Misconceptions Insurance Companies Have About Real Estate Agents

My auto insurance just recently went up because my insurance company rated my vehicle as a business use vehicle. The question I had to them is that I have been a real estate agent for 7 years and why the change NOW? I even wrote them a letter and put in my own statistics on my driving habits. Here are my facts:

1. I don’t drive to my office every day. I work a lot from home. For one, my office is 15 miles from home and I have all the same capabilities at home to work than I do in my office if not more. My desktop is at home, whereas I work off my laptop from the office. I drive a PC at home but my laptop is a Mac. The Real Estate industry is not completely Mac friendly yet, although they are working on it. That means that it is not as comfortable to work real estate from my Apple products as it is from my PC. I’m certainly not going to unplug my desktop computer and carry it around like a laptop. Therefore, I usually go to my office 2-3 times a week and work the rest of the time from home.

2. As much as people think we are on the road ALL THE TIME all day, every day.. we aren’t. We have a lot of paperwork and administrative duties as well as showing and listing properties. With every listing comes paperwork and inputting and setting up on the administrative side. With every contract comes more paperwork, faxing, emailing and more administrative duties. We are not on the road 24/7/365.

3. In the 7 years I’ve been practicing real estate (I wonder when I get to stop practicing and start being a professional at it), I’ve taken buyers around 2 times. That’s not to say we won’t take buyers around. I just give mine an option, actually 3. They can 1. ride with me, 2. follow me in their own vehicles, or 3. meet me at the property if seeing just one. Many times, I have found that buyers either want to meet me there or follow me. They want the comforts of their own driving styles and vehicle.