Irresponsible Client, part 2

As we left part 1, I was waiting for the check. It arrived by overnight mail the next day, and I took it up to the agent.

Some days later, he told me their check had bounced. He said if they sent him a good check for the entire escrow amount (Escrow is usually paid one part with the offer and the rest of it at a later time, usually 10 days or 2 weeks) they'd be fine. I called Jim and left a message. He never returned my call. I called him several times, and finally I got Judy who gave me a litany of excuses. She said she'd tell Jim about it and they'd get a check in the mail.

Then they called my manager, and complained that I was "the worst realtor in the world." They wanted the house but didn't want to work with me. He suggested he handle it, and I said fine and gave him all the gory details. Funny thing, he was even a bigger nagger than I was. I said I'd split the commission with him.

He called them and tried to get them to live up to their responsibilities, but he never heard from them either.

No check ever arrived, despite the dedicated work of two agents. The seller finally lost patience and put the house back on the market and it sold a month or so later despite my constant nagging. Through their irresponsibility, they lost the house.

In retrospect, I don't know what their game was. They seemed like reasonable people, but it turned out, not. I took their evaluation of me as the "worst" realtor in the world a compliment. It's hard to be the best or worst at anything, because you have such a huge number of competitors.

I'm trying to create savvier real estate customer. Is this working?

Want Sherpa thoughts on entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want Sherpa to publish your poem or short story? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want Sherpa tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com.

Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Irresponsible Client, part I.

The irresponsible client: I was having coffee in a well-known caffeine den just down the street from my office. I overheard a male-female couple discussing looking for a home. I said, "Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. I'm a Realtor. Can I answer any questions for you?" Call them Jim and Judy.

Their eyes lit up and they said, yes I could. They were only in town, up from Virginia, for a couple of days, and could I show them some places. We talked a little about what they were looking for and so forth. I took them to my office, and pulled down some properties.

Over the next couple of days I showed them about eight houses. They liked a really nice one in down South Philly, and said they wanted to make an offer. I contacted the listing agent and asked him if there were any offers on the table. He said they weren't, please submit one. It turned out that he owned the house. He'd recently renovated it and was trying to move it as quickly as possible.

We wrote up the offer the afternoon of the second day. I asked them for a check for the first escrow deposit. Jim said he'd "forgotten" his checkbook. Maybe a bad sign, maybe no big deal. He said he'd be sure to overnight the check the day they got back to VA. I called the listing agent and explained the situation. He said fine, bring in the offer. As long as the check got there within the next couple of days we were good. To be continued.

I'm trying to create savvier real estate customer. Is this working?

Want Sherpa thoughts on entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want Sherpa to publish your poem or short story? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want Sherpa tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com.

Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.