Every Christmas I sit down and write personal Christmas cards to all my past clients and those in my Sphere of Influence. Sometimes I even get Christmas cards from my clients, those being the ones that truly love me. Sitting down last night, I poured over the list of people and addresses trying to judge if I needed more stamps. I got to a name that brought back memories and knew he once again would not get a Christmas card.

In 2004, I received an email from a gentleman that lived in Washington state. He was an investor and he was looking to purchase a property as a second home that he could rent out. He wanted me to do all the leg work for him, which I was happy to do. He wasn't going to come to town, but would purchase long distance based on photos I sent, information provided, and my professional opinion.

He wanted to be near the military base so the unit could attract military renters. I knew the perfect neighborhood. While previewing some homes, I came across a FSBO. I gave the owner a call, set up an appointment. To my amazement, the home was phenomenal and priced great, everything and more my client was looking for, and it would attract renters. The owner told me point blank he would not pay a real estate commission to me and if the buyer wanted the home, he would have to pay me. To make a long story short, my buyer liked the house and even agreed to pay my commission on the home. Needless to say, he was very please with my work and even wrote a letter to my broker stating such.

One month later, he called me letting me know about a property his friend had told him about and wanted me to go by the listing to check it out, as he might want to buy it too. Happy to do so, I went to the home. It was about three miles from the other property, had renters in it, but unfortunately, was NOT in the best of shape. It was also listed $20,000 more than the other home he just bought. I sent him photos, pointing out problems with the house, and letting him know the home was overpriced. I also let him know that I did not think this was the house for him.

All my advice didn't matter, he had the "investing" bug and wanted to purchase it. He put in a full price offer and got the home. He was happy as could be. A month later from this, he called me and said he was in town, and wanted me to meet him at the house. Of course he stopped by the beautiful one first and was bowled over by how great the home was. He then met me at the "crap" house, as I call it, and that's when he was no longer happy with his purchase.

I was immediately informed that the house looked like "crap".

-Um, yeah, I told you that before you bought it.

He was unhappy that the grass was over a foot high.

-Um, It's called rain and it makes grass grow, besides, mowing yards a month after closing is not my responsibility.

The hot tub needed repaired and looked horrible.

-Um, I sent you a photo of it, the home inspector told you that in the report, but you chose to ignore it.

The four foot high pile of cut fire wood had not been removed.

-Um, I pointed that out before you bought it and you said you would take care of it.

 So now all of a sudden, the condition of the home was my fault. I was his favorite agent in the world two hours ago, but now he was standing there telling me I had "dropped the ball" on this one.I am a nice person, but my Irish blood can quickly come to boiling in a couple seconds. But, I kept the lid on it. Smiling at him, I apologized and told him ways we could fix the problems. I let him know I would have the fire wood removed, the hot tub cleaned up, the yard mowed, etc. He sounded OK with this. He contacted our rental department and prepared to put the homes up for rent.

A week later, I got a call from Rental and they informed me he pulled his agreement and was going with another company, stating he was very displeased with my work and didn't feel comfortable having us manage his properties. I absolutely could not believe it! He made the decision to purchase the home, didn't take my advice, and now I am to blame for his mistake.

Ever the optimist, to try and win him over, I sent him two bottles of expensive California wine as a closing gift. He thanked me for the "gesture" but implied our relationship was over. It really hurt to be rejected, especially knowing I had done everything right. After a few months of reflection, I tried to convince myself that I shouldn't dwell on this one deal gone sour. But three years later, I still think about it.

So now, I use the transaction as a reminder that I can't win them all. Looking back, I learned alot from the deal, especially concerning buyer's expectations that they won't let you in on, and ways to really drive the message home to a buyer about condition. Remember, the most important things to a client are the ones never discussed. Let's just say, its the little things that matter most and that as real estate agents, we sometimes have to read a clients mind to make them completely happy.