In this slow Sacramento real estate market with more short sales and foreclosures than ever, it surprises me how much resistance I seem to run into with just communicating with so many of my fellow Sacramento Realtors. I have heard the same frustration from some other Realtors as well and I wish it wasn't true.

The biggest issue we seem to face is that we love to talk to clients, but are not as good as talking to the co-operating Realtor who brings in the offer on our listings. I think I know where the frustration stems from - it comes from the fact that we have an offer, but can't do anything about it because it's not as simple as calling the seller and saying, "We have an offer. I'll come over tomorrow and decide if we can open escrow." It's the fact that then you have to submit the offer to a bank and deal with a long line of phone calls with unfriendly machines, bored loss mitigation officers, and - gasp! - other co-operating Realtors.

But it is precisely this market in which Realtors prove how professional they are. I haven't spoken to a single Realtor who survived the 1990s real estate crash who thought it was a waste of time talking to other Realtors and Brokers, who didn't think that good real estate customer service extends beyond just clients. Good Realtors on both sides of a transaction are the best assets clients can have. They can also be each others best business alliances in a market gone crazy.

And chances are, if they're both around, they might just work together again in better times!