Real Estate Investing

Instead of talking about loan modifications for homes, staging, short sales, or other serious business, I thought it would be fun to share some real life stories agents have told from the trenches.  Enjoy!

Crap, I Think We Just Offended by Neighbors, by Todd Clark

Now, we had an angry neighbor who wanted to do what ever they could to make the yard as ugly as possible. Kids toys everywhere, lawn equipment left out, yard debris piled next to the fence, but the one that really said it all was while trying to show the home having their kid come out and pee on the fence.

Mystery at the Quit Claim, by ME (sorry for the self shilling but I liked this!)

In an old mining town lost in the hills of the Badlands, a gruff loner took a wife.  This mail order bride cooked and cleaned for the old cuss, she did the laundry on a washboard, and she served the vittles piping hot - right off the fire.

Funny Typos in Listings, by Leanne Paynter

• a sinking living room (vs. sunken)
• walking closet (where is it walking to?)
• wreck room (rec. room)
• stainless steal appliances

The Nightmare First Time Home Buyer, by Mark Daniel Adamczyk (this one kind of made me stress and blood pressure go up just reading it!)

In the 3-4 days we where awaiting on the appraisal the buyer began to freak out. He was calling me 8-10 times a day and asking me questions that only God knew the answers to. I kept trying to tell him to relax and if the appraisal does not come through no big deal, it’s back to the drawing board.

Dear Mr. Seller, I Tried to Help You But…, by Maureen Bray

When I arrived to view your home, it was surprising to see a huge pool table in your dining room! We laughed together about that and also the long heavy dark velvet drapes! Your home needed major cleaning and packing up of many small items. I knew we could help you!

I’m on the “Bad Realtor” Side Now, by Ines of Miami Beach

It wasn’t just low, but really offensively low.  As much as we pulled comps and explained the price and did all we could do, it was our job to write up and present the ridiculous offer.  You can imagine that the seller did not even bother countering, but the seller’s agent did not even bother to call us. 

It’s the important time that rolls around every year - the time to remind Realtors to be safety conscious as they are out and about showing homes to clients and holding open houses.  As an agent, we always hear the horror stories … bad things that happen to both male and female ranging from robbery, rape, and sometimes murder.

As agents, we tend to be easy targets.  We get a phone call saying, “Hello.  I am [fictitious name] and I’m sitting in front of this house on Cumberland Drive. Can you come over so I can see it?”   If the agent is wise they will schedule a meeting with the potential buyer at the office first (bad people won’t come to the office).  If the buyer seems insistent, the agent should at least NEVER GO ALONE.

We are pretty good at my own office about helping each other out.   I’ve gone to showings with other agents, sometimes my colleagues come with me.  And I will continue to do that both ways … I never want to meet a client for the first time outside of a safe area (my own office). We also have a Realtor “question” we can ask our office as a code to say we’re in trouble.  I won’t - of course - reveal that question here, but I hope ALL offices have some tip-off mechanism to reveal when someone is in danger.

An agent once told me about meeting with a client she’d first met on neutral ground, but got frightened during the showings.  The buyer only wanted to see vacant homes and kept asking her to go upstairs with him to look around.  She kept her cool and remained downstairs … phone in her hand and next to the unlocked door.  Nothing bad happened, but who’s to say nothing could have had she not trusted her instincts.

I’ve only felt threatened one time - at a new construction open house.  Two men came in and wanted to see the plat of the subdivision.  I turned my back to them to get it and when I turned back around, there was one on each side of me.  In hindsight, I was probably just paranoid but I simply stepped away from them and chatted at a comfortable five feet away.

Just remember, if you’re working with an agent expect to be asked to meet at the office first.  Do not be affronted if they ask you for a copy of your drivers license.  Again, the bad people will refuse to let you see it and make a copy.  Don’t corner your agent.  Be non-threatening.  Don’t ask creepy questions or you’ll find yourself without a Realtor.

Realtors, be safe.  Be cautious.  Be careful.  And read this safety information from the National Association of Realtors.

There’s a little pickle of a situation in my county.  An area broker printed out all the sales data for year-to-date … she named who sold how much in one county … and who didn’t.  Then she sent the 40-something page report to everyone - to all the agents who have sold homes in our county this year, as well as to agents whose offices are located in the county (they might not have sold anything but got the email because of where they hang their license).

There are many many angry, upset agents in our area now.  The report is a little off because like all computers, a report is only as good as the information being requested.  When you ask only for data in one county, it’s not really an accurate picture of the total production of agents (well.. unless they haven’t sold in another county).  The report also doesn’t take into consideration that this is possibly the worst year in real estate in 20 years.

How can a computer print-out show what’s immeasurable - that like everyone else in this economy … even Realtors are struggling to make their house payments and put food on the table?  It really cuts deep to be called out in front of your peers — publicly confirming that production has been and continues to be incredibly frigid and frightening.

And then we saw deep in the email that the broker sent it to the local newspaper, too.

This is where I’m curious about the question of ethics.  While technically she did nothing wrong - she violated none of our ethics laws as written in our Code of Ethics - she did violate the trust other agents might have felt toward her, as well as trust we’ve had with the agents from her firm.  The deepest cut is essentially that by trying to publicize our production to the local newspaper, she may well have inhibited our ability to earn a living.  I have about 12 - 20 closings a year.  I want more.  This year has been dismal and if my clients see that my production is only a fraction of what it’s been in the past, they may question my ability to practice as a licensed Realtor.  They may think I’m not good enough to represent them and I could lose my clients.

This is where I believe the broker went wrong.  When her effort to recruit new agents will impact my ability to support my family, to feed my children, to care for my pets, to keep us warm and dry … I believe she owes all agents in this community (and me) a public apology.

Meanwhile I can tell you I will NEVER be recruited into working for that firm.  I think she’ll be hard-pressed to find other agents who would hang their licenses in her office.