I remember my first client, while not exactly fondly, with much
appreciation. That experience taught
some tough lessons about real estate upfront.
This was it…I had passed the state required test and
coursework. I had paid my dues. I had attended the broker’s training; I knew
the paperwork inside and out; my car was clean; I was ready.
It was weekend duty, so the office phones were forwarded to
me from 5 p.m. Friday until 9 a.m. Monday morning. I received a call from a guy asking about
listing his (and his wife’s) home and then buying a new one. His name was Tim and he was very direct with
what he, not they, wanted. After asking
some basic questions, we set an appointment for the following day.
There was a lot of work to do and not a lot of time. A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) needed to
be completed on their current home, and I had to search for potential new homes
for them. I had to speak to my Broker to
make sure I was hitting all the right wickets, not to mention getting help on
the CMA. That can be a tricky one.
The time for the appointment came quickly. I arrived about 5 minutes early. Not too early but enough so that it could be
considered punctual. I had all my
marketing materials with me, was looking sharp, and feeling outwardly
confident. As I walked up to the door my
heart was pounding and the adrenaline was starting to flow: my palms started to
sweat. I nonchalantly (just in case
anyone was watching) put my right hand into my pocket to try and dry it…I would
be shaking hands in just a second.
I rang the bell, it was nothing special; just your typical
sounding doorbell. Steps came toward the
door. You know when you speak with
someone on the phone and you have a preconceived notion of what they should
look like? Well I had one…and the guy
who answered the door was not it.
When Tom and I first spoke, he came across the phone as your
typical Type “A” personality…a strong, forceful voice that resonated
confidence. I had this picture of a bug
hulk of a man ready to snap someone in half if he did not get what he
wanted. Instead I got a guy about 2”
shorter than me with his chest puffed out and a pissed off look on his
face. I soon came to realize that this
was his normal look.
We shook hands and while he was trying to crush mine, the
first words out of his mouth were, “It’s a good thing you aren’t late! I hate
it when people are late!”
My first thought was, “great he’s got a little-big man
complex.” But my first words were, “Hi
Tim, glad to meet you, I’m Duncan.” “no
sh!@” was his reply followed quickly by, “Take your shoes off”. This was getting better and better.
Entering his house was a bit overwhelming; not because it
was big and luxurious, just the opposite.
It was small, or made smaller, by all the “stuff” jammed into it. And it was spotless. I don’t mean really clean, I mean
SPOTLESS. Plastic covers on the couches
and chairs; plastics runners on the carpet.
Everything shined. Everything in
its place.
As I toured the housed I realized it wasn’t just the living areas
that were spotless; every room, every closet, the garage, everything was almost
sterile it was so clean. Tim kept up a
running commentary as he showed me his home.
As we finished walking around the house, we settled in at
the kitchen table. I had my listing
presentation ready to go, all the facts and figures needed to convince him to
let me list his house. As I spoke and
led Tim through the CMA he just nodded his head, bobbing it up and down; not
making a sound. When I was finished he
told, “Sounds good”. Inside I was
jumping for joy but kept a professional smile on my face; until he followed up
with “On a couple of conditions”.
My smile faltered a bit and I think he noticed because he
told not to worry, they weren’t difficult conditions (famous last words!). His conditions were 1) I be available
whenever he called and needed me and 2) he wanted exactly what he wanted in a
new home, no more, no less. Heck,
sounded reasonable enough to me. There
was a smile back on my face as I led Tim through the listing agreement for his
initials and signature.
I was so proud of myself that day. My first listing! Not only a listing but a buyer as well! I thought I was pretty good at this real
estate game. Little did I know what I
was letting myself in for.
Well, too make a long, and painful, story short, Tim did
expect me to be available whenever he called, day or night, weekday or
weekend. I got calls from him at 5:30 in
the morning; and 11:00 at night. I got
voicemails asking me where I was and why I wasn’t answering his calls.
Tim also knew what he wanted in a house and would not accept
ANYTHING else. I showed him over 40
houses. He would send me a list of
houses to see and I would schedule them.
There was always at least one thing wrong, always a deal breaker. Nothing was ever big enough, light enough,
had a big enough yard, or it was too big a yard, too many trees not enough
trees, too much updating to be done, too much had been redone so he couldn’t
make it “his”. It was never ending.
His house never did sell, at least not for another 18
months. His listing (after 6 months) with
my broker expired and I decided to not take him back as a client. To me it has to be a good fit, if not then I won’t
take a client.
Anyway there are two huge lessons I learned from my time
with Tim. The first was time management
and limits. The second was to manage my
client’s expectations.
I had to learn to set limits with my clients. I would be available during certain times,
for example: Monday through Saturday
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and in an emergency on Sundays. Family time is critical and working with Tim,
I was sacrificing that.
The second lesson I learned was to manage expectations for
my clients, both when listing their home and when buying. A person willing to buy your home may not see
it being worth what you think it is. You
are emotionally and financially invested in your home, they are not. On the flip side, you may not think a house
you like is worth what is being asked.
When looking at homes, all homebuyers have a “wish
list”. This list is made up of “must
haves” and “nice to haves”. A buyer will
not find a house with everything they are looking for, exactly the way they
want it. The odds are against it. Having a wish list with “must haves” and
“nice to haves” makes life a lot easier when you are looking at homes.
I hope Tim learned something as well. When working with a REALTOR, keep in mind
that they are building a business. Yes,
they are there to fulfill your needs in selling or buying a home, but not to be
at your beck and call. They have a life
outside work, just as you do. Let them
have that family time. When you look for
a new home, have an idea of what you need and want but have some flexibility.
Thanks for reading one my real estate encounters. Next time I’ll post a “success” story.
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