Really Real Estate....................... Blog

I Need A Vacation

So, I’m in my office, at my desk, in the middle of the afternoon, searching frantically for my cell phone. I check my desk. Pad myself down. It’s not in my belt clip.I turn my pockets inside out, check my coat. Could it be in my car? It’s cold out so I put on my coat run outside, check my car. It’s not there. Run back inside. At this point, I’m completely crazed. All the while, I am talking on my cell phone with a client. I am talking on my cell phone while I am looking for my cell phone.

That’s almost as good as looking for my car keys while I am holding my car keys in my hand.

Beware of Dog Pee

I showed a house last week that smelled so bad of dog pee…It hit you right as you walked in and stayed with you the rest of the day. My clients wanted to look around but I couldn’t…I couldn’t breath. (I imagined that that was what an asthma attack feels like.)You could see the multitude of pee stains in the carpeting. I tried holding my breath but that wasn’t working. My clients, though aware of the offensive odor, bravely continued looking through the house while I was turning blue. Now, these are dedicated Buyers, willing to look at any house in case this might be the right one for them. I, however, knew they would never buy this house and needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. “So we’re done here?” I inquired with my last breath. “Yes, I guess” was their reply. Once outside, recovering from my ordeal, I heard my clients inquire, “What is up with the smell?”  Scratch this one off their list.

This reminds me of the house that was filled with birds, birds in every corner ---

Beware of Dog

My clients and I pull up to a house on our tour and sit in the car debating whether or not to go in. On a first impression, it did not quite meet their expectations but since the homeowner was home, we feel obligated to tour the house anyway. We walk up the front walkway and are greeted by a loud barking from inside the house. The Homeowner excuses herself and asks if we would wait while she puts the dog away. So there we are standing outside in the crisp fall air when all of a sudden, from around back the house, a beautiful Black Lab comes bouncing up to us. Friendly and frisky would be the best words to describe him. He jumps up on my client and she loses her balance and starts to fall backwards in slow motion, tripping through the bushes, stumbling over the stone embankment, and falls six feet on her back onto the paved driveway of the house.

The homeowner comes running out of the house and I tell her to call 911. The Black Lab is still bouncing all over the place oblivious to the “situation” that he created.  My client’s husband and I, coming out of our shock are racing towards my client now lying motionless on the driveway.  Thank God the ambulance gets there in minutes. They stabilize my client and take her to the hospital.

P.S.

The homeowner is still chasing the Black Lab.

Needless to say my clients did not buy the offending house but we did just close on their dream house.

The moral of the story: Beware of All Dogs. It should always be clearly noted when a dog or multiple dogs are associated with a listing.

The Closing Gift, Part II

I worked with a client who was in the process of a divorce. She needed to get her house sold fast. She had been listed with another agent first and that listing expired. Next, she tried to Sell By Owner. That wasn’t working either. By the time I took on the listing, she was facing foreclosure.

     Needless to say, it was a difficult situation and she was not being very cooperative. She wouldn’t let me show the house when it needed to be shown. She wouldn’t let me arrange for an open house. She never cleaned, so the house showed very badly. One day, in the middle of a particularly cold week, her heating system broke down. I arranged for my Heating Specialist to come and repair the boiler and I fronted the money for the repair. I arranged for a cleaning service. I took care of her situation as best I could and got her house sold for her before she lost it to the bank. Then, I found her a decent rental to move into. We were so rushed at the closing that I forgot to buy her a closing gift.

     I forgot to buy her a closing gift.

     Two days after we closed, she called my broker to complain about my services as her listing agent. My broker, well aware of the effort I put into getting her house sold, asked her specifically, what she was unhappy with. She told him that she was not comfortable recommending me or my agency to any one else because I “insulted” her by not buying her a closing gift. 

The Closing Gift

I have a problem with the concept of the closing gift. Especially on the Buyer's side. I need to know where this originated. Here, I have spent fifty hours of my life showing the clients untold amount of houses. I went to Town Hall, researched the property, checked the taxes; spent four hours with them at the inspection; spent hours on the phone with the Listing Agent negotiating price, terms, inspections items. I coordinated the appraisal, the attorneys, attended the first walk thru (so they can measure), the second walk thru. I did my job and now I have to buy them a gift? Did the attorney buy them a gift? Did the mortgage company buy them a gift? I know they're expecting a gift. If I don't buy them a gift and the Listing Agent comes to the closing with a three hundred dollar basket for her clients, I look like, well, you know what I look like.

            And I never know what to buy them. First there was the traditional basket of something. Then, the leather binder that holds your documents. Then, the gift card to somewhere.  Now, I usually buy a nice bottle of champagne. I have been told that this is not appropriate in case the client may be a recovering alcoholic. However, I think a bottle of champagne is appropriate for the beginning of all new journeys. We start the New Year with it, our marriages with it, cruises too. I celebrated the birth of my children with a bottle of champagne. And it's easier to carry than a platter of cheese.