mark was helping split the nightly feedings with Kale and making dinner to help lighten my load, but I was questioning if I had made the right choice. I kept it together long enough to pick up Kale from my aunt. As soon as I put him in the car and left her driveway the tears started like a faucet. I beat myself up the whole way home. I went home crying to my husband feeling completely defeated. I informed him very dramatically with tears flying out of my eyes and a very unattractive snorting/hiccup issue that was it. I was not going to even try to take the official test and I was going to have to look for something else. This was not for me. Mark knew how hard I had worked and how badly I wanted this so he very quietly took Kale and his car seat out of my arms, as he removed Kale from his car seat it was his turn to inform me of something. He looked at me as calm as he could and said, “You had one bad day, you are absolutely doing this.”. He sent me and my emotional mess to bed for the night. Clearly, he knew what I needed more than I did. The next day I felt recharged and ready to take on anything the real estate world had to throw at me!

Obviously, I ended up passing my test and 18 years later, I am still loving my job helping people find their dream homes! We even round out our family with the addition of our youngest son Kavan and I was able to make my schedule work with Mark’s so we could spend a lot of time with our boys. I am sure you could do this with other jobs as well, but real estate was the right choice for me as a career I absolutely loved and one that let me spend lots of ever-fleeting time with my boys. I am forever grateful for it and my husband who did not let me quit.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
People think real estate is easy or “fast money”, it is not. It is long hours setting up open houses that people never came to, walking a neighborhood in hot dress clothes introducing yourself to people and trying to look professional while sweating your eyeliner down your cheeks or simply trying to navigate a cutthroat business and still maintain your morals and standards when you know others won’t always do the same.

We’ve been impressed with Slater Real Estate, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Erin Slater Real Estate stands on the principal of always doing what is best for our clients. When I started, I realized quickly that I didn’t want to be just another “sales person”. I wanted to build relationships with people after they bought or sold a home through me. I wanted them to be thrilled that they chose ESRE. I also wanted them to be safe in the knowledge that we will be here when they are in need of our services again in the future. Every client is different and everyone has a different reason for making this big change in their lives. It is our job to be good listeners, find out exactly what each person wants and make it happen for them. (broker: Worth Clark Realty)

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Covid-19 has really brought out the human aspect of my job. It is important to us that our clients feel safe and comfortable so we try and have those conversations prior to any in person meetings. We do really miss the old-fashioned handshake and hug greetings. We hope to be able to go back to those in the future.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slaterrealestate/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinslaterrealestate

Image Credits:
Photo Credit: Renee Karr, Gerardo Aguilar