Tales from the Trenches

 

Tales from the Trenches

It was a lovely fall Saturday afternoon and I was excited and a little nervous on my way to a listing appointment. It was a single family house in a marginal area in Santa Clara – my neck of the woods, Santa Clara that is. I arrived at a little flat top house looking in need of some attention. All my apprehension was gone as soon as the owners opened the door.

They were cordial and welcoming and somewhat younger than my 65 years. They listened attentively and we seemed to have good rapport and then! They casually mentioned that they would be interviewing Al M.! One and the same Al who was the top agent in this area! Terror struck my heart! Hopes of listing this property sank, but I managed a warm goodbye, wishing them luck.
In the distant past 25 years ago, agents signed up to take floor time. Because there was no internet, buyers would call real estate offices about their weekend ads. Oh yeah – ads in a printed newspaper. How quaint! Anyway, I liked to have floor time on Sunday mornings, when the phone was ringing of the hook.

My first call was the seller whom I had met the day before – she was so happy to let me know that they wanted to work with me to sell their house! I was happy too. 15 minutes later, my dreams were shattered when the seller called back to tell me that they were being pressured by Al and she was sorry to tell me that they would be using him to sell their home. Oh no! My heart sank yet again, but not being an aggressive agent, I think that I was gracious in defeat.

Then……..another call from the seller. This time I was back in the game! I told her I wouldn’t be answering the phone for the rest of the morning until we met in the afternoon to sign papers.

An early Monday morning call was from a realtor in Al’s office. Al who had lost the listing to me, told his friend about the house that he didn’t list. He gave him my information because he thought it was what his friend was looking for, for his buyers. It was - and he wrote an offer and the house sold. This tells you a lot about why Al is successful. He’s magnanimous !

The reason the sellers chose me was because Al told them he would reduce his commission. They knew that my company didn’t allow that and they thought it wasn’t fair! I may be wrong, but I think this is a first in history!

If you’re a hard worker and reasonably smart you can make a living selling real estate. If you’re a natural, you can make a bleeping fortune. I was the former – made a living and had a wonderful time.