What Do You Do When Your Referral Doesn't Do the Job?

So you refer who you believe is a quality REALTOR to client only to receive stressed out phone calls, crying over the phone and depressing emails! 

You do the only thing left....Get in the car and drive four hours from Houston to Ft Worth and handle the transaction yourself.

This is what happened this weekend.  I referred my brother and sister-in-law to a REALTOR that I've known for years, one who lives and works in Ft Worth, the area the are moving into from New Jersey.  I thought the client would be in good hands, but I found out differently.  She expected them to spend hours on the internet researching neighborhoods, doing home searches and learning roadways.  When they would ask for direction on the best area to find the type of home they would describe they were told that she could not direct them to any particular neighborhood!  When they asked about new construction then were told to visit any model home they wanted and be sure to hand the sales consultant her card, she would review the contract after it was written, but she can't write the contract so there is no need for her to be present.

With the house in New Jersey in escrow, just in the throws of a new job, and the separation of spouses (one here starting the job, one there wrapping up the sale) the stress and tension were building...they were both ready to throw their hands up and say lets move to the Carribean and screw it all!

So I got in the car and drove to Ft Worth.  In a single weekend I was able to assist them in locating a property that they are both very happy with in a new development in Keller.  We negotiated a very favorable new construction contract, visited the design center, and also looked at and negotiated an apartment lease and climate controlled storage for the interim construction period.  Brother and Sister-in-law are both more comfortable now, feeling more at ease and able to concentrate on the more important tasks at hand...closing on the New Jersey property and his full attention on his new job.

I guess the moral of the story...It's never to far to service a client.  Afterall, Texas licensed agents are licensed within the state.  The key is when you put service first and are able to negotiate contracts well and educate your client you can do that in any market.

Have a great day and enjoy  the real estate market...It's booming :)