In my 34 years in real estate, I've seen it all!
So I'm asked what is the funniest, craziest or most outrageous experience I've had in my 34 years in real estate? There have been so many, it is hard to pick one.
Let's see -- Should I tell you about the seller who went berserk and physically threatened me because he was so upset that I couldn't get the bank to approve his short sale within the time frame he had decided worked for him? Not so funny, but certainly outrageous.
Or maybe the broker tour where everyone was chatting through all the rooms until we got to the master bedroom, where there was suddenly complete silence while we took in the huge nude portrait of the woman seller, the ceiling mirror over the bed and the fuzzy handcuffs and vibrator on the bedside table?
Of course I have a collection of stories where despite plenty of notice to the sellers, I brought buyers to a home where there was someone sound asleep in bed or taking a shower.
And one where a cat ran out of the house when I opened the door and I had to find some cat food in the kitchen to coax her back in - just in case she wasn't normally permitted outside.
I've also had sellers without a lockbox decide not to let me in despite my making a showing appointment. They have peeked out the window, saw me standing there with my buyers and refused to answer the door.
And one time I went to show a house and couldn't find the lockbox that the MLS listing said was there. I finally knocked on the door and the homeowner was shocked - her house was NOT on the market. The numbers were transposed in the listing and the house for sale was on the next block.
But the most frantic and funny (afterwards) experience I've had recently was when I took a buyer to a nice home, which she was loving, and I thought for sure she would be calling her husband to meet us at my office to write up an offer.
Then she said, "I almost forgot. My husband will ask me what the garage was like, so I'd better check that." She opened the connecting door to the garage and all hell broke loose in the form of 7 (seven!) dogs that came bounding into the house. Huge ones and tiny ones.
The big ones jumped on my buyer and knocked her down and the little ones ran around peeing everywhere in their excitement. I helped my buyer up and tried to reach the listing agent, but no luck, so my buyer decided we should round up the dogs and get them back into the garage.
This could have been a slapstick movie, as the little ones were really hard to catch, and the big ones were heavy and hard to shove around. We would make some progress, but when we opened the door to put one in, two would push their way back into the house.
We were slipping on the pee and having trouble avoiding falling on our butts on the hardwood floors. By the time we got them all back in the garage, nearly an hour had passed, our clothes were muddy and dissheveled, we had dog pee on us, and we both collapsed on the couch.
After a few minutes, she got up and said we should wipe up the pee that was all over the floors, and although I told her she didn't have to do that, she didn't feel right about leaving it because she felt it was her fault for letting the dogs in.
When we'd finally finished that, she said, "I think I'm through looking at homes for today." Me too!
It actually took a couple of weeks for her to be ready to try again, and never again did she look into a garage. She said that if her husband wanted to know what the garage was like he could come and look for himself!
When I finally spoke with the listing agent that night I suggested that she should have her sellers put a note in the MLS and on the garage door warning people about the dogs.
She laughed and said that might be a good idea (I can't imagine why she hadn't considered that before), but she added that if there had been a sign, I wouldn't have a great story to tell my friends. She thought it was very funny.
Looking back, I can appreciate the humor, but at the time I just wanted to survive it!
Happily, I was able to find another very nice (dog-free) home for my buyers. I love dogs, and so does my buyer, but that was ridiculous!
Since the above experiences are only a small sampling, you can see why I say that in my 34 years in real estate, I've seen it all!
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Susan Neal
Broker / Realtor
Susan Neal Fine Properties
Century 21 Noel David Realty
Fair Oaks, California
Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 30+ years experience.
I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction.
"Happy clients make me happy."
For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916)705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.
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