Wednesday I had a former buyer client come into my office. He is looking to purchase a second home and would like for me to handle the deal. This is great, right? Well, kind of.
What he is looking for is a condo in Atlanta. That's about a 45 minute drive from where I am (that's not the problem). I'd be happy to drive to Atlanta to make a sale (he's looking to spend about $400K). The problem is that I have never sold a condo before.
I got online and started searching. I found an agent's website that has all kinds of info about the location my buyer wants to be. I e-mail the agent and get no reply. The next evening I call the agent. I leave a message and a little later the agent calls back. I had already talked to my broker to get a list of the questions that I needed to ask. I start by telling the agent that I have never sold a condo before and I know that it is a totally different process, but I am willing to learn. I ask for covenants and restrictions, and HOA (or equivalent), and he tells me "Oh, you wouldn't want to read all that". Then I ask if he would be available to meet me and my buyer to view the condos. He says, "No", not since he would not be working for the buyer. He then begins to give me all the reasons that I should just refer my buyer to him.
Part of me thinks the agent may be right, but part of me says I should keep my buyer to myself. I mean, there was a time when I had never sold a home before, and I didn't just refer that buyer off.....
What would you guys do?
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