The Oscar for 'Stunt Realtor' goes to ...

Flickr photo by Dave_B_.

By CALLUM JAMES

The Academy Awards are just around the corner and I was surprised to learn there is sadly still no award for best stunt actor. Dramatic actors may gamble their reputation with a movie, but stunt actors truly risk life and limb for the film and don't get much credit for it.

In an effort to rectify this lack of appreciation for these unsung heroes, I have taken the liberty of making a top ten list comparing the stunt acting and realty professions. My apologies to both industries for any unintended harm, but hey, you're professionals ... you'll just have to dust yourselves off.

1. Stunt people aren't paid so much for what they do on-camera as much as off-camera. The idea that a stunt actor shows up on the morning of a shoot, does a couple of dry-runs and a few takes and then pockets thousands of dollars may bother the uninitiated. But what appears to the untrained eye as just a morning's worth of stunt acting actually represents days, even weeks of preparation behind the scenes and frequently draws on a career's worth of experience.

The typical real estate sale presents a similar illusion to the public. What appears as a generous commission check does not look so appetizing if it is averaged across the total hours spent in prospecting, open houses and the deals that didn't go through. It looks even less attractive when it represents interrupted weekends, absences from family events and unappreciative clients.

2. Stunt people are paid primarily to reduce risks, not take them. Foolhardy stunt people are daredevils who have short careers (my childhood hero, daredevil Evel Knievel, is the exception -- he'll always be immortal to me). Stunt professionals rely on physical conditioning, extensive practice and technical knowledge representing years of industry expertise to lower a stunt's risk to an acceptable level.

Realtors are paid to reduce risks involved in a real estate transaction, deftly steering their clients around the pitfalls of negotiations and identifying potential property and contract issues.

3. Even the 'easiest' projects can cause serious harm. Last year, Mariska Hargitay, of TV's "Law and Order: SVU," suffered a collapsed lung that required surgery after performing a stunt that otherwise might seem harmless ... falling down. Hargitay has performed many of her own stunts for a decade; but it was a routine stunt that hospitalized her.

Consumers should take note. There is no "easy" real estate transaction -- they all have inherent risks. However, while the risks and mistakes of stunt work may be immediately apparent, mistakes in realty can be hidden within the deal and may not surface until years later.

4. Some of your best work as a real estate professional may be for a "turkey." No, I'm not referring to your most troublesome client; I am referring to failed deals. If you review the resumes of stunt actors, some of the stunt work for which they are justifiably proud is for movies that were stinkers at the box office. Everyone wants to be associated with a blockbuster, but stunt professionals know a failure at the box office does not reflect on the quality of their technical work.

Admittedly, unlike Realtors, they get paid regardless of a project's failure; but there again, there aren't that many real estate deals where one risks life and limb, even if it sometimes feels that way. For Realtors, and the public at large, it is natural to measure success strictly by the number of successful deals done.

But truth be told, some of your best technical work may actually undermine the completion of the deal -- for example, if the sale isn't in your client's interests. Isn't it time that the public learned that "getting a deal done at any cost" isn't the same as "getting the best deal for their needs"?

5. Amateurs have no idea of the risks they run. The cult classic "The Stuntman" (1980) stars Peter O'Toole as a megalomaniacal movie director. He hires a fugitive who stumbles onto his set as an instant stuntman. It makes for a great plot, but it would have been illegal; for years the stunt-performing industry has required rigorous employment and safety standards. ...CONTINUED

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