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. Don't forget to submit your own funny story!

February 2007

Oops, Wrong Luncheon!

When I worked for Coldwell Banker back in the late 1980’s, we used to do caravans. One day, a group of us were heading over to an agent luncheon for an open house at a single-family home. We had several cars full of agents, but one car of four women got separated from the rest of us and unknowingly entered the wrong neighborhood.

They saw a line of cars so they assumed they were at the right house and walked right in. Food was lying out on the counter, and they were hungry, so they started eating while beginning to critique the home. As they were making themselves comfortable, they noticed several elderly people in the family room.

A little old lady approached them and asked, “Honey, may I help you?” They looked around and realized they were not at the agent luncheon, but at a home owner’s monthly mahjong game gathering!

— Lynn Lenton, managing broker for Jay Cole Realty in Atlanta

A Toy that Sweetened the Deal

I was showing homes to some first-time buyers for about a week. Joining us was their 3-year-old son, who they always kept in tow. At one of the homes, he spotted a little toy truck in the back yard. He quickly latched onto the truck and carried it all around as we toured the home. When it was time to go, he didn’t want to part with it. He started crying as we tore the little toy truck from him and put it back where we found it.

So, when the couple decided to write an offer on the home, I wanted to sweeten the deal for them. I inserted the following verbiage into the inclusion clause: “Refrigerator, Range/Oven, Dishwasher, Red-and-White Toy Semi Truck On Back Porch.”

The other agent called me confused. “Are you serious? You are asking for a toy in the contract?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said. “If that toy is not included, my buyers are not interested in the home.”

Needless to say, the toy truck was turned over, along with the house keys.

—Randy G. Morley, The Home Brokers Inc. in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The Wig with a Hole in It

I was showing houses to a woman and her seven-year-old daughter, who was sitting right behind me in my van as we neared the next listing. It was a hot day so I turned on the air conditioning.

"Why don't you open the windows? It's so nice out there," the lady suggested.

"I can't do that, 'cause my wig will fly off,” I joked. (It may help to know that I’m a middle-aged man with a bald spot in the back of my head. Clearly, I don’t wear a hairpiece.)

The lady looked at me and smiled, rolling her eyes. About eight seconds later we heard the little girl in the back seat say: "Mommy, I never saw a wig with a hole in the back."

The girl’s mother burst out laughing. "You asked for it," she told me.

— Romesh Shonek, CRS®, GRI, Fonville Morisey Realty in Durham, N.C.

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