Achy-Breaky Heart
SPOILER ALERT: A heartbreaking story for realtors reading this blog entry.
They came into an open house on a Sunday afternoon excited about finding a new place for the both of them to start over. They were single in their mid-50's and engaged to be married in a few months. The three of us spent over an hour talking about what exactly they wanted to find, where they wanted to be in the community and a timeline for purchasing. At the time, each lived in a home they would need to sell in order to buy the new one. By the time they were ready to leave, I had become their realtor of choice and we'd come up with a game plan for looking at homes and discovering the resale value of the homes they needed to sell.
In the ensuing weeks, I took my new clients on many home shopping excursions. As a rule, they spent at least thirty minutes to an hour walking a home and talking about its possibilities. They were serious about finding just what they wanted. Between our trips to look at homes, I was in contact with them about the comps for their homes, getting them in touch with the right lender, and sending them a daily update on what was newly available. I spent hours and hours and hours with them.
On one Saturday afternoon, we found ourselves in a neighborhood they hadn't mentioned before because it was too far away from the downtown area that was a must have for them. However, I'd sent them the home because it fit some of their other criteria. A section of the subdivision was still under construction, but the home we were visiting was a resale of a home built three years earlier. My clients seemed only mildly impressed with it, and we went on with the tour of homes I'd set up.
Here's where I made the fatal mistake I will never make again. I didn't take them to the new homes sales office in the subdivision under construction. On Monday, during her lunch hour, my client went to the sales office just to see what they had. The sales representative there had her sign in with him. Then he showed her the models. Her fiance came back with her the next evening. He signed in, too. My clients had no idea that meant they signed off on me at the same time. They found a home under construction that would be finished about the same time as they were to be married, so they made arrangements to save this home, which was tantamount to an offer on it, with the realtor in the sales office and told him they had a realtor for the sale of their homes and for the purchase of this one. Of course, if you are a realtor, you know what happened next. Nope. You signed up with us. We won't be paying her any commission and we will work a deal with you on this home for the sale of your other two homes. Gone for me were two listings and a purchase. Just like that. And clients I really loved.
My clients called me when they left the office to tell me what had happened. Unfortunately for me, they really wanted this new place. As often happens with clients who give me a list of must-haves, many of their must-haves were missing with this home. But, I want my clients to be happy. The realtor at the new home sales office laughed off my request to keep my clients: "You should have brought them in yourself." (Good point. *&%$# ) All I could do was wish them well. Never heard from them again. Real estate is not an easy profession.
What I should have done: Well, that's a no-brainer. If there is a new homes sales office anywhere close to where my clients might be looking for a home, I'm going to take them there and we will sign up to look around together! Always...
Bottom Line: If you are looking for a home with a realtor you love and trust and they've spent many hours showing you homes and helping you to make all the other decisions, financial and strategic, that are all a part of the purchasing process, please let that realtor know if you are looking for homes on your lunch hour by yourself. I would've dropped what I was doing (unless I was with another client) to meet her there. At the very least I would have been able to tell her to just look at the models and not sign anything until I could go back with them. They felt terrible about going on without me...but not as bad as I did....sigh.
They came into an open house on a Sunday afternoon excited about finding a new place for the both of them to start over. They were single in their mid-50's and engaged to be married in a few months. The three of us spent over an hour talking about what exactly they wanted to find, where they wanted to be in the community and a timeline for purchasing. At the time, each lived in a home they would need to sell in order to buy the new one. By the time they were ready to leave, I had become their realtor of choice and we'd come up with a game plan for looking at homes and discovering the resale value of the homes they needed to sell.
In the ensuing weeks, I took my new clients on many home shopping excursions. As a rule, they spent at least thirty minutes to an hour walking a home and talking about its possibilities. They were serious about finding just what they wanted. Between our trips to look at homes, I was in contact with them about the comps for their homes, getting them in touch with the right lender, and sending them a daily update on what was newly available. I spent hours and hours and hours with them.
On one Saturday afternoon, we found ourselves in a neighborhood they hadn't mentioned before because it was too far away from the downtown area that was a must have for them. However, I'd sent them the home because it fit some of their other criteria. A section of the subdivision was still under construction, but the home we were visiting was a resale of a home built three years earlier. My clients seemed only mildly impressed with it, and we went on with the tour of homes I'd set up.
Here's where I made the fatal mistake I will never make again. I didn't take them to the new homes sales office in the subdivision under construction. On Monday, during her lunch hour, my client went to the sales office just to see what they had. The sales representative there had her sign in with him. Then he showed her the models. Her fiance came back with her the next evening. He signed in, too. My clients had no idea that meant they signed off on me at the same time. They found a home under construction that would be finished about the same time as they were to be married, so they made arrangements to save this home, which was tantamount to an offer on it, with the realtor in the sales office and told him they had a realtor for the sale of their homes and for the purchase of this one. Of course, if you are a realtor, you know what happened next. Nope. You signed up with us. We won't be paying her any commission and we will work a deal with you on this home for the sale of your other two homes. Gone for me were two listings and a purchase. Just like that. And clients I really loved.
My clients called me when they left the office to tell me what had happened. Unfortunately for me, they really wanted this new place. As often happens with clients who give me a list of must-haves, many of their must-haves were missing with this home. But, I want my clients to be happy. The realtor at the new home sales office laughed off my request to keep my clients: "You should have brought them in yourself." (Good point. *&%$# ) All I could do was wish them well. Never heard from them again. Real estate is not an easy profession.
What I should have done: Well, that's a no-brainer. If there is a new homes sales office anywhere close to where my clients might be looking for a home, I'm going to take them there and we will sign up to look around together! Always...
Bottom Line: If you are looking for a home with a realtor you love and trust and they've spent many hours showing you homes and helping you to make all the other decisions, financial and strategic, that are all a part of the purchasing process, please let that realtor know if you are looking for homes on your lunch hour by yourself. I would've dropped what I was doing (unless I was with another client) to meet her there. At the very least I would have been able to tell her to just look at the models and not sign anything until I could go back with them. They felt terrible about going on without me...but not as bad as I did....sigh.
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