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Another Activerain Closing, and All I Got Was...

By Margaret Woda

Real Estate Agent with Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.

May 27, 2010 07:46 AM

Margaret .. this lousy bag of trash!

Seriously, I was the selling agent and here I am taking out the seller's trash this morning, two days after closing. People just wouldn't believe what we real estate agents do to earn our money, would they? (Yet they don't hesitate to ask us for help with everything from moving to taking out their trash - even when they're the other agent's client!)

_______________

It all began with March 21, 2010 with the following message in my email box: "My family and I are relocating from Montgomery, AL to the Washington, DC area due to my new assignment at the Pentagon..."

This was one tough buyer who had a list of interview questions for me:

1. How long have you been a realtor?
2. Do you primarily work with sellers or buyers?
3. What is your buyer broker agreement?
4. Will you connect me with other professionals such as lenders, title companies, home inspectors, etc...?
5. How much do you charge?
6. Can you provide me two references (buyers) I can contact?

Apparently I answered these questions satisfactorily because a few weeks later we spent two days looking at Crofton homes. I quickly discovered that this buyer was already familiar with the neighborhoods from reading about them on my blog, knew my daughter's name and commented on her shoveling that 45 inches of snow from our driveway a month before he contacted me, recognized restaurants and other places from my blog photos, and even had an idea for naming my son's company. (I guess all those hours of blogging and photo-taking are worthwhile investments of my time.)

He found a home on Day #1, wrote on it the 2nd day, and headed back to Alabama to enjoy the remainder of the weekend with his family. The entire closing took place this week with him and his wife still in Alabama.

The seller left after closing for Florida, and that's how I got stuck with taking out the trash.

I'm looking forward to meeting Mrs Buyer when they arrive on June 6 and she sees her new home for the first time. In the meantime, my commission is already in the bank.

THANK YOU, ACTIVERAIN!

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Ed Borne

Transitions Realty - Los Angeles, CA

ed borne Congratulations, I am going to meet a buyer tomorrow with a real emergency/urgency literally "on-board". She is seven months pregnant and wants to get into escrow real quick, if you know what I mean!?

You have set a fine example for going the extra mile. I just hope I don't have to bring diapers to closing :)

May 28, 2010 01:54 PM

Margaret Woda

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. - Crofton, MD

Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation

Christopher - Oh no! That does sound like quite a scene. The sellers were lucky you moved their stuff to the garage, and not the curb.

Jen - Thanks, but really... I think 95% of us on Activerain probably would do the same under these circumstances.

Georgina - I'll never forget showing a home on a hot summer day and seeing the listing agent sweating bullets as she weeded the bed near the front door. She was a big-hitter, and I figured "If she can do this for her clients, anyone can!" I get the whole "hire somebody" logic, but it's not always necessary.

Terrie - I really do love walking beside my clients to help them achieve their goals. And the good news is that we get paid for this. What a great job!

Larry - You have quite a tough market in Michigan, and anything you can do to make a sale go more smoothly is well worth it, I'm sure.

May 28, 2010 04:19 PM

Margaret Woda

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. - Crofton, MD

Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation

Dee dee - Alas, we don't get checks. It's all direct deposit. But that puts money in our hands really really fast - like the day after settlement!

Lee - I'm sorry the public doesn't have much respect for real estate agents in your market. They actually do in mine.

Ed - 'Been there, done that, too. Haha. I'd much rather take out trash or cut the grass than take care of small children at settlement.

May 28, 2010 04:27 PM

Betsy Schuman Dodek

Washington Fine Properties - Washington DC Area Real Estate - Potomac, MD

SearchPotomacHomes.com

Margaret - I loved reading this blog!!! Very exciting story! Do you have a ton of competition in the blogging dept. in Crofton?

May 28, 2010 08:34 PM

Tina Gleisner

Home Tips for Women - Portsmouth, NH

Home Tips for Women

I enjoyed your story and especially as it was me 10 years ago, but no blogging so I did the interviews via phone to get a better sense of who people were. After 5 properties on Saturday, did digital photos to my husband overnight & wrote offer the next day.

May 28, 2010 09:20 PM

Robin Rogers

Robin Rogers, Silverbridge Realty, San Antonio, Texas - San Antonio, TX

CRS, TRC, MRP - Real Estate Investment Adviser

Vacuuming bugs off the floor, changing the air-conditioning filters, taking out the trash . . . all part of our closing services. That's why we make the big bucks!

Congratulations on another successful deal, Margaret!

Cheers,

Robin

May 29, 2010 01:33 AM

Tammie White, Broker

Franklin Homes Realty LLC - Franklin, TN

Franklin TN Homes for Sale

If only buyers and sellers knew what we actually did for them to make a sale happen.

May 29, 2010 03:11 AM

Margaret Woda

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. - Crofton, MD

Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation

Betsy, there are several bloggers in Crofton - mostly in my office. And some of them are very good bloggers as well as agents. But there's plenty of business to go around, so I encourage Activerain participation - I suspect it will help everyone who owns property in Crofton if we can raise awareness of this community to folks relocating to D.C. and Baltimore for work.

Tina - Great story. Over the years, I've even had two couples commit without either spouse seeing the property... It's great when you can have that kind of relationship with clients, isn't it?

Robin - Thank you, this one was really a joy because the people are so nice! The whole "trash" thing was really tongue-in-cheek... I'd have done anything for them.

May 29, 2010 03:12 AM

Lottie Kendall

Compass - San Francisco, CA

Helping make your real estate dreams a reality

Margaret, congratulations on a job well done.

May 29, 2010 03:38 AM

Margaret Woda

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. - Crofton, MD

Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation

Tammie - So true. But some of them do know and even appreciate it. LOL.

Lottie - Thank you much. By the way, I enjoyed your post on blogging tips for newbies.

May 30, 2010 04:40 PM

Pippa Mac

Chevaux Group Realtor, The Woodlands and Spring - The Woodlands, TX

The Woodlands TX Real Estate

Quite funny ... I was expecting to see a picture of a check taped to the trash bag (a joke of course) for Bobs contest!

May 31, 2010 03:39 PM

Margaret Woda

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. - Crofton, MD

Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation

Hi, Pippa... I actually thought about claiming this bag was full of cash. LOL.

May 31, 2010 03:54 PM

Debbe Perry

Real Living Carolina Property - Morganton, NC

828.439.3084 Morganton/Lake James NC

Great post, Margaret! Congrats on the closing! And what a trusting wife your Buyer has - must come from experience!

Jun 02, 2010 08:56 AM

Shanna Hall

Real Estate Solutions - Kirkwood, MO

I love selling houses!!!St. Louis, MO 314-703-1311

Last Decemebr I did the same thing... Closed on a house in November with a client that found me on active rain... but they were not moving here until December 23 and would be arriving with the trucks... The buyer called me to ask if I could line upa cleaning company so it would be ready for all of their stuff... I said of course- not even thinking about how packed cleaning people were right before Christmas holidays... Clearly I was unable to get someone booked... I grabbed a younger cousin and cleaned that house from top to bottom... I will never do that again... I will happiliy pay double to have someone else do it rathar than me...

Jun 02, 2010 05:10 PM

Margaret Woda

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. - Crofton, MD

Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation

Shanna -The timing for that WAS terrible, wasn't it. If they send you a referral or list the house with you when they move, you'll probably be glad you took time out of your own holiday preparations last year. What I did was not nearly so time-consuming - maybe 5 minutes tops, so I can't complain.

Jun 02, 2010 05:33 PM

Karen Anne Stone

New Home Hunters of Fort Worth and Tarrant County - Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth Real Estate

Margaret: As the Selling Agent... we all know there are times when we are the only one left to do whatever comes up... like taking out the trash. We do what we have to do.

And... how great for him to contact you after spending all that time reading all those posts on your blog. I have ALWAYS said... to anyone who will listen... that you have one of the absolute best blogs I have ever seen on Active Rain. Take care.

Jun 02, 2010 06:07 PM

Wayne Johnson

Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper REALTORS® - San Antonio, TX

San Antonio REALTOR, San Antonio Homes For Sale

Margaret-I guess I've been lucky. The things I've had to do over and above the typical realtor stuff is small potatoes compared to what you've done. Maybe that's why you got the job. Keep moving.

Sep 26, 2010 02:34 PM

Margaret Woda

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. - Crofton, MD

Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation

Karen Anne - I apologize... how did I not see your comment when you wrote it. Thanks for such a nice compliment!

Wayne - LOL... really, there are worse things. I live in a stereo-typical community where most homes and most clients are very nice.

Sep 27, 2010 03:47 AM

Rosanne Fett

FHA home loan, VA home loan, zero down home loan - Dallas, TX

NMLS #205558 - Home Loan Expert, Jumbo Home Loan, USDA

I know your buyers will appreciate that you go the extra mile for them, whether they tell you that or not. Great service is where your future referrals come from. Every time you close a seamless transaction, your clients know the difference, as they have all heard horror stories from friends and co-workers. As a lender, I get to work with all kinds of agents, and I can certainly say that far too many of them do not understand how to truly take care of the customer. You sound like the type of realtor that I love to partner with. I'm still working at finding enough of the really good ones to work with here in Texas.

May 17, 2011 05:42 AM

Margaret Woda

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. - Crofton, MD

Maryland Real Estate & Military Relocation

My goodness, how did you find this old blog post, Roseanne? Thanks for your comment. LOTS of good agents down there in Texas. I've met many of them through Activerain, through RE/MAX (I was a RE/MAX agent for 25 years), and through referrals.

May 17, 2011 11:19 PM