Inspiration can come from many sources. It can come from listening to music, reading books, traveling, or being part of something big. And when we feel inspired, we are compelled to take action in our lives and strive to achieve something. This inspiration turns into a source of greater fuel which then sparks a person’s creativity, ingenuity, and imaginative abilities.
For Tammy De Long, encouraging, persuading, motivating, and influencing others stands out as an inspiration. Tammy got pulled over to Real Estate by fate after helming various positions across diverse industries. And now with over 30 years of experience in the real estate industry, Tammy has secured a reputable position as a First Time Buyer Specialist who serves people to build credit, prepare, purchase, and be successful in owning a home.
Turning the Light Bulb On
According to Tammy De Long, an admired leader is honest, kind, ethical, and brings the best out in people. One who believes their success lies in the success of those they educate and mentor. Applying the same principles to her leadership, Tammy takes full advantage of her listening skills to understand people’s needs and ideas to help them do their best. And making people realize what’s best for them makes her excited.
“I do my best to listen to the needs and ideas of those around me and along the way, that inclusiveness we all want to feel in our day-to-day lives. I am an adventurer and am truly excited when I see someone who ‘gets it’. When that light bulb turns on. It is amazing to get feedback that is positive but even more amazing that others know they can give needed critiques. Being perceived as approachable brings life to leadership.”
A Passion for Helping Others
Tammy never thought she would be in the real estate industry. However, the industry had her in one position or another. From the board office in Tehama County, assistant to the escrow file manager to assisting other agents and then managing an office, Tammy wore many hats in her professional journey.
Prior to real estate, Tammy De Long was in the finance sector, wherein she trained and managed a bank branch. But soon she became unsatisfied with the pathway that the corporation was heading towards. This experience in the financial industry helped her realize more in-depth analytics about the First Time Buyers (FTB). And real estate fueled her passion to help these FTBs who never thought they could own a home. To Tammy, real estate felt like a place where she was meant to be.
“I have grown tremendously as a person and professional, not to mention the feeling of truly living in the role I was born for. However, finding my true calling led me to overcome various life situations like being homeless, uneducated with no real focus on life. Real Estate gave me the passion to help others like me.”
Going beyond traditional service offerings, Tammy not only exercises her passion for helping FTBs but also educates them. She has expanded her business to include educating others on how to market their houses and prepare them for sale, as well as dealing with both new and seasoned investors. She also finds it encouraging to match up investors with FTB and work together to get people in homes.
Customer-Oriented Services
Tammy’s method of taking FTBs to homeownership encompasses four segments. She starts by preparing their mind, helping them with credit and financial hurdles, and being successful after they purchase. While this four-segment road surely brings success to Tammy, she also makes sure to not take in clients excessively. She understands her capabilities and the need to do right by the clients.
“Maintaining client relationships is the most important part of what I do. Without that, I would have no business. I take on what I can handle and no more. I do not want to do more that would do a disservice to my clients. I have trained and hired people to help, who believe as I do – our clients are the most important people in our business. We stay in touch and become a TEAM with our clients and network of professionals.”
Even in the pandemic, when the entire world was turned upside down, Tammy made sure that her services were kept to the utmost level. She met clients on zoom and teams, kept Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) supplies in all listings, and took temperatures during the meets. Overall, she used every precaution, including masks, gloves, social distancing, shoe booties, sanitizing sprays to keep her clients safe.
During the pandemic, Tammy also witnessed the struggles of her FTBs not becoming homeowners. Right away, she knew that she had to do something about the situation. Hence, her solution to the problem was constructing a bridge connecting FTBs to investors. She recalls, ‘The market changed overnight, and you had to adapt. My FTBs were without homes to buy. They struggled, but we knew we had to adapt. That’s when it was a no-brainer to create a way for the investors to still make money while enabling my FTBs to have homes to buy.’
A Million Dollar Advice
Tammy describes her biggest strength is to never become complacent. She leaves no stones unturned to adapt and strive to be the best she can be as a person and as a professional. Hence, Tammy’s advice to aspiring and emerging players in the real estate space covers understanding oneself and being teachable and humble.
She advises, “Know yourself. Be compassionate and treat people with the utmost respect and kindness. Make goals about people, not the numbers, and know that you are doing the very best for them! If you put them first, your career will grow exponentially.”
A Future of Growth
For the forthcoming years, Tammy De Long will continue to provide esteemed real estate services to help her clients build real estate wealth. She advocates quite clearly that while the new generation will always have an upper hand at technology, they still need to understand the power of personal touch.
“I believe I will continue to educate and be of encouragement to those who strive to become homeowners and investors in the future. From continuing to guide sellers in obtaining the best possible price for the sale of their home to either moving up or down to size. I see myself leaving behind Agents and Realtors who will show compassion new home owners and become the solution in our communities,” she concludes.
