The Short Sale, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming from Archer Ellison in January 2009. A must read to add to your personal collection. E W was kind enough to make this post available for a re-blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Regards, C.
I don't know about you, but it's not always easy to figure out which flowers are ready to be deadheaded and which are babies. In the past, I've felt pangs of guilt after I've snapped off a flower head believing it was dead, only to discover after the flower was in my hand that it was a new baby trying to emerge from its bud, and I had snatched away its life.
Many new flowers resemble those that are spent. It's hard to tell the difference. It's better to let them be for a while to see if they open up into a new flower.
And it's the same way with people. It's hard to tell the difference sometimes between a bona fide buyer and an unqualified buyer. As agents, we can be quick to judge because buyers might dress a certain way, drive a certain car, live in a particular neighborhood, speak in a different manner, suggest certain price points or otherwise give the appearance that they are not really a buyer.
I've learned long ago that immediate judgment should be reserved, although I can't say it's not tempting at times to jump to conclusions, yet I absolutely refuse to go down the road. Because you never know. Some real estate agents are extremely judgmental, and it typically comes back to bite them.
When a buyer contacted me about buying investments, she was shocked that I picked up the phone within seconds of receiving her email and asked if I could help her. She was asking about buying rentals in a Sacramento neighborhood that has watched values fall over the years -- an area of town where many agents refuse to work. I had no such reservations. All areas are the same to me. It's real estate.
One associate asked me if I was wasting my time because she would never work with a buyer who was looking below prices of $200,000. When did we become so choosy and snooty about selling real estate, I wondered. What difference does it make if you're selling a $40,000 house or a $1.4 million-dollar home?
Maybe I won't earn a big commission check, but I'll be performing a service, one that I am paid to perform over and over. That was my thoughts. Well, yesterday this client asked me if I would also consider working with her loan officer as he wants to buy investments, too.
Using sound judgment is different from being judgmental. I suspect we can all learn to be less judgmental.
Photo: Big Stock Photo
The Short Sale, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming from Archer Ellison in January 2009
C- thanks for re-blogging this....I may not have seen otherwise.
What a great perspective about perception and judgment...loved it!
Yeah, C. I love Elizabeth's blogs. And this is do true. No one should be judgemental. Do the job you are hired to do with excellence and let your expertise guide your judgement.
Hi Carol: This is the first blog I've read from Elizabeth . Thank you for re-posting it. How true it is that she (we) are servants to our clients. Unfortunately many see it from a different viewpoint. It was refreshing to read Elizabeth's sincerity about the real reason many of us are in the business. Please let her know that reading this blog was one of many highlights in my day. GBU! Barbara :)
Shelia, you are very welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I love Elizabeth's blog. I'm really looking forward to her book coming out.
Tanya, I am very happy to agree with the both of you. :-)
Barbara, you are very welcome and I will pass along your message to E.
Good post -thank you for reblogging this becuase I missed it the first time. It can be hard sometimes. When people come to me with totally unrealistic expectations - it can be tough deciding whether working with them is worth the effort and gasoline. When I first started in 2005 - standard wisdom was to keep showing them things and they would "come down to earth." Now that doesn't work so well. People come in with very high expectations and a "fire sale" mentality. Since there are no fire sales around here, I've gotten pickier because I've been badly burned before with tons of wasted time and gasoline. However, the question is whether I let someone go that could be a sale.
Ruthmarie, I know exactly what you mean. I could blog about what you just said for a very long time. I guess the best course of action is to make a decision and stick with it, trying not to look back or second guess yourself, which is easier said than done. There are just too many variables to ever really know for sure. We have to do the best we can with what we know and what we have. It's important not to squander your resources, so when you have had enough, then enough is enough.
Carolyn you've done well. I admire you for taking care of that lower end client.
For the longest time I held the record for the lowest priced sale in my office (the highest too at one point, but that's for another blog). The property was $15,000. My comission check after all the splits came to roughly $198.00.
At the closing my buyer (who saw the HUD and knew how much I had made) asked me why I helped him when no other agents would.
I told him it was very simple. I told him that I wasn't going to retire on his sale even if he bought a 5 million dollar piece of property. But I would retire on all the people he told about the job I did for him. And in turn all the people they told about the job I did for them......
I told him I don't realy work for individual sales, I work for referrals.
Lastly, I told him that the other reason I helped him was because someday he might win the powerball and donate the $15K piece of property and ask me to help him find that 5 million dollar one!
You never know....
Craig, you never know... how very true. It's nice to be able to help people and even nicer when they send a referral. :-)
Anyone who says they not truly working for referrals is kidding themselves in this business. Do the right job and the people will advertise for you. Here's a simple math equation for new agents and for ones who don't get it......
Do the right job = happy clients = referrals = personal advertising dollar savings = more money for you to play/ invest/ live.
Absolutely! You have definitely hit the nail on the noggin' with that assessment, Craig. :-)
C, thank you for the repost I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed your post at All AR Member are Equal but are some Members More Equal then Others? That's solid information and good to know.
Marianne, I'm glad you enjoyed them. :-)
Good morning C,
EW makes this point, "One associate asked me if I was wasting my time because she would never work with a buyer who was looking below prices of $200,000. When did we become so choosy and snooty about selling real estate, I wondered. What difference does it make if you're selling a $40,000 house or a $1.4 million-dollar home?" And a very good one I might add. Is it all about the mone or is it more about helping our client reach their next level?
People take patience, especially when they making a big decision.
Thanks for bringing this to me. It is a great reminder!
Hi C: I popped over this morning to see what you were writing about -- what new escapades involved the minions or where your last turtle run happened -- and was surprised to see that you reblogged my post. Thank you. And thanks to everybody else for their kind comments.
Elizabeth, my pleasure, and I have Brooklyn Brownstones coming up for my next turtle run post which should be available later this afternoon.
Pam, you are very welcome.
JL, very true.
Don, a fave point of mine, and very true.
C-This is a good blog and I missed it before, so thank you for bringing it back. "JUDGE NOT AND BE NOT JUDGED". There is no better words especially since it is from the Bible.
Laura, you have put it in the best of contexts. :-)
Great post -- many people take a legitimate buyer for granted because they have a preconceived notion of what a buyer should be.
Spencer, this is very true and most unfortunate.