I have been dealing with a delightful young couple for quite a while now (and no, that's not really them in the photo on the left) ...for maybe 6 months. We have been househunting.
They found me by calling about one of the homes I had listed. And then they began looking for homes with me. To protect the innocent, let's call them Stephen and Christina CuteastheDickens... (they'll know who they are).
First, we found a foreclosure home, we saw it two, maybe three times... but the bank wasn't willing to consider an offer, at the true market value of the home. While we considered writing an offer, we determined that it wasn't worth our while.
Then we saw a bunch o'homes, till we found a cute Tudor. We wrote an offer, negotiated a great deal, and then through inspection issues, over the next several weeks, even though the seller was willing to credit for much of the problems... we backed out of the deal.
At this point, Mr. & Mrs. CuteastheDickens, suggested that I should want to fire them. Nope, said I... I still like you guys.
So we look around some more, and we write an offer on a townhome, under a multiple offer situation... we win. Then they get cold feet and back out (much to the chagrin of the listing agent), and again, suggest I might want to fire them. Nope, said I... I'm still your guy.
Meanwhile, I find that they have written an offer, in a different area, with another agent. That home fails on inspection... and they're back. We'd understand, they said, if you want to fire us. Nope, says I... but no more writing offers with other agents... (clearly I did a poor job of explaining how "agency" works... not their fault... mine). "There's nothing more disconcerting" I said to them "than to hear from one of your clients that they've written an offer with another agent."
They understand, and we go forward... I'm still not willing to cut Mr. and Mrs. CuteastheDickens loose. By now, they feel like family.
We find a FSBO/Flat fee on the MLS. We write an offer... we find more inspection issues... (oh, no!)... we work through the inspection issues... and guess what? We're closing on Friday!
Now... could I have made more money by ditching them, and working with a lower maintenance couple? Sure, but it wouldn't have been as rewarding. This is a young couple, taking advantage of the buyer's credit. They had lots of questions, and I was happy to be able to be the bearer of the answers. The house is cute, cute, cute and will look cuter with the CuteastheDicken's plaque on the front door.
I don't want to work out how much I made per hour... I really don't care. Sometimes the deal is it's own reward.
Comments(31)