Nothing can stop a career in its tracks like a medical setback. This is especially true when the person whose health has become an issue works all day, every day, and when that person must be available at all times to answer the phone, respond to questions and resolve dilemmas. Realtors slip easily into this category.
In short, nothing can bring a real estate career to a screeching halt like a medical issue. Paula Palmer learned this firsthand. When she found out in 2009 that her kidneys were failing and that she needed to be hospitalized, she said, “I don’t have the time. I have a closing on Thursday.” The response cut through her like a knife: “You’re going to have to get someone else to do that for you.” “For me to not go to a closing was a big deal,” she says. Palmer had reached a critical point in her life. She’d become a Realtor several years earlier, when the market was good, and she’d done well. But the recession had put a strain on her profession, and to keep from going under, Palmer had increased her efforts. However, she spent so much time tending to her career, she had to let her health go. Palmer was not eating well, nor was she exercising. These things, compounded with the stress of her job, raised her blood pressure to an alarming level. Instead of making changes, Palmer ignored the writing on the wall.
Then her kidneys said, “Enough.” Palmer’s family has a history of kidney disease, but she thought she’d dodged that bullet. Her doctor told her otherwise, and said if she didn’t change her lifestyle, she’d be on dialysis in six months. “I said, ‘I can do that,’” she says.
As Palmer turned her situation around, she drew the strength she needed from the part of her that’s driven to succeed. Palmer performed a perfect 180. She’s eating healthy, she works out several times a week, and her blood pressure is no longer an issue. Although Palmer is on a list for a kidney transplant, she’s not on dialysis. All things considered, she says she feels better now than she ever has, and she might not be kidding. She’s energetic, sharp and looks phenomenal. The changes that occurred in Palmer’s life allowed her to return to work with a renewed perspective. Most notably, she doesn’t allow the things that used to “stress her out” to bother her anymore.
“I’m more laidback, and I no longer sweat the small stuff. The things I used to think were overwhelming and that I had to fix right away are no longer emergencies. Things are only a big deal when you make them that way,” she says. By “laidback,” Palmer does not mean “less committed.” She still does everything she can to serve her clients. For example, as someone who strives to provide quality service, she sets aside one day each week to do statistical research. Her knack with taking the information she digs up and putting it to good use is uncanny. “I go into the MLS, and into the tax records, and pull up a lot of stats. I look for areas of growth, what’s selling, and what’s driving the market. Then I can tell a client if a house is priced appropriately, if it needs upgrades, and even why people are moving out of an established neighborhood,” she says.
Palmer insists on knowing the market, and knowing it well. She also endeavors to be an effective communicator, which boils down to keeping sellers informed and listening to buyers. “Sellers need to know what the market is doing at all times. And buyers need to know you understand what they want,” she says. Palmer is also a fierce advocate for her clients. When a mortgage company called her before a closing and demanded her client pay more money down, she stood her ground and got the company to back off. Palmer never forgot what happened, either. “There are some tried and true mortgage companies, and those are the ones I do business with,” she says.
Palmer was born in Chattanooga, and got into the customer service industry early in her career. She moved to Florida to open a store for the company for which she was working, and then got married and moved to Texas. Life eventually drew Palmer back to Chattanooga, but instead of finding work locally, she worked in corporate sales in Atlanta. Her second husband could see the daily drive was causing her undue stress, and he saw an entrepreneurial spirit in her, so he suggested she go into real estate. Palmer initially rejected his idea, but he persisted. She finally agreed on a Sunday, and has never looked back. Palmer currently works through Real Estate Partners, which she joined in 2009.
In addition to recruiting her own clients, she’s on multiple sales teams at the company, each of which works to sell the homes or condominiums in a particular development. When Palmer sells a unit, she receives half of the commission.
Palmer has also embraced the opportunity her recharged batteries have afforded her to reach out to help others in the Chattanooga community. She’s cooked meals for battered women, picked up trash downtown and helped to raise funds for Northside Neighborhood House. Palmer also traveled to Washington, D.C., to speak with Sen. Bob Corker and Sen. Lamar Alexander about funding for a local kidney foundation. Palmer has impressed Brown, who can’t say enough good things about her.
“Paula is positive and enthusiastic, and this manifests itself in both her professional and personal life. She’s a leader within our company, and participates in every philanthropic, social and real estate event we undertake. And she’s methodical, well-researched and astute in her real estate business.” With that kind of an endorsement, Palmer has a lot to live up to. That won’t be a problem, she says, as long as she takes care of herself. Palmer advises other Realtors to do the same. “We can get so caught up in the drive to make money that we don’t take care of ourselves. And if we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t take care of our clients. The market is going to be what it’s going to be. Just relax and learn to work within it,” she says.