In the Trenches captures the odd and funny incidents that invariably happen in real estate. Here are the stories submitted this month from real estate professionals all over the country. When you're done reading, submit your own story.

Unexpected Visitors

I’d been working with a couple for a few weeks when I took them to a very impressive two-story house for a scheduled showing. A young lady named Elena, who appeared to be the housekeeper, answered the door. She spoke very little English, but once I gave her my card and told her we were there for the 2 p.m. showing, she let us right in. We toured the downstairs and then told the woman that we’d like to see the upstairs. She nodded, smiled, and said, "Yes, go ahead."

Walking into the master bedroom, I noticed a glow from the bathroom in the master suite. "Oh, look, they left the light on for us, how nice," I told my clients. Just as we were about to enter the bathroom we heard some stirring inside. Then a deep, gruffy voice shouted: "Elena! Elenaaaaa!"

The three of us looked at each other, turned, then flew out of that room and down the stairs, waving goodbye to the young girl. Still laughing as we got into my car, the husband piped up from the back seat: "We really shouldn't have left so quickly, you know. Maybe the poor guy was just yelling for more paper!"

— Sue Kelly, Coldwell Banker Tony Hubbard Realty in Clermont, Florida

A Sweater in July

On a very hot July day in the Houston area, I met new clients at their home to do a CMA presentation and show them a number of homes. When we left for the showings, we decided it would be best if I rode with them in their big van because they had to bring their daughter. The van was tall, but I managed to climb into the front seat despite being on the shorter side and wearing a fitted sundress.

At the third house we visited, the husband pulled the van over too far from the curb and I had to jump down several feet to the street to get out. However, when it was time to get back into the van, I realized it would be an even bigger challenge. I leapt into the air when I heard the unmistakable sound of my dress tearing. My dress split from the bottom all the way to my back!

I quickly sat down to cover myself and tell my clients what had happened. The wife searched around the van and found an old sweater that I could tie around my waist. I showed them six more homes that day with that sweater draped around me — not the most comfortable get-up for a summer day in Texas! But the couple must have appreciated my composure that day; they chose me as their real estate practitioner to sell their home and to buy a new one. — Pam Gervais, Remax NW Territories in Cypress, Texas

That’s Not the Sink!

I had been looking for the perfect suburban home for my family for about a month. On one busy day of viewing homes, I stopped to pick up my 6-year-old daughter at kindergarten. When we arrived at the next house, she and I jumped out of the car to have a look.

We made our way through the home quickly, but when we got to the spectacular master bedroom, my daughter told me that really had to go to the bathroom. “OK, but hurry,” I said, and I ushered her into the huge master bathroom. “I’ll wait here.”

A minute later, I heard the toilet flush. As I waited for her to wash her hands, I peeked in through the slightly-opened bathroom door. I could see the sink, but she still wasn’t there. “Don’t forget to wash your hands!” I said.

“I already am!” she shouted. I walked in to find her washing her hands diligently in the bidet next to the toilet.

— By Haley Hwang, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Glenview, Ill. (and former editor of REALTOR® Magazine Online)


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