Big changes are coming in real estate and Dawn Olson is ready.

Olson works with Coldwell Banker, 501 N. Kinzie Ave., Bradley. She can be reached at 815-735-9594 at the office. On the web, you can make contact at homesbydawnolson.net.

She has 30 years of experience, and covers properties in Kankakee, Will and Iroquois counties. Her expertise goes into her own real estate podcast, REAL (for Real Estate and Life), which airs twice a month on Fridays. You can also link to her podcast on her website.

Her broadcasts cover “funny and crazy things,” and right now, a lot about the new landscape in real estate.

Here is the critical point, Olson explains, starting Aug. 17 if you want to tour homes for sale with a Realtor, you will have to agree, up front, in writing, to pay a commission.

Olson said that will make it more important than ever to get to know a real estate professional and to select one based on experience.

The change came about because of a lawsuit. Someone felt that real estate commissions were fixed and non-negotiable. Actually they have always been negotiable. The seller’s agent paid the buyer’s agent.

This was coupled with the idea, Olson said, that some people felt Realtors were overpaid. In the future, those agents, who are experienced and who can communicate their value to the public will be ahead.

Yet, buyers now paying Realtors a commission may deter first-time buyers. People new to the process will have a cost and may not see the value.

In Olson’s case, her value has been built up through years of work. In 1991, she began working for Coldwell Banker as a receptionist. She got involved in the marketing end of the business, making up the ad that would appear in The Daily Journal’s Homefinder Section.

“I have always been willing to learn,” she said, “and I have always had the ability to change with the market.”

A person with a tremendous entrepreneurial spirit, she has had a wide variety of jobs. She has been an auditor for Monical’s Pizza and an evening auditor for UPS. As a high schooler, she ran a forklift loading lumber.

“I like being the boss of me,” she said.

She ran resume-writing business from home and drove a school bus as a young mom, with her youngest in a carseat on the bus. It was, she says, a meaningful moment because she was a mentor to the youths on the bus.

But the interest in real estate never left her. She enjoys the troubleshooting and problem-solving aspect of the business.

“I like the challenge of getting to the bottom of the problem,” she said.

“I love my job,” she said, “and I do not mind the hours because I constantly work at being the best.”

She prides herself on being trustworthy and honest.

Olson is an Accredited Buyer’s Representative, a Short Sale and Foreclosure Specialist, a Certified Professional Real Estate Marketing Specialist. A Certified Real Estate Negotiator, a Certified New Home Specialist and Residential Construction Certified.

Olson grew up in Bourbonnais and is a 1987 graduate of Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School. She went to Kankakee Community College for marketing and business management. She continues online learning with Udemy.com.

Her advice to both buyers and sellers is to choose an agent who is educated. Select someone for their knowledge, she said, not just for the lowest commission.

A higher caliber agent will be better able to be a strong negotiator on your behalf, she said.

“We were in a seller’s market,” she said.

The area is now moving to a situation where things are more balanced. Sellers have to be aware of not overpricing their home. They must also work on creating that good first impression.

A real estate career, she says, has given her the resources to be a sponsor to causes and events and to help others.

She is a sponsor to an Aug. 24 event at Fitness Premier called Lift Up Shelter Pets that will benefit the Kankakee County Humane Foundation. She has sponsored National Night Out and Turkey for Tots, which helps children in need shop for the holidays at Meijer.

She was the director of marketing for the Bradley 315 MusicFest. Special URL links were created for charities, so if you went through one of those, $5 would go to a charity. Groups such as Cornerstone Services, the Salvation Army, Project Headspace and Timing, and the Animal Foundation all benefitted.

She is married to Erik Olson, who works at Federal Signal. Together they have a blended family that includes Kindsay Bruce, Ryan Bruce and Brandon Olson.

Dawn’s hobbies include photography, and she describes herself as a techie person who is thinking about ways to incorporate artificial intelligence into real estate.

There have been some colorful moments in Olson’s real estate career. She was once showing a house in the historic Riverview neighborhood in Kankakee. She was going up a spiral staircase, while a squirrel was coming down.

Then there was the time when she was driving on North Street in Bradley and saw some kids on bicycles kicking over one of her real estate signs.

“Hey, that’s my sign,” she yelled.

“I could write a book,” she said.