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Largo Real Estate | Dear Mr Home Buyer - Even in this Market Honey Works Better than Vinegar

By
Real Estate Agent with Charles Rutenberg Realty

Largo Florida Home Buyer Celebrations

largo pool home with pictures under waterYesterday was a special day. One of our clients who bought a Largo Pool home recently had a house-warming party with friends and neighbors and invited us to be a part of it.

We had worked with this family for over a year to find the perfect home.  Leah Ross, the best mortgage professional we know, also helped them with their Mortgage and did a great job and was at the party. As you can see even my 2 boys got to give the pool a test drive - they gave it two thumbs up.

Getting to share moments like these are the really special parts of our job. As we have said before, we don't do closings - we do Celebrations. We are fortunate to build long-term relationships with our clients and they often become special friends -that is the case here. 

celebrating with tampa bay home buyers in their new home  Knowing my family would be there from the late afternoon into the evening I changed my voicemail to let anyone who called know my plans and it also allows me to focus on enjoying this get together. 

My real-time voice message was something like this...

pool party late into the night in clearwater florida"Hello, You've reached Cyndee Haydon with  Belloise Realty. It's 4pm on Saturday September 9th and Jack and I will be out of the office the remainder of the day celebrating with a family we just helped purchase their dream pool home. We've been invited to meet their family and friends at a housewarming bar-b-que and I'm sure you can understand that due to the party I won't be returning calls today however, I will return calls Sunday from 11am - noon except in case of an emergency." (which there shouldn't have been any)      

Most people appreciate that I change my message daily and let them know when they can expect a return call. So this morning I got up and checked my voicemail at 9am (Sunday morning) before changing my message for  the day and to my disbelief I got the following messages....

A message from 7:35am on Sunday morning from a sign call:  "This is Mr Homebuyer, No I don't get it at all and I want to see a house you have listed at xyz address and I want you to call me as soon as possible." (In a terse and angry voice)

Another message at 8:00am on Sunday morning from Mr Homebuyer again "Just forget it, I got another agent to work with me so disregard my last message and don't return my call - they can arrange a showing for me"    

Please note the time and date - Both before 8 AM on SUNDAY!While buyers may be scarce in this market - this one thankfully moved on. It's not like this person had called before and I hadn't returned his call - he was calling me before electronic lockboxes are even activated daily. For a moment I felt guilty and then I thought about it and realized that...

home buyers make their new house a home complete with mom mom's gardenAs much as I love what I do, I also believe life is too short to work with nasty people - my friends and family don't treat me that way - why would I let a stranger?

So if you know someone thinking of buying or selling a home in the Largo or Tampa Bay area you can feel confident knowing that as Real Estate Agents...

  • We work hard for our home buyers and home sellers;
  • We will treat you like we would treat our own family;
  • We are available 7 days a week if needed;
  • And can accommodate most requests;

But we do have a life outside of real estate though they often overlap and we do sleep nightly (though at times there are rumors to the contrary). 

I hate to disappoint anyone, however, I've come to realize that not everyone is meant to be my client and that's ok. At the end of the day, when I see the joy and happiness of our clients experience in their new homes I can feel comfortable listening to the phone message above and peacefully saying NEXT....      

I'm curious, regardless of the business you're in - Do you choose your clients as much as they choose you?

Largo Real Estate Info 

Buyers tell us that selecting a Largo Real Estate Agent,especially online or from a distance, can be a challenge. Some of our past clients agreed to share their experiences and tell you why they think you should work with us. 

Click on the photos below and meet some of our clients and now friends...we'd love to be YOUR choice too!clearwater real estate agents get kudos from condo and home buyers in the tampa bay areaclearwater beach real estate agent gets praise for relocation assitance and serivce in tampa baytampa bay real estate agents get home buyer testimonial for outstanding service in tampa bay florida 

 

 

 

 

Relocations ~ Waterfront Homes for Sale, Townhomes Condos & Villas ~ Beach House of Your Dreams ~ Find the Perfect Vacation Home or Florida Investment Property in Pinellas County  ~ Luxury Homes ~ Luxury Condos for Sale in the Tampa Bay resort areas ~ 1031 ~ Pool Homes ~ Homes for Sale ~ Condos for Sale

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free tampa bay homes and condos for sale list

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what's my tampa bay home or condo worth - house values

tour clearwater beach tampa bay area florida

Clearwater Home Connection real estate website

 

 

Clearwater beach Sand Key Island Estates Relocation Guide and Tampa Bay Florida Information 33767

Serving Clearwater | Clearwater Beach | Sand Key Condos | Island Estates Homes | St Petersburg | Palm Harbor | Dunedin | Safety Harbor | Tarpon Springs | Largo | Belleair | Oldsmar | Ozona | Pinellas Park | Gulfport | Tierra Verde | Indian Rocks Beach | Indian Shores | Maderia Beach | Treasure Island | St Pete Beach | South Tampa | Redington Beach | all the Gulf Beaches and Tampa Bay | 33767 | 33764 | 33756 | 33765 | 33760| 33762 | 33761 |   

*The above information and images are Copyright © 2007 Cyndee & Jack Haydon, Clearwater Beach Real Estate Agents and may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed or published.  All rights reserved.  Plagiarism will be detected and is punishable by law.          

Cyndee Haydon
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
727-710-8035 Clearwater, Beach Short Sales Luxury Condos &Homes

Elaine - we are so accomodating and meet most request - the key is working with people that "want to work with us"! I guess I should be thankful for voicemail as someone said it caused him to move on.     

Sep 10, 2007 01:11 AM
Cyndee Haydon
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
727-710-8035 Clearwater, Beach Short Sales Luxury Condos &Homes
Ashley - isn't the progress amazing!!! :-)
Sep 10, 2007 01:12 AM
Cyndee Haydon
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
727-710-8035 Clearwater, Beach Short Sales Luxury Condos &Homes
Chris - why don't you tell me how you really feel (LOL) - I'm just happy some other realtor will get the "pleasure" of working with him.
Sep 10, 2007 01:13 AM
Cyndee Haydon
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
727-710-8035 Clearwater, Beach Short Sales Luxury Condos &Homes
Sally - Someone once told me that "even if you could help someone that is ugly and unpleasant - would you be doing yourself a service since they will probably refer you to other people like themselves" - yeesh - Please don't send me more nasty, ugly people! That's when doing a good job comes back to haunt you!! 
Sep 10, 2007 01:18 AM
Cyndee Haydon
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
727-710-8035 Clearwater, Beach Short Sales Luxury Condos &Homes
Rita - thank you for your kind words - we believe it is about relationships too - if definitely makes all the hard work enjoyable knowing you're doing it for people you really care about.  The Celebrations are  lots of fun - you'll have to give em a try!
Sep 10, 2007 01:21 AM
Cyndee Haydon
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
727-710-8035 Clearwater, Beach Short Sales Luxury Condos &Homes
Jennifer - I have gotten great feedback from clients regarding my phone message - let me know if you try it what kind of response you get. Thanks for stopping by! :-) 
Sep 10, 2007 01:22 AM
Cyndee Haydon
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
727-710-8035 Clearwater, Beach Short Sales Luxury Condos &Homes
Carmen - the homeowner works for Professional Baseball and actually asked for lots more cards - he said he is happy to pass our name on to all the people involved in Tampa Bay baseball (major and minor league) knowing we will take great care of them - I have to admit that made my day!!
Sep 10, 2007 01:24 AM
Mana Tulberg
805 County Real Estate - Camarillo, CA
Real Estate Agent - Camarillo CA
Cyndee, I have a daily voice mail very similar to yours (BRO) and people who want to work with me respect it and leave messages. If they don't like it well, then we were better of not working with each other. I love client celebrations. Your boys probably had the most fun.
Sep 10, 2007 03:39 AM
Bryant Tutas
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc and Garden Views Realty, LLC - Winter Garden, FL
Selling Florida one home at a time
Cyndee some people are just foolish. Expecting a REALTOR(R) to answer the phone or call back on a Sunday morning is just plain rude. Sounds like a sign call who then found out it was out his price range anyway when he spoke to the other agent. I don't show sign calls ever unless they schedule for the next  day. I just won't do a spur of the moment appointment. Never have and never will. If they can't wait 24 hours then they are not interested. 
Sep 10, 2007 07:04 AM
Leah Ross
Your Tampa Bay Mortgage Source - Tampa, FL
Tampa, Florida Mortgage

First off...love the post!  Thanks for the love ;)  It was such a great party and I appreciate there were no "unauthorized" photgraphs posted..teehee!

Second...this guy is a shmuck!  You and Jack are the hardest working REALTORS out there.  He is a (bad word) and he doesn't even deserve to work with someone of your caliber.  That goodness you received both of his jack (bad word) messages before you had the opporunity to call him back and had to waste an ounce of time with someone so ignorant. 

(Rant complete). 

 xoxo

Sep 10, 2007 01:17 PM
Lynda Eisenmann
Preferred Home Brokers - Brea, CA
Broker Associate ,CRS,GRI,SRES, Brea,CA, Orange Co

Cyndee,

Real time voice mail has been a huge part of my customer service. As you said, most absolutely love it. And if they don't that's o.k. with me. Find someone else to work with, be my guest. I can honestly say I am not a 24/7 Realtor. As a fellow BRO person, I work with those who know me, like me and trust me.

I think it's lucky for you this this jerk called so early. otherwise you may have been stuck with him for a while. If he acts like this in the intital call I can't imagine things would get better...NEXT.

 

Sep 10, 2007 01:57 PM
Paula Henry
Home to Indy Team @ HomeSmart Realty Group - Avon, IN
Realtor - Indianapolis Real Estate - 317-605-4174
Cyndee - Thankfully he moved on and oh man do I feel for the agent who has hime now. Glad you git to enjoy the day with your clients!
Sep 10, 2007 02:33 PM
Katerina Gasset
The Gasset Group & Get It Done For Me Virtual Services - Provo, UT
Amplify Your Real Estate & Life Dreams!
Cyndee- I rated this post a 5. Everyone should read this. You must choose who you work with. They do not choose you. I do not work on Sundays and everyone knows that. I do post and comment though, how can I stay away from all you wonderful people who I can call my friends now? If he is rude like that, you don't want him anyways. Like you said, life is too short to have nasty people in your life. I am so happy that you had a celebration with your new buyers. That is great. That is what it is all about. Relationships for life. Katerina
Sep 10, 2007 06:59 PM
Kim Murphy
Draper and Kramer - Lombard, IL
Mortgage Loans in DuPage, Kane, Cook, Lake, Will C
Cyndee... Great post!  Choosing who you work with is very important.  Work with someone who respects your time and you, not someone who is rude and nasty! 
Sep 12, 2007 04:58 PM
Diane Aurit
LKN Realty, LLC - Mooresville, NC
Lake Norman Real Estate
What a jerk!  You clearly are too good for this kind of buyer.  Any nice person would have been touched by your wonderfull message and realized they were waiting for a wonderful agent!
Sep 14, 2007 03:04 AM
Adam Waldman
Westcott Group Real Estate Company - Hauppauge, NY
Realtor - Long Island
CYNDEE:  This post was awesome.  Good for you for celebrating with those clients that you really like.  I'll bet that they refer much more business to you over time than the 2 angry callers, who may very well just be annoying tire-kickers.  In this day and age, with homes sitting on the market, you have to really want to work with a seller to make it work.  Otherwise, it's not worth the expense.  With regard to buyers, if they are going to be difficult from the first phone call, let someone else deal with them.  With gas hovering at around $3 per gallon, who wants to waste time with miserable people that are likely to find fault with every home, since they found fault with you for having a life.  I love the layout that you used at the bottom of the blog allowing people to search for homes right on the blog.  Great idea.
Sep 15, 2007 11:41 PM
Chris Griffith
Downing-Frye Realty, Bonita Springs, FL - Bonita Springs, FL
Bonita Springs Listing Specialist - Agent
Guess that "buyer" was just hungry for "pop tarts".  I'm with Adam, the clients you were spending time with will send referrals and make up, ten fold, for anything "pop tart buyer" would have bought.
Sep 16, 2007 12:18 AM
David A. Podgursky PA
THE PODGURSKY GROUP @ Re/Max Direct - Boynton Beach, FL
THE PODGURSKY GROUP - Make the Right Move!

in a time where buyers are hard to find, it always hurts to send one off into the sunset - especially due to their own crappy attitudes

another broker I worked with put her hours on her cell.. that she was in the office for clients from 8am to 8pm and any call after 8pm would be returned the next day

my mother taught me at an early age that you just don't butt your nose into someone's personal time like that.... there are hours that after which you do not call people and before which you're just going to tick them off! :)

Sep 16, 2007 04:13 AM
Roberta Murphy
San Diego Previews Real Estate - Carlsbad, CA
Carlsbad Real Estate and Homes

Cyndee:

This post rates a 5 and should be a featured one. Thanks for exemplifying the type of client we should all avoid.

Looks like a fun time was had by all at the celebration! 

Sep 16, 2007 04:35 AM
Katrina Madewell
Charles Rutenberg Rlty- More than 5,000 agents(813) 777-1196 - Tampa, FL
Tampa FL Homes for sale | Tampa Bay - (813) 777-1196

What a real jack A** (did I say that outloud) oops! 

OK it is SUNDAY morning... as you mentioned the lock boxes weren't even open yet (duh ,"Guess your STELLER agent you got there 'Mr Crotchity' forgot to tell you that! humm?", and this man clearly needed to be somewhere ELSE on Sunday morning beside looking at houses... LIKE CHURCH!!!!

This man is CLEARLY NOT A  STAR CLIENT, but this IS A 5 STAR POST!!!

Katrina

Sep 20, 2007 04:51 PM