From working as an educator to helping people find their dream homes, Majsan Champagne has a gift for connecting with people––and it’s what’s helping her through this changing real estate market. Having gone through the 2008 housing crisis herself, she knows exactly what it takes to keep her clients happy and motivated. We sat down with the seasoned realtor to find out what her best piece of advice is for agents who are new to this unique market shift.
Real: You started in teaching. How did all of that translate into real estate? What was the path to where you are now?
Majsan: Certainly not a straight and narrow, a very ziggy-zaggy path. My mother was a special education teacher for many, many years. I was a young single mom and struggling to support my child and myself, and I needed to find something to do. And in interviewing daycares, I was turned on to a private school that housed children with special needs and said they're always looking for help. So I started applying and interviewing in places like that, and I immediately got the job.
I started working with children with special needs in a private setting, and I found that it was extremely rewarding, but also very long hours. I was working a ton of overtime and I was missing out on my time with my own child. So a position opened up in the public school where my mother worked, which also happened to be my middle school from the town I grew up in.
I needed something that could bring a little bit more money in. By that time I had met my now husband, and he was a real estate agent back there. And this is back in Rhode Island in Massachusetts. And he encouraged me to pursue that. And it was never something that I had even considered, but I love talking to people.
Real: You went through the 2008 crisis, how does that help you navigate right now?
Majsan: It has really prepared me for where we are right now, because it was very much boots on the ground, getting in the office and calling people. Also, a lot of desk time and holding open houses––which nobody came to–– and researching properties. When you had listings, you were lucky if you sold them in six months or nine months, it wasn't quick. There was a lot of work involved.
Real: A lot of agents haven't gone through this yet. This is the first time they are experiencing a shift. What would be your best piece of advice to agents who are very new to this type of market?
Majsan: My best advice is just dig in. Dig in and do the work. It's okay to be scared. It's okay to be uncertain about what's going on right now because everybody feels it. If you don't dig in, if you just kind of ride the wave of what's been happening and you don't change what you're doing, you're not going to make it. Because unless you have that solid foundation and work ethic, the market that's coming is going to chew you up and eat you up alive. It all comes down to hard work, right? It doesn't matter if you've been licensed for 45 years or for 45 days. Reach out to your sphere of influence and let everybody know that you are in real estate and you are here to help them.
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