Patricia Kennedy is hosting an October Contest – Your First Time-The Real Estate Edition
The challenge is about sharing a story of our first interaction with a client or customer (or someone else’s) that left an indelible mark on our psyche.
What happened? I was a very new real estate agent. My very dear and long-time friends referred one of their long-time family friends to me. Their friend was looking to buy her very first home.
The referred friend and I met and got along well. The search was on! We pounded the pavement and looked at homes all over Santa Clara County. She was open to where she lived because she could tele-commute and at her price point, there we limitations.
When it came time to write that first offer I learned that despite the fact that she was pre-approved, the source of her deposit and down payment was coming from her 401k plan. Even back then we needed to show proof of funds with offers.
Oh No, how long will it take to get the funds? She did not know. She had no clue how to start the process. I sat down with her at the computer. We made a few phone calls to the plan administrator and initiated the process. It tookd several hours to complete. It would take about two weeks to get the funds.
Oh No, we need the money now. I am almost too embarrassed to admit this. I said “almost” too embarrassed. I had money in the bank and an equity line of credit. Yes, I did. I wrote a check for $17,000 and told her she can pay me back when the 401k funds come through.
Was I terrified or totally confident? I was not terrified at all. I was totally confident that she would make good on the money. I trusted her. She was like family to my dear friends. I had no doubt that the funds would be returned to me in a short period of time. And they were.
Did I actually have any idea what I was doing? Yes, 100%. Some might say I was crazy or out of my mind ... yet I knew what I was doing.
Was there help from a broker-in-charge or mentor there to help you, and did they actually help? I was flying solo on this. I knew what I was doing and did not need help. By the way, I cleared it with the lender that pre-approved my client.
Were any old pros involved, and were they nice or were they stinkers? The old Pro would have to be the lender in this situation. He was a seasoned lender that owned and managed his business.
Did it have a happy ending? Yes. I wrote several offers that were not accepted. The one offer that was accepted my client backed out of shortly after the offer was accepted. She felt the place was really not right for her.
She wanted to look for a home in the mountains versus a condo in Santa Clara County. We searched in torrential down-pouring rain. That alone tells how long ago this was because California has been a drought state for many years. I was in an area I was familiar with, Santa Cruz County, yet I was not familiar with the real estate aspect as much as I needed to be to confidently serve her.
While backing my car up a hill in pouring rain I hit a rather large boulder. I knew in that moment that it was time for me to refer her to a local agent. She protested. She wanted me. She trusted me. In the end, I made a great referral. She found the perfect home situated around redwood trees. It was what she really wanted. I attended her house-warming with the agent I referred. My client still lives there today. She has done many improvements and loves her home.
What did I learn? I learned what I already knew. Trust my gut and follow my heart. Would I do the same thing again? With that client? Yes. Not with anyone else in terms of floating a $17,000 loan, or any amount of loan. I am not a lending institution.
Real estate is a people business. In the 14 plus years I have been in real estate people ask me what I like about it, and what I dislike about real estate. The answer is the same.
The People. I see the best in people and the not-so-shinning-bright-and-best in people. I see sides of people I would not otherwise see. There is a level of intimacy involved in a real estate transaction that brings people out and causes people to hide.
I see their fears. I feel their joy. I feel their gratitude. I experience their greed. I hear unabashed truth and things I wish I had not heard. I hear unthinkable lies and deceit.
I feel their pain and sadness through divorce and death of a loved one.
I learned so much more about myself in real estate because of the people.
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