Real Estate Network

As the mother of five daughters in a private Christian school in the 1980s and 1990s, my girls were often thought of as “The Infamous Foster Girls.”  I was a lot more laid back as a mom than many of the other moms, so when I found a kindred spirit mom with four boys, it was a joy.

Many years later, kids grown and (mostly) gone, my friend contacted me to tell me that her parents would be moving to town from Michigan, and would I meet with them to show them houses?  We agreed to meet the next time they were in town, and we really hit it off.

They were a couple that was retiring to the area because all they wanted in life was to be within walking distance to all of their children, grandchildren, and soon-to-be great grandchildren.  They now had the means and ability to retire, so their number one priority was to find something close in proximity.

I showed them houses one day, and then told them that my policy is that they would need to sign a Buyer Agency Agreement before we looked at houses again.  They were highly insulted, and insisted that they were good Christian people who would never treat someone else like that.  And because I was friends with their daughter, of course there wouldn’t be a problem.

So I looked the other way and showed them houses.  Not just for a day or two, but for SIX MONTHS.  When they went home to Michigan to get ready to move, they would call me at any particular time to have me go look at a house for them since I obviously knew what they wanted.  I even negotiated on two deals for them on detailed information to try to secure houses that they liked, to no avail.  I had well over 100 hours in working for them.

As high end CASH BUYERS, they were going to be ready to move as soon as we found something.  So I looked, and I looked, and I looked . . . and then I found it.  They were in town, and I called to tell them that I had found their perfect home that fit every single one of the criteria that they had given me.  After seeing it, they deemed it PERFECT.  Because it was later in the day, we agreed that we would meet at 9:00 the following morning at the property to sign the contract (this was pre-eContracts).

When they didn’t show up, I was a concerned because it was so out of character, and left them a message.  When I hadn’t heard by afternoon, I called them again.  Still no response.  The next afternoon, I called their daughter and asked what had happened.  She assured me that she had no idea.  Four days later, Mr. Buyer answered his phone. 

“Sure, Mimi, everything is okay.  When we left you the other day we went to Denver for dinner, and on our way stopped in Castle Rock (about 50 miles away) and went to an Open House.  We loved the house (walking distance to the grandkids?) and put in an offer on the spot.  We completed our inspection this morning and we will be closing next week.  Thanks for all of your help.”  When I asked if they had informed the other agent that they were working with a Realtor, they told me that they didn’t think it would matter because the property was out of town and they didn’t think that I worked that far north, but they really appreciated all of my help for the past few months.

Not only that, can we address the issue of NOT EVEN CALLING ME FOR FOUR DAYS?  Did you FORGET that we were meeting to sign a CONTRACT on your PERFECT house?  The one that fit every requirement you had me looking for for six months because every one of them was important to you?  You had no problem contacting me when you NEEDED something. 

State of shock? You bet! Anger? About as angry as I get.  Legal action?  After much consideration, I decided not to pursue it for a dozen different reasons.  After a day or two, my anger spilled over and I wrote them a (professional but scathing) letter about just what I thought of them and their “good Christian values.” Their response?  Good grief, there’s no need to get so upset.  We TOLD you we were sorry.

Several years later, I have still not spoken to their daughter, and I’m not sure I ever would since she definitely knew what was going on.  The biggest lesson to come from that was – I will not, no matter who they are nor how good their reason, show houses for a second time to someone who has not signed a Buyer Agency Agreement with me.  It is not only a protection for me, it is also a protection for them.

I’m sure many of you have had similar horror stories.  It’s part of how we learn our lessons, and a piece of how we get to be really good at what we do (hopefully) . . . and we are so much wiser on the other side.  I wasn’t a rookie at the time, but I assure you I will never make that rookie mistake again.