Thread: Realtor War Stories

[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Every Realtor has war stories. As a soon to be former Realtor I thought I heard it all but maybe not. In the industry there's a saying; "Buyers are liars and sellers are storytellers". Realtors love to tell their war stories. Some bragging about something good (the transaction that makes it all worth it), some wining about something bad (the one that makes you want to toss in the towel) but mostly some pretty funny stuff. I have so many that I want to put them in print for others to enjoy. An example is;

What a fun idea... I will think of some to add... but they probably won't be as good as the puppycicle one.

Jennifer

Well, the first one that comes to mind is a little questionable for this forum, but what the heck...

This happened to my partner who had no qualms about sharing it with me - I personally am much more modest, but I still was rolling on the floor laughing....

Anyway, she was showing a home to her buyer when she suddenly had a tummy-attack. She politely excused herself and escaped into the guest bathroom, where she "hung out" for a little while. All of a sudden, her client knocked on the door and asked her if she was okay.... and then just stood there outside the door, waiting for her. My partner said she could actually hear her client breathing. She was in agony, both mentally and physically, but she did what she had to do. After she was finished, she frantically looked around the bathroom for some air freshener, but finding none, she sprayed the bathroom with some windex she found under the sink.

And then... she discovered that the water was turned off in the house and the toilet wouldn't flush. Apparently, the home was vacant and had been staged, and the homeowner had winterized it to avoid frozen pipes.

Jennifer

For those of us that remember life before the computer, we often wonder how we managed without it. For some, such as myself, there still remains an element of distrust with the 3gz wonder. I was raised in the handshake era where looking into one's eyes and a firm handshake meant something.

I had two college savvy, money hungry agents working for me that made each deal a complex array of internet communication and hand held technology. I was always amazed at their willingness to engage conversations over the internet (email) without ever actually meeting the prospective client. They closed deals and were considered an asset to the agency.

One day, wonder child #1 came into my office, flushed cheeks and all and informed me that quite by accident he had acquired Bill Gates personal email and as such, had sent him a prospect note. Being the aggressive type, he kept up with "Mr Gates" and within two weeks, had a firm commitment for a large parcel of land our office had listed. He must have run the commission dollars a thousand times.

To make a longer story short, his "Mr. Gates" turned out to be a 13 year old with more computer savvy than my agent anticipated. From this experience he found new meaning in "eye to eye handshakes".

The parcel did sell, by one of my senior agents ... eye to eye and with a handshake. Sorry Mr. Gates, you missed out.

That's a gem. Thanks.
I'm a Realtor who dates back to the 'eye to eye' days and the 'books'.
Ahh, the wealth I would have from all those proposals I received from Nigeria.
Marie

I love this business because it is a people business. But I know that not all my prospects want "face-to-face" contact right away, especially those that come from my web site. Some are receptive to a phone call and a meeting, but some only want to communicate via email. They like to keep me at arms length unitl they're ready. Those that do become clients are all "face-to-face" relationships.

Technology can be a wonderful tool, but it doesn't replace people skills and one-on-one sales skills.

The only war story I have involves a woman who forgot I was coming with my buyers to show her home. I rang the bell and knocked on the door as usual before going in, but when we got inside the owner (a woman) was coming out of the bathroom with a towl around her. She was in the shower and didn't hear me knock. We were all quite embarrased.

Patrick- thanks for your input.
At least she didn't know.
There was a hungry agent in our office who received a call to do a CMA. When she arrived the gentleman (about 70 yrs. old) answered the door stark naked. I would have been back in my car in a split second but she was in a slump and needed the listing. She brought his nakedness to his attention and he said he was in the shower and forgot to put on a robe. He dressed and she got the listing signed.
It doesn't end there. In the first few days of the listing she received a few calls from agents that the homeowner answered the door naked.
She had to add verbiage to the showing instructions: "Call first to make sure the homeowner is dressed"
Gotta love this business.
Marie

I think that is so funny. I personally would have peeked in the freezer to see what was in there.

Was the dog in a plastic bag or just sitting there stiff, laying on the corn and pizzas?

I had an agent prank call on a sign I put out the other day. The sign was for 0% listings. He called from his office and left a stupid goofy message saying that he was interested in listing. Too bad for him it was a call capture 800 number. I looked up his number and emailed his contact info to my broker with the message and my broker lit him up. By the end of the conversation i'm sure he was pretty worried that my broker was going to report him.