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.

December: No Pain, No Gain

Dang Fleas!

About 14 agents traveling in four cars for a property tour pulled up to a vacant home located on a quiet street. A handwritten sign posted on the home warned us not to enter until a week after the recent fumigation.

No problem. We looked at the date on the sign, and it had been a full two weeks since the treatment. So we entered. In less than 10 minutes, we finished the showing and were back in our cars.

We didn’t get far, though. As the caravan pulled away, the lead car drove only about 100 feet before it came to a screeching haltin the middle of the street. Like circus clowns, the practitioners jumped out of the car, yelling, “Fleas! Fleas!” They swatted at the air, frantically trying to brush the fleas off.

Soon after, the three remaining cars came to a stop in the center of the street, and all of us poured into the street, swatting, and yelling “Fleas!”

Maybe I should keep a flea collar on hand for future showings!

— Hank Ebert, Long and Foster REALTORS®, Roanoke, Va.

Note to Self: Beware of Loose Deck Boards

I was showing a couple a home when we walked out onto the back deck. Suddenly, the wife was catapulted through the air and landed in the yard. We realized she stepped on a loose deck board.

Her husband tried to come to her rescue but was unsuccessful, as he kept stepping on loose boards, too. He and I rushed back inside the house and down the basement stairs to try to get to the wife another way and make sure she was OK. But my foot slipped and I fell down the steps.Another one down!

The husband didn’t know what to do — help his wife or offer me assistance? I motioned him on. “Just go check on your wife, I’ll be fine,” I groaned.

Luckily, everyone was OK. I called the listing agent to let her know about the fiasco, and she told me that that the seller was in the process of repairing the deck. Apparently, he had replaced some of the bad boards but had not secured them (oh really!). He had stopped his repair work to go to the hardware store — and in the meantime, we showed up to see the house.

Needless to say, the buyers didn’t make an offer.

— Deb Jackson, TopPros Real Estate Inc., Overland Park, Kan.

Ever Feel Like ‘Target’ is Written on Your Forehead?

I was representing a buyer in a house that was for sale in my neighborhood. I knew the home belonged to a police chief and that his two young boys had a reputation of being "a handful," to say the least. My clients liked the home so I was ready to present the offer. As we all sat at the dining room table, I could feel something hitting my back again and again … and again. I tried to ignore it and focus on finishing the offer.

Then, suddenly, a rubber band landed squarely on my forehead!

The police chief’s boys had been hiding on the stairs shooting rubber bands at me the whole time. Everyone laughed as I tried to pick the rubber bands out of my hair. I learned that some homes can be painful to sell.

— Sheromie Vittachi, White House Properties, Westlake Village, Calif.

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