I've had an especially difficult listing for! I am a SRES! When I got the disignatin it was hammered into me that you have to be especially patient and understanding! I had two octagenarian listings. Both were in denial of the value of their homes. It took one year to price the propety correctly for both listings. One sold within three months of pricint it correctly. The other got two offers, both fell through and the client received the deposits. However, in the meantime the second listing, a woman caring for her early stage altzheimers husband was afraid her husband may take a turn for the worse and decided to relocate back to her home city/state in the NE, leaving me and her daughter to sell the house.
The plot thickens! The week after her departure the house developed a leak in the main line leading from the road to the house. The Seller asked that I recommend a plumber. I gave her a choice of three. She pressed me to choose one for her, so I suggested the one who had done a great deal of work for clients and me personally. The plumber made the diagnosis and turned off the water at the meter. After digging a trench and determining the leak had to be under the driveway, he broke up the concrete driveway (a section) and then got H1N1 (go figure!). We lost three weeks work because the H1N1 led to pneumonia. Once he was well enough to begin work, he called to advise he had the back hoe in tow and his truck engine blew up...there goes another two weeks! Upon getting the truck back on the road his daughter and wife were hospitalized for H1N1/flu respectively. He had a relapse of pneumonia and we lost another two weeks. In the interim, my client was pressing me to get things straightened out with the water authority and the plumber. I made contact with the water authority and told them what was happening and kept my client informed. This was Murphy's Law personified!
Two issues I'd like you to comment on:
*Should I have agreed to take on the responsibility to get the plumber and coodinate activity between the three (plumber/client/water authority)? I felt I should provide the maximum help possible to my client, in particular since she was both an octagenarian and out of state. The daughter is married to a man my client neighr likes of trusts, ergo she was limited in what she could do.
*How do I go about getting the plumber re-engaged in completing the work he had been prepaid to complete? He moved from the address I had on file and his cell phone does not work. His wife's phone works, but she doesn't help I have his father's home address and phone number, but he is no longer of any help! The last time I spoke to the plumber, I was assured the job would be complete mid week two weeks ago The only option I know is to have my client's daughter sue on her behalf; get a ruling in her favor and start the process of getting a reimbursement through the DPOR and have them deal with the plumber (licensed).
I feel I've done everything correctly and beyond what was expected of me. In the meantime, the seller is looking at changing agents---now that the price is at the level I pressed her to list the house at over a year ago! That is a fact of life for us agents, but I know for sure the house will sell this spring at. The current price has generated two offers. So be it! I should have been more forceful rather than jpatient as preached during the classes taken to secure the SRES! Lesson Learned!
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