I give most people the benefit of a doubt. Even if I initially suspect a person of wrong doing, I believe it's only fair to cut them a break. After all, who among us hasn't messed up at some point or another in our lives? Thank goodness we aren't in politics, is all I have to say.
Look at Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi and her shoplifting accusation arising from an unfortunate incident at Nordstrom. I can certainly understand being so distracted by a cell phone call that I could walk out of a store with merchandise in my hand. As a Sacramento short sale agent, I probably deal with more complex situations than your average real estate agent on any given day. Bad news comes in a steady stream and goes out as a resolved conflict.
I get bad news on vacation, too, but I resolve it. That's my job, to resolve problems and face conflict head on. Granted, it's much easier when one is sitting on the patio staring out at the waves rolling in. It provides clarity.
It gives me a chance to consider whether I want to cut my losses before they begin. I had a potential listing that involved gigantic amounts of discussion -- an inordinate amount of hand holding -- much more so than was ever necessary. But that's how the business is, sometimes the listings are easy and sometimes they are not. They balance each other out. I like to believe that I do what it takes.
But part of the problem with consumers finding an agent online is they find other things online, too. Things that are not true. And they can't tell the difference. They don't consider the source of the information. Yesterday, a client blasted me over and over about dribble she found in a Q & A on Trulia. It must be true, she swore, because it was on Trulia, for goodness sakes! She knew I was on vacation but she demanded that I "research" a situation that I already had given her the answer to.
For one thing, real estate agents don't "research." Consumers do research. The best research is to hire a lawyer to answer a legal question. Googling a legal question to see what other people have to say about it reminds me of this story of an unnamed beat reporter assigned to cover a bad neighborhood in Chicago. She stood on the corner yelling at passersby, "Does anybody know where I can get a gun?"
The problem with this client is she didn't trust her agent. I gave her the correct answer but she didn't want to listen. When there is no trust, there is no fiduciary relationship. When there is no fiduciary relationship, there is no listing agreement. Things can only go downhill from there. As Kenny Rogers says: You've gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. As a short sale agent, you've gotta have the wisdom to know the difference. We deal with enough crap as it is.
Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub
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