I have a very nice young couple that I'm working with. They have been great to work with but slightly challenging to find something that is move in ready with potential in their price range. They have listened well, done all the things they were told and not acted like know it alls. At the end of the day, they are the kind of clients that I'm glad I was able to help and the ones that remind me why I love my career. Well after previewing and eliminating many dogs, I found a great property that the young couple both liked. It was priced well, had tons of potential, and in good enough condition they can move in at closing in November.
Now the good part...I should mention here that this post was inspired by Jason Sheppard and his post http://activerain.com/blogsview/231254/DOES-AGE-MATTER . I should also mention that I'm one of the top producers in my company, have attended many coaching and training sessions, and one of the instructors for our new agents fundamentals course. I've closed 26 transactions this year with 5 currently pending and I'm safely in the to 10% of my market. It's safe to say I'm experienced and qualified. I should also note that I'm 29 but people often think I'm in my early to mid 20's.
So anyway, the young couple picked all the vendors to do the various inspections and the pest company was not one of my preferred vendors. Their company to do the CL100 is a fair sized company but not one I've done much with. The manager himself comes out and does the inspection. He does a very good job, has 25 years experience, is very friendly and knowledgable, and does not know me or the buyers. He takes the time to explain to the young couple's mom what he finds and again does an excellent job. There is a normal stress crack through several bricks on one side, which was normal for a house of this ones age and only cosmetic as verified by the home inspector. There is clearly some work to be done but the home is a good buy for the price and the major repairs will be done by the seller prior to closing.
After covering his report with everyone he asked just me to come outside so he can show me what he's including in the report. What he actually does is take me around the side of the home and start to lecture me- but not because I've done anything wrong. The inspector goes on to tell me that I'm obviously very young so I probably don't have adequate experience to make sure that the buyers are being taken care of (but had the gall to say "I don't want to make any assumptions about you"). He goes on for about 5 minutes lecturing me about how I need to do a good job for them and that too many Realtors are just in it for the money (he hope's I'm not that way!), yada yada yada. I let him go on and then assure the inspector that I'll make they are treated well. Had I been 50 I wouldn't have gotten this even if it was my first transaction but he made assumptions because I'm young.
I'll admit I'm slightly annoyed/insulted that this clown who doesn't know me made assumptions about me based on age. He certainly didn't need to do that but in a way I'm glad he did. I've decided to take the attitude I'm happy he care's enough to try and make sure that his customers are treated well by other professionals. I wouldn't even be opposed to having him do future inspections because I was impressed by how much he cared and the quality work he did.
But yes, age does matter to some. I've had sellers who's first question is "Aren't you a bit young to be in real estate?" and buyers assume I'm not as qualified as some older agents when in truth I'm much more qualified. Twentysomethings, I've found we can knock down these walls with knowledge. Best of luck and don't be annoyed when people assume, at least they noticed. I'm okay with occassionally still being carded for beer at the grocery store. I hope I'm still so lucky 10 years from now.
Comments(12)