Friends and real estate

As children we were taught to "make new friends and keep the old." This old adage has a good lesson within it, but does it apply to business? 

When it comes time to sell your home, do you list the home with your friend, or do you consider the sale of you most expensive possession a business transaction?

Homeowners faced with this decision often find themselves in quite a dilemma.  They want to please their friends but also need to sell their home.

They want to make everyone happy, but they also don't want to share personal facts about their lives with someone they are close too, but not that close.  Giving full roam of a home over to a friend brings a feeling of uneasiness with it.

What is a homeowner to do?

Answering that question without all the facts would be irresponsible.  First, you should ask yourself;

• is your friend a full-time Realtor with a track record of success?
• is your friend employed at a company that is open 7 days a week and takes calls daily?
• does your friend have references?
• has your friend ever actually SOLD a house?

If you can answer affirmatively to these questions, you may not need to look any further.  However if you can answer these questions, but feel working together in a business transaction may harm your friendship, you best face that head on.

My homeowners have been pressured into listing their home with a friend, only to find out they end up keeping their home and loosing their friend.

Obviously the best answer for you may be to ask your friend for a referral to a good agent, because in the long run, the friendship is more important.  A true friend will understand and work to help you find the right person to sell your home.

In the end as the poem goes, make new friends and keep the old, one is silver the other is gold.