This year has been one for the record books. I've met some incredible clients and we've had some great deals. I look at it as my family is always growing. It's rare that a client doesn't stay connected to me after closing a deal, and I love it.
I can't say the same for the real estate professionals I've met this year. This year, I have had more deals where I didn't know the agent on the other side, than ones where the agent and I have worked together. Of those agents, I've met some pretty good people. I even encouraged one agent to call me if she ever moves this way. She was a true professional and a delight to work with.
On the other hand, I've had agents spewing profanities over the phone, in my office and at closing. A few have lied about receiving or not receiving documents, but that generally falls apart when I tell them where they were, what device they used and what time they opened my files. Thanks to Cindy Jones, I started using Yesware a few years ago because of the tendency of others to deny receipt of documents. Yesware tracks receipt of documents emailed through Gmail based accounts, and it tells you when they are opened (day and time), how they were opened (iPhone, computer, tablet) and where the person was who opened them.
I've had more agents threaten legal action over the most minute issues, and 
they have come back to back to back. A closing has to be extended a week because of some issue. "I'll sue." A form has to be changed at the last minute because of a typo. "I'll sue!" A seller gets fed up with a buyer's antics and threatens to walk. "I'll sue!" And, it goes on and on and on. I have learned to keep quiet and let them blow off, and when they settle down, we talk. Proverbs 10.19 tells me that a "fool is known by the multitude of his words." I'd rather keep my words few, specific and purposeful.
Some agents have been so provocative this year that they have become punchlines in our office. If someone makes a mistake, it's easy to say, "Don't XXXXX XXXXX me!" That is generally followed by a chuckle and a smirk. It does sadden me that it is so easy to come up with examples of bad behavior, and yes, I know there are people like this in every professional, but 2017 was a banner year for bad behavior in real estate. I choose to be an example and not a punchline.
Comments(32)