But then there are others you may have even forgotten about who will greet you when they see you, just delighted to see you once again. And that helps make up for the others. Most of the people that I meet in RE are ones that could become friends, and many have. It’s one of the intangible rewards in the business. I like to think I am the “first friend” they had in the area.
Dan an Amishman’s, place just sold to a neighbor, who’d been trying to buy it, directly, for a few years. But they were always apart on the price. I worked on that thing for 4 years, often showing it. Over time, he lowered the price. Finally, I got an offer from a solar company. They make their offers full price so they can get the terms they want, which are not too great if a seller is motivated. Dan let his neighbor know and all at once the guy agreed to pay more. So I lost the sale. He was honest with me and kept me informed, so I have no complaint. He called and told me he wanted to make sure I got something for all my efforts, to show how much he appreciated what I had done for him. And, as promised, he sent me a check - for $50! At first, I was offended, then I saw the humor in it.
One that really hurt me the most was the sale of a friend’s place. It was nice, but odd, with no real bedrooms, just places one could sleep, 2 stories but no good way to get between them. I got a buyer from Arizona to whom I showed it many times. They were also there countless times without me knowing it. These were the kind of people who would become my friends, so I was looking forward to them getting it. Finally, they made an offer, a lowball one. My friend, the owner, could not accept or consider that. Following up, I wrote to Mr. Arizona a couple of times afterward. No response.
Finally I found a young couple who loved it. The gal, very likable in other ways, was too shrewd for her own good and bargained and bargained, not only for the house, but also with the mortgage company. This ate up months of time. I ended up with it under contract with a 48 hour contingency allowing the seller to sell it to a cash buyer should one appear before she got her mortgage commitment.
Then the impossible happened. Mr. Arizona called, precisely as the worst possible time for the buyer. It had been a year since I heard from him. He now wanted it and raised his offer. I explained that we’d already accepted a higher offer and were in the final stages, preparing to close. He still wanted it anyhow and raised his offer above her's. She raised her's and the whole thing went straight down hill from there, with both parties trying to sue the seller. We got that straightened out, after each of them fired their lawyer and got another. The gal and her boyfriend got the place and are delighted with it.
However, at the closing, my friend did not show up and she hasn't spoken to me since, nor answered any of the many emails I have sent her either. Yes, she lost some money in legal fees, but I had reimbursed her fully for that; sometimes you do extra things for friends. Or should I say, “ex-friends”?
Billings had a hard place to sell at the money they wanted for it. Over time, I was able to talk them down to $285000. We got one offer and they settled, happily, for $237000. The folks needed to sell their own home and had that as a contingency. I had a 48 hour clause in the Purchase Contract, allowing me to continue to show it to someone who diid not have to sell something first. There were not many showings, but then there never were. I asked them if they would drop the price, but they wouldn’t, which seemed odd to me - they were perfectly willing to take $237000 but wouldn’t let me advertise anything anywhere near to that figure.
Their buyer had the worst luck I have witnessed. Not one, but three (3) times they had it under contract only to have it fall through. The first two times they agreed to an extension, but after the third fell through, they would not agree, saying that if it was still for sale when the buyer sold their place, they'd still sell it to them at the same $237000. So we filled out a form, dissolving the contract and allowing me to return their deposit.
Or the buyers did. The seller sent me an email with nothing attached. I responded right away that something was missing, but heard nothing from him. I also said that we needed to fill out some paperwork to keep the listing active and never got a response from that either. A few weeks later I had an inquiry from someone who wanted to see it in 2 days. I wrote to all parties saying that I hadn’t received any of the paperwork and told the seller (not the original buyers, I didn't want to rub another showing in their faces) I had a showing coming up. This time, the seller answered, saying that they did not want me showing it again, and that I was to return the key immediately.
They obviously held me accountable that the buyer’s home failed to close. It was listed with another firm, the one with whom I was co-broking, which they knew. Their attitude was like the old days when a messenger came to the king with bad news, he would be put to death as the bearer of bad tidings. I wrote them a carefully considered letter, wishing the good luck in the future - and never got a reply. When I went the next day to return the key and get what was left of the 11 signs they requested I put up, they would not even answer the door. They have closed the door on me, figuratively speaking, and I will not work on it again, even if asked.