My first listing appointment was in the small town of Lemoyne, Pennsylvania. It was a near perfect house. I was so excited! My broker when with me since this my first experience. While this was more than 25 years ago, I will never forget it because I was young & naïve & obviously not prepared for the personalities of Sellers!
After walking through the house, I saw down with Mr. & Mrs. Seller who were in their very early 80’s and felt like I was with my grandparents. I was relaxed, happy and really just wanted to give them a big squeeze! The appointment was going very well. We agreed to a price, terms and I pulled out my listing paperwork and started filling it out for them to sign. When I pushed the contract over to them so they could see it, Mr. Seller stood up, cleared his throat and very loudly and sternly said – “Before I sign this, there is something you need to know. I will not sell my house to anyone of color, I wouldn’t want my neighbors to be upset with me. You cannot show the home to anyone who is not white!” I was stunned. Unfortunately just moments before Mr. Seller made his prounouncement, I had taken a bit of a homemade cookie (made by Mrs. Seller) in my mouth! I actually spit it out across the table onto Mrs. Seller! I was speechless and embarrassed at the same time! I looked at my Broker who was sitting silently beside me with fear and uncertainty in my eyes. Thankfully, he recognized my inability to respond and said “I am sorry Mr. Seller we cannot represent a seller that is violating a Federal Law. If you are going to ask us to not show your home to anyone that can afford to purchase it, we will not be able to represent you. Thank you for the cookies and your time. I hope we didn't make too much of a mess.”
My Broker stood up and started to gather the paperwork we had on the table and so I followed his lead. Almost immediately after I stood up. Mr. Seller said, “You are right, I’ll let you show my house to anyone, but they have be able to afford my house!” My broker said “Of Course!” And on that note we sat down and finished the paperwork for the listing.
What lesson this experience was me! My Broker showed me such Grace. I learned how to respond respectfully to someone who was not being respectful. I also learned that if I needed too, I could and would walk away. But most of all - I learned not to eat the cookies and tea while I was signing the contract!
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