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Porched!!

By
Real Estate Agent with Janisch & Co. 0396361

Our son, who is a successful Commercial Broker was explaining to me why I should be out knocking on the doors of area FSBOs.

I explained to him that although I did that once upon a time, I stopped it in 1982 when I got "Porched."

"Porched ?" he queried...  "yes Porched, I repeated.

One sprung afternoon I had decided to boost my listing numbers.  There was a cute cottage at the end of a road close to our office.  It had a For Sale By Owner sign.

I parked my car , opened the gate and strolled down the path to the front porch 

As I knocked on the door, I heard a gruff "whoff" followed by a growl!

The noises had come from a great Dane who was now occupying the space between the stairs to the porch and the walkway.

The dog continued to bark and growl for what seemed like a long time.  He then decided to lay down.

I quickly decided that my choices seemed to be staying put til the owners showed up, or getting mauled.

Staying put was my choice.

In about an hour the owner came home with a load of groceries.  She was surprised to find me on her porch, and quickly put the dog in the house.

We visited for a few minutes and she invited me to come back later that evening when her husband came home.

I did get the listing and sold these folks a new home in addition to listing the existing one.

It was a successful enterprise, but I have never felt inclined to knock on a door again.  Being stuck in that situation was frightening!  I still love porches, but I prefer to stick to my own.

Posted by

KW image 

Ralph and Jeanne Janisch

BROKERS

305B CR 234

Durango, CO 81301

P: (970) 759-1007

P: (970) 759-0027

 E: ralph@durangohometeam.com

W:  www.ralphandjeannejanisch.com

 W: www.durangohometeam.com

Durango, Mancos, Cortez, Dolores, Bayfield, Ignacio, Vallecito

Comments(20)

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Brenda Mullen
RE/MAX Associates - San Antonio, TX
Your San Antonio TX Real Estate Agent!!

Love your title and that is too funny, (alhtough I am sure not at the time)!  It's so hard knocking on doors..I prefer the whole direct mail marketing thing :)!

Sep 25, 2012 12:18 PM
Debbie Reynolds, C21 Platinum Properties
Platinum Properties- (931)771-9070 - Clarksville, TN
The Dedicated Clarksville TN Realtor-(931)320-6730
Jeanne and Ralph, The cold call door knocking I do is to let the occupants on foreclosed properties know they are in a home owned by the bank and what their rights are. Those less than warm welcomes give me my fill of door knocking.
Sep 25, 2012 12:20 PM
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Jeanne and Ralph, OK, I've never been "porched" and hope I never will be.  Being cornered by Fang must have been pretty scary!

Sep 25, 2012 12:32 PM
Lisa Von Domek
Lisa Von Domek Team - Dallas, TX
....Experience Isn't Expensive.... It's Priceless!

Good morning Ralph and Jeanne,

Getting "porched", cute title and blog - my dane would have run you all the way down the drive, you were lucky!!

Sep 25, 2012 09:41 PM
Don Sabinske
Don Sabinske, Sabinske & Associates Inc. - Zimmerman, MN
Sabinske & Associates Inc.

I am so sorry, but your misfortune gave me a good laugh.  I have never had that happen.  But, it would have been very disconcerting to say the least!

Sep 26, 2012 08:10 AM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Ralph and Jeanne,

What a fun story and I love that the outcome was so successful.  Have a great weekend, I sure am ready for it.  A

Sep 27, 2012 10:26 AM
John McCormack, CRS
Albuquerque Homes Realty - Albuquerque, NM
Honesty, Integrity, Results, Experienced. HIRE Me!

Perfect title to a funny but yet long lasting story :)

Sep 27, 2012 11:05 AM
Mona Gersky
MoonDancer Realty, Dillsboro,NC - Sylva, NC
GRI,IMSD-Taking the mystery out of real estate.

I love dogs but the growling and defending thing would probably have porched me too.

Sep 27, 2012 01:44 PM
Joe Petrowsky
Mortgage Consultant, Right Trac Financial Group, Inc. NMLS # 2709 - Manchester, CT
Your Mortgage Consultant for Life

Great story and the right time to end your door knocking. Being a Realtor for 16 years, prior to going into the mortgage business, I can surely understand your story. The last time I wrote any kind of ad for my mortgage business, was 1996.

Sep 27, 2012 06:34 PM
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Jeanne and Ralph, I included this post in Last Week's Favorites.  Have a great week!

Sep 30, 2012 10:21 AM
Debbie Cook
Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc - Silver Spring, MD
Silver Spring and Takoma Park Maryland Real Estate

Hey,  I would stay on a porch for an hour for 2 transactions like that.  You showed the lady that you were persistant! LOL   Great Danes are usually not mean, they were used as quard dogs only because they are BIG - they are like fuzzy lambs despite their size. 

Sep 30, 2012 10:35 AM
Jennifer Fivelsdal
JFIVE Home Realty LLC | 845-758-6842|162 Deer Run Rd Red Hook NY 12571 - Red Hook, NY
Mid Hudson Valley real estate connection

Ralph glad you made it out and was able to have a transaction.  I never open gates when I am door knocking, if there is a closed gate I walk by.

Sep 30, 2012 12:33 PM
Shanna Day Team Leader AZ & UT - Call 480-415-7616
Keller Williams Realty Phoenix and Salt Lake City - Mesa, AZ
Top 0.33 of 1% of 79,000 AZ Realtors

All I can do is grin.   :)    Shanna

Sep 30, 2012 12:59 PM
Joni Bailey
101 Main St. Realty - Huntsville, TX
Your Huntsville / Lake Livingston Area REALTOR®

You've been traumatized for life! I'd stick to my own porch too, if I were you!! 

Sep 30, 2012 01:19 PM
William Johnson
Retired - La Jolla, CA
Retired

Hi Jeanne and Ralph, 

This was just a great read. I can  visualize you in that situation and I am not sure how I would have handled it, likely no differently, :-)

Sep 30, 2012 01:53 PM
Karen Anne Stone
New Home Hunters of Fort Worth and Tarrant County - Fort Worth, TX
Fort Worth Real Estate

Jeanne & Ralph:  Oh, you got the listing and sold them a house, too... so what's not to like.  This sounds like a great new type of "niche" marketing.  Just take a taser with you next time.  :)

Sep 30, 2012 03:07 PM
Karen Feltman
Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, IA KW Legacy Group - Cedar Rapids, IA
Relocation Specialist in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
What a funny story. I can imagine that in today's world, you would have a phone to call for help, back then, no.
Oct 01, 2012 12:52 AM
Mel Ahrens, MBA, Kelly Right Real Estate
Kelly Right Real Estate - Hood River, OR
Customized Choices for your Real Estate Needs

What a scary situation. It's just good the dog laid down and didn't attack. Love your new word, "porched".

Gretchen

Oct 01, 2012 02:05 AM
Gene Mundt, IL/WI Mortgage Originator - FHA/VA/Conv/Jumbo/Portfolio/Refi
NMLS #216987, IL Lic. 031.0006220, WI Licensed. APMC NMLS #175656 - New Lenox, IL
708.921.6331 - 40+ yrs experience

Jeanne and Ralph:  I used to run into similar troubles when I was appraising years ago.  Just think about all the poor mail deliverers! 

Gene

Oct 01, 2012 05:17 AM
Nan Jester
Exit Real Estate Gallery Jacksonville Beach, FL - Jacksonville Beach, FL
Realtor, Exit Real Estate Gallery

Pretty funny. I am glad you made it out safely. Being that it was such a huge dog you are really pretty lucky.

Oct 25, 2012 08:25 AM