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!
August 2007
Ahoy, Client!
When I got into real estate I knew I’d have some unusual clients, but I never expected to work with pirates!
A few years ago I was in a rush to get two contracts signed by a client who was selling his home and buying a new one. He told me I could find him at the Gasparilla Extravaganza, an annual pirate-themed festival in our community. He’d be hanging out on a big pirate ship named "Jose Gaspar," docked at the river.
He warned me that he might be a bit hard to track down, as he’d be dressed in full pirate gear. He wasn’t kidding! When I arrived at the ship I found hordes of other local businessmen dressed in Hollywood-style pirate costumes and makeup, each of them in full-blown character right down to “yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!"
I tried to maintain my professionalism, but it was tough when I kept hitting the deck every time the pirates tested their cannons. To make things worse, the heel of my shoe broke off on a plank, forcing me to hobble through the mostly drunken crew.
I start calling out my client’s name — I’ll call him Bob Smith for the sake of this story. But the pirates decided to have some fun, and all of them started calling back, “I’m Bob Smith!”
Getting concerned about whether I’d find the right person, let alone that he’d be "of sound mind" to sign the contracts, I asked each pirate claiming to be my client to show me their I.D. I held their bottles of rum as they fumbled around for their wallets.
After an hour of searching pirate I.D.’s, I finally find my client ... who arrived late but, thankfully, sober!
— Phyllis Crosby, GRI, RE/Max ACR Elite in Tampa, Fla.
Snakes on a House
I was showing a couple around an open house when I suddenly made eye contact with an unwelcome guest … a four-foot long snake that had crawled up the outside of the front window.
We watched as the snake slithered over the front door, seeming to wait for us to leave so it could pounce on us (or so I imagined). I directed my clients to the garage so they could leave, but I didn’t have that luxury. Without a garage door remote, I wouldn’t have been able to lock up the house after I left. I was trapped!
I waited and waited, watching the snake as it continued to linger over the front door, taunting me.
Luckily, three brave boys who lived nearby eventually approached the house holding a fishing net. Apparently they had caught the snake earlier that day at a lake in the neighborhood and it had escaped — and decided to check out my open house!
The boys captured the snake in their net once again, promising to return it to the area where they had found it. And I was finally set free!
— Pat Solomon, CRS®, Master Key GMAC Real Estate, Bossier City, La.
Thanks for Your Opinion, But …
My business partner and I decided to check out a home that had just come onto the market, with the goal of lining up a buyer. We were greeted by a very relaxed owner sitting in the living room reading the newspaper.
We exchanged “hellos” and my partner and I proceeded to walk through the home, combing every inch as we opened and closed doors. We were quite impressed with the fantastic value, and our minds were already busy coming up with a long list of potential buyers.
After our tour, we headed back to the front door to let ourselves out. The seller was standing there, just smiling at us. I complimented him on the home and told him what a great value it was. Before I could say another word, he burst into laughter.
He said that he appreciated my careful inspection of his home, but that the home next door is the one that’s for sale. Apparently, he just liked the company!
— Teresa McCants, John L. Scott S.C.O.R.E., Ashland, Ore.
The above submissions are actual stories submitted by readers. They’ve been edited for clarity and style.
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