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What do taking a bath and leaving on vacation have in common?

Both will guarantee the phone will ring. Ever notice how many people call to put their homes on the market the day your vacation starts? One of my favorite vacation stories was in 2005. My family and I drove to Disney in Florida (from NJ). We drove straight through and checked into our rented house. At around 1:00am we finally were able to get settled in and fall asleep. At 5:00 am the phone rang with the news that our building was on fire. My wife and I and our youngest got up, got back in the car and drove straight back to New Jersey. My son got to see the entrance to Disney as we drove by. My daughter got lucky and was able to stay with relatives in Florida.

By the way I was on a listing appointment that involved the sale of a home when my wife went into labor with our first. The doctor told her to let me finish my appointment. My wife's mother called me and told me to get my butt to the hospital right then or she would scalp me. I threw the contract and listing paperwork at my client and told her to please just sign the darned thing now. She then asked me if this was my wife's first and I said yes. She said don't worry she take a few hours. She then made me negotiate commission. I guess she thought she had me at a weak moment.

Ones of the things that make listing and selling homes such a hoot is that no two days are the same!

Posted by Bruce Parker on 09/21/2007 07:44 AM

Comments (5)

vacation, family, couples, disney, work, listings

5 Comments on What do taking a bath and leaving on vacation have in common?

Good stories Bruce! I sued to have a property management company as well as my real estate company. Property management of vacation homes is VERY hard work if you do it right, which my wife and I did. We sold that company after three years and to let you know how "right" we did it, most of the owners are still our friends.

Anyway, I digress. The final weekend of ownership I take my wife off to the beach. The phone never stopped, but we were in bed on the second night when the phone range at 1.30am. My wife says "somebody better be dead" - and somebody was! One of the guests was calling to let us know that a relative of his had died and that he would be leaving early. Quite why that call couldn't wait till 9am is a source of mystery!

09/21/2007 07:51 AM

by Simon Conway (Picket Fence Realty)

Bruce, I have joked many times that I need to plan vacations more often because I always get busier. I'll be taking most of November and December off for some kind of maternity leave, but I also currently have about 7 listings... we'll see what ends up happening, as these two months are traditionally my busiest months!

09/21/2007 08:02 AM

by Donna Harris, ASP (Re/Max HiNet)

Bruce, Melissa has never let me forget that I spent most of the time while she was in labor on conference calls. I had overplanned. Since the baby was scheduled to be induced 2 days later, I had scheduled calls on all of my files with all my clients and partners. Little did I know, the baby would have a mind of her own and arrive a day early.

We are now on vacation, and it seems like the phone hasn't stopped ringing.

09/21/2007 08:06 AM

by Rich Kruse (Gryphon USA, Ltd.)

You could add going to real estate conventions to that list. It seems every time I travel to a convention or seminar, the phone rings off the hook! I picked up a referral while I was in Milwaukee back in January. And when I was at the CRS "Sell-a-bration" in Vegas about eight months ago, we had two buyers go into a "bidding war" over a waterfront property.

09/21/2007 08:15 AM

by Madeline Island Realty - Eric Kodner Sells Madeline Island

You are always entertaining! You wife is a saint.

10/19/2007 02:39 PM

by Barbara Cook

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