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.
The 11thCommandment
At least 30 years ago — when the world was young, and I was a lot younger than I am now at 84 — I was showing homes to a young couple who had proven to be very hard to please. Through them, I learned about the 11th Commandment: “Thou shall not impose thy preferences upon a prospect.”
I had shown the couple many homes in their price range, but nothing suited them. Finally, in desperation, I decided to show them a home that had been on the market for a very long time. The problem was that someone had painted all of the rooms in various patterns of black and white. There were squares, circles, polka dots, black ceilings, white ceilings, and decorated ceilings — but everything was black or white. It was hideous.
Before showing them the property, I thought very hard about preparing them for the shock and telling them, “It’s only paint. You can save a lot of money by just repainting it the way you like it once you own it.” But I finally decided to let the house shock them first before I called attention to the odd decor.
We walked into the living room. The wife looked at the walls and ceiling and said nothing. We walked into the dining room. The wife looked at the walls and ceiling and said nothing. We walked into the kitchen. She looked at walls and ceiling and said, “I can't believe it — this is me!”
It was a nice sale, and an even better lesson.
— Roger B. MacDonald, GRI, associate broker with Realty Quest Inc. in Nashua, N.H.
Connect Me to Will, Please
A few years back, I was associated with a real estate office in Chicago. One practitioner left our office and opened his own business. At the time, my office had a commercial rental property on the market. One day, the practitioner who started his own company called our office and asked to talk to Will. The secretary informed him that there is no person named Will working here. He insisted that she check the roster since there is a sign on a building property that read: FOR RENT. PLEASE CALL. 312-111-1111 WILL DIVIDE. “Your sign said to call Will Divide, so let me talk to him,” the practitioner persisted. The secretary finally explained to him what “will divide” means and transferred him to the listing agent.
— Halina D. Kraszewski, sales associate with RE/MAX AllStars in Niles, Ill.
A Surprise Visit
Three of my office associates and I were completing the weekly caravan of new property listings. We visited several new properties before arriving at one that didn’t seem to be ready for the caravan. When we knocked on the door, the owner greeted us in his pajamas with a surprised look. He turned around and shouted upstairs to his wife, “Ethyl, they're here to see the house.” He asked us to give them a few minutes to straighten things up. We waited outside while the owners quickly prepared for us and then entered the house and did our normal walk-through.
As we were leaving, we noticed a For Sale sign at the house next door and saw that several other practitioners were parking in front of that house. We realized that had just toured the wrong house, and the owners didn’t even tell us!
— Bob Burnett, sales associate with Michael Saunders & Co. in Longboat Key, Fla.
Give Thanks to Proofreaders
As a listing coordinator for a large real estate team in Atlanta, one of my responsibilities was to create flyers for each home that was listed. For one particular property, priced in the high $600,000s, I created a very detailed flyer with descriptions and pictures of the many upgrades and special features. In describing the kitchen area, I gave special mention to the “two butler’s panties” located in the rear area of the gourmet kitchen. Fortunately, I always have one of my coworkers proofread my work before it leaves the office!
— Kathy Harrington, business coach with Metro Brokers/GMAC in Atlanta
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