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Have You Been Looking At Houses With The Pink Haired Lady?

By Gary Woltal

Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty 0575737

June 13, 2008 12:34 PM

In Real Estate Agent stereotypes there's nothing worse than encountering the pink haired lady. This surely was from many years ago.

This was the classic agent who showed you only "her" properties. You wanted a big backyard, she showed you Master Bedrooms with red paint. You wanted a big backyard, she showed you homes with marble bathtubs. You wanted a big backyard, she showed you homes with white Jefferson Memorial style columns in the living room. Do you get the picture here of a listening problem?

As a buyer you just wanted to SCREAM!!!

Screaming Kid

Chick Duckling

Hopefully in more modern times your agent will stand out from the crowd a bit better and do a more respectable job of listening to your needs.

But then again this is an entrepreneurial business and you might say still to this day many agents have a bit of an independent streak in them. So be careful out there.

No Dogs

All in all, you want to find someone who cares about YOU. It doesn't get any simpler than that.

Pray you don't get the Pink Haired Lady from yesteryear. But someone who has your best interest at heart. Someone who can guide you to where you are trying to head and that is:

Home Sweet Home

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Vickie McCartney

Maverick Realty - Owensboro, KY

Broker, Real Estate Agent Owensboro KY

Vickie McCartney,Realtor Why Gary, why are you talking about me like that? LOL. I couldn't resist. I know I am not really supposed to put pictures in your comment section, but it was just so tempting to do it just for fun, and I know you are a good sport! I am not like the pink haired agents, besides I am too young :)

Jun 13, 2008 12:47 PM

Kara Casamassina

International Property Management Group, LLC - Aiken, SC

Boomers and beyond

haha - good one, Gary.

Jun 13, 2008 12:48 PM

Chris Fisher

Your Virtual Assistant - Concord, CA

Gary - good point & great pictures. I love Dame Edna! She'd be fun to hang out with, anyway, even if not the best Realtor!

Jun 13, 2008 12:49 PM

Audrey June-Forshey

RE/MAX Realty Services - Darnestown, MD

GRI, Gaithersburg, MD

She works in my office!! How did you get her picture!! I love the photos they are awesome!!

Jun 13, 2008 01:08 PM

Gene Allen

Fathom Realty - Cary, NC

Realty Consultant for Cary Real Estate

I was the red haired lady at one time without knowing it til later.

Jun 13, 2008 01:10 PM

Linda Greco Rich, ABR, SRES

Exit Preferred Realty - Bel Air, MD

Harford County Specialist

Thanks for the warning. I will keep my hair highlighted sans the pink - tempting as it may be. BTW, Hon Fest is this weekend in Baltimore - if you know what that is, you'll be sporting a beehive this weekend!

Jun 13, 2008 01:22 PM

Gary Woltal

Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX

Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Carole: Just take it for NOW. That's hilarious, like you can buy another one next week!

Vickie: You look marvelous with YOUR pink hair : )

Kara: I have to change things up around here you know.

Chris: Definitely fun to hang with.

Audrey: I knew she would be a personal friend of yours ; )

Gene: We all have the nicknames.

Linda: I remember those bee hive hairdos.

Jun 13, 2008 02:14 PM

Bart Whitmore

Keller Williams- Louisville - Louisville, KY

Real Estate Agent

Hopefully there are no agents left like that anymore, but sadly there are some left.

Jun 13, 2008 02:23 PM

Arina Hanciulescu

RealtyPros - Las Vegas, NV

RealtyPros

Gary, a little bit late but not out! Loved the post and mostly the pink haired lady. Very good post as always. Enjoyed!

Jun 13, 2008 02:28 PM

Gary Woltal

Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX

Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Bart: It is a stereotype in one sense. But I swear I have met this lady.

Arina: Good to see you. This lady is wild if you ever encounter her, cause she NEVER listens.

Jun 13, 2008 02:56 PM

Dan Woodworth

The Connection - Garden City, ID

Encouraging Communicator

Hi Gary,

Your post has given me a stuck smile! Thank You for giving all of us joy!

Jun 13, 2008 04:09 PM

Carol Culkin

Diamond Partners Inc - Overland Park, KS

Overland Park Residential Real Estate

Gary - I came across a few pink haired ladies as a buyer - but they never got a sale from ME!

Jun 13, 2008 04:23 PM

Liz Moras Migic

Chilliwack, BC

Chilliwack, British Columbia - Realtor

ohhh......the yellow chick - the reverse of the black sheep - too cute...........and the dog carrying the sign.......I guess sometime we have to pull out our own STops! :-) My pink ladies are all teachers.........hmmm......you're not a former teacher are you? smile

Jun 13, 2008 05:53 PM

Pam Pugmire

Silvercreek Realty Group - Meridian, ID

Meridian Idaho Real Estate

Gotta get me some of those glasses! ; )

Jun 13, 2008 06:51 PM

Loreena and Michael Yeo

3:16 team REALTY ~ Locally-owned Prosper TX Real Estate Co. - Prosper, TX

Real Estate Agents

Gary, absolutely the right way of treating and respecting clients. Gone are the days where clients did not have access and were at the mercy of their realtors - who know and seen it all. With the power of the Internet, the role of a realtor has changed. Indeed!

Jun 13, 2008 10:14 PM

Adam Waldman

Westcott Group Real Estate Company - Hauppauge, NY

Realtor - Long Island

GARY - I think that buyers sometimes don't know what they really want, so I've created a homebuyer worksheet to help guide them. When they have to write it down, they start to differentiate between their wants and needs. My personal worksheet is based off of all of the search criteria of my MLS. This allows me to customize the search to their desires.

Jun 13, 2008 11:56 PM

Gary Woltal

Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX

Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Dan: So you have seen this lady? : ) I SWEAR she is out there.

Carol: After one round in the car with this lady, you will say THANK YOU VERY MUCH, and never want to go out with her again.

Liz: You have a good point. Sometimes we learn from BAD examples. I have never been a formal teacher, but that was a childhood aspiration like for elementary school level.

Pam: With those glasses, people would definitely stop and take notice of you, Then, RUN AWAY ; )

Loreena: A GREAT point. So much of buyer's searches now are done by the buyer. The Internet is here, ready or not!!

Adam: I love the idea of a personal work sheet which can be modified along the way. Aligningit with the search criteria for the MLS allows you to plug it back in and automate the searches for them. How creative. Maybe you could write a post on that for all of us. It is a wonderful idea.

Jun 14, 2008 05:01 AM

Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker

Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA

Put 40 years of experience to work for you

I've worked with agents like that before, so I make a huge effort to be different. They are still among us, unfortunately. But through online searches, whether on their own or directly from MLS feeds, buyers can get access to enough homes to request their own showings. I ask my buyers which homes they would like to see. After we've toured a few and I get a good feel for what they want, I often suggest they see a home they had not considered. It might be in a different neighborhood or a different price range or even a different type -- but that's because I listen to them and intuitively can figure out what they might want. Most of my transactions consist of homes I have chosen for my clients. But you can't do that if you don't listen.

Jun 14, 2008 11:25 AM

Gary Woltal

Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX

Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Elizabeth: I like your "listening" approach of letting the buyer have a few cracks at their search before you swoop in with your intuitive expertise and market knowledge from keen listening. Very good. That pink haired lady is a nice "bad" role model for all of us to never turn into.

Jun 14, 2008 12:23 PM

Kelly Sibilsky

Licensed Through Referral Connection, LTD. - Lake Zurich, IL

I think there are a few pink haired dinosaurs ladies of yesteryear still around. What a disservice to the buyer!

Jun 15, 2008 12:42 AM