As realtors, we are forced to sell...homes and...ourselves. I 'pimp' myself out on these social platforms, showing my top sales and accolades, but very rarely do we talk about the "not so fun stuff".
In this case, my "not so fun" involves the same couple I wrote about in my blog, "Unforgettable Home Tour: From Exotic Animals to Unexpected Surprises in a $1.2M Property", a much lighter, funnier story...
My first literal day in real estate, my team lead sat me down with a list of leads and said, "start calling, expect a lot of "NO's".
My VERY first phone call, the guy picks up and sounded EXCITED to talk to me! He explained that he and his wife were in no hurry, but needed to buy a home and sell their current home. As a new agent, I was in a panic! I went to my team lead and asked for help creating a listing presentation and market analysis for my new potential $500,000 listing. I couldn't believe how "easy" real estate was going to be for me... oh Good Lord...
I killed the listing appointment, and I was to list the home as soon as we found their new dream home. Over the course of 3 years and 15+showings ALL over THE ENTIRE STATE of Oklahoma, they still hadn't found the right fit, and took on a new, cash heavy venture, so had to take a break on their home buying journey.
I absolutely loved this couple. I had no problem playing the patient, long-game while they became trail blazers in their new business (not mentioned for respect and privacy to these clients). I even came into said business to make purchases and support their cause!
Fast forward 7 YEARS LATER...
They are back on board to tour some properties, and good news, their budget went from $500,000 to $700,000 and their current home I was going to sell was also much higher. The long-game was paying off right? Not so fast...
The husband calls me and tell me they found "The ONE" for real this time... It was a beautiful home, $750,000. We booked the tour, I showed them the home, and they told me to write up an offer!
Then...there were some financing issues all of a sudden. The buyers did not have the financing figured out they way they imagined. They had a friend that was going to offer them some type of private money lending. It turns out, the private money partner was also a realtor, and a greasy one!
Instead of honoring my buyer broker agreement, my 7 years of absolute top-notch service, and all the mileage on my car...the private money realtor guy purchased the home FOR MY CLIENTS, in his name. My clients I guess will later deed the home into their name after they pay off this guy. There goes that "buyer-broker agreement"...
Well.. I get a text from the wife, she is apologizing up and down. She explains that not only did I lose the opportunity at the home purchase sale(commission lost), they felt OBLIGATED to let their money lending/realtor friend LIST their current home, instead of me, as a 'thank you' to him for making their purchase more convenient. (more commission lost) at a time where I REALLY needed it too..
I worked for 7 years for FREE, and even showed this couple the home they purchased and made ZERO. What hurts the most is that during the first year of showings, the wife actually told me that she loved working with me and promised her loyalty to me LOL 😂 That was the kiss of death...
Am I salty? Absofreakinlutely!
Do I despise them? ...actually no. I love them. I am happy for them. This is real estate, it can be cut throat.
Who can I be upset with? The clients for lack of communication to me, and mostly the scum lender/agent guy that didn't at least reach out and try to make it fair, since I had done all the leg work, and he KNEW IT.
This situation killed me. It was the hardest blow I had taken in real estate. I consider myself lucky because I know there are much worse realtor nightmare stories I have been able to avoid.
It's hard to be vulnerable and write these ugly highlight stories when you love what you do. I would never bad mouth a client, as I am a bulldog to my friends and clients, fighting whatever gets in our path. However, I think letting the world know about these unfortunate dealings helps formulate a better understanding at how hard Realtors work and how little they can be appreciated or valued.
ON to the next glorious deal...
Your Residential Matchmaker,
Lindsay Greene
