Real Estate w/ Chronic Disease

I am taking this from my recent real estate blog.  To find it in it's original form see here: Karen Nagy's Blog.

The real estate business can be hard enough in today's market.  Working in real estate while managing a chronic disease is even trickier, but it is possible.  My chronic disease is ulcerative colitis, and I have had it my entire real estate career.  I have learned some tricks that help me be successful while keeping both my clients and my body happy.
First is to know your limitations.  I can only do short showing tours.  After about 3 houses I am done.  There are also certain times of the day for me that are more difficult than others.  I try not to schedule any appointments during these times, instead I focus on mailings, social media updates, and phone contacts.  I usually give my clients a few different appointment times to pick from, and they generally do not have a problem with this method.
I also need to be selective of my clients, a good practice for any real estate agent.  I do not have the energy to take every person that calls my phone on appointments.  Instead during my initial conversation I will ask more probing questions to find their motivation.  If they are not willing to answer my questions, then they are not worth my time.  I find the more motivated a person is to buy, sell, or rent real estate, the more willing they are to give up front information to you.
Lastly is a back up plan.  There will be the inevitable day that I am too ill to leave the house or, in my worst cases, in the hospital.  I have found a couple of agents who are willing to sub for me in a pinch.  Of course this usually means some form of compenstation to the other agent if an agreement is made, but my client's happiness is my goal.  If you do not feel comfortable speaking with other agents about your illness, go to your Broker.  The Broker should be able to help you come up with a back up plan that works for everyone.
While working with a chronic disease does provide its extra challanges, it does not mean you cannot be successful.