I'm sure that we have all been in a situation where we didn't know the answer to a question or just needed help. Whether we are caught off guard or put into an awkward spot, it happens. So what do you do? There are generally two ways to deal with such a dilemma.
1. Tell them that you will get back to them with the answer. (The generic, feel good way to say....I have no idea.)
2. Make something up that generally doesn't answer the question. (This would be the politician side in all of us)
Recent events, however, have made me totally disregard these two options altogether. Let me start off by giving you the scenario. I received a floor call late one evening about a rental home in a remote town on the outskirts of a suburb. In other words, way out there! I then set up a showing for the next day when the person could make the trip. After researching the listing on the MLS, I had a good grasp as to the features of the home.
Dark and early the next morning I began my trip through the farmlands. As I generally do, I arrived early to go into the home and familiarize myself with the floor plan. When the couple arrived, we entered the house and they began their tour; making small notes as they went. After a very thorough walk-through (I have to say I was impressed), I asked if there were any questions they might have. Having all the information in my back pocket at this point (literally), I felt confident to answer anything they needed to know.
Come to find out, they had already researched the home online and already knew about the house! That, of course, didn't mean that they had no questions. Almost like a train came they came.
-What are the local schools like?
-What is the average commute time into the city?
-How diverse is the ethnicity?
Keep in mind here that I had never been to this area........
-What is the crime like?
-Are there a lot of children around?
-What about income levels?
-How educated are the people?
etc., etc., etc.
When I was finally able to take a breath, my mind began to swell. Which one do I use, number 1 or 2 (see above). I then realized that my computer was in the kitchen with the ever so irrelevant MLS page pulled up. I ran in and quickly went to Cyberhomes.com and entered the address of the house. I was worried that there wouldn't be any information because we were......let's face it, nowhere. To my relief, up came the home. A couple of clicks and I was in the local area information.
We spent the next 30 minutes going over the questions they asked, with me giving them WAY more than they anticipated! My point is this, I will never hesitate now to go number 3 on the "What do I do now" list when it comes to home information. If you've never been to Cyberhomes.com, take a couple of minutes to just see what they have to offer and let me know what your experiences have been.
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