Red Flag!

Not long ago I received an emal from a good friend. The email include the name and phone number of a person looking for an agent to list his home. Nothing better than starting the day with a referral.

I called and made an appointment to meet with the home owner and see the home. The owner told me not to bother bringing comps because he knew how much the property was worth (red flag). He also told me the home could only be shown when he was there and no lock box would be permitted (red flag). He also said he would prefer that no sign be posted but he was willing to discuss the matter (red flag).

I decided to meet with him and did the comps anyway. I knew what he had paid for the property and knew its current value was less than half of what he had paid.

When I arrived he greeted me warmly and introduced me to his wife. I guessed him to be over 60 (turned out to be 64). They offered me coffee, and we sat at the kitchen table. He gave a history lesson about him, his years in Tracy, and his relationship with various city offices and officials. The history lesson included some not so positive information.

Finally he took me on a tour of the property. It was a nice house and fit in well with the neighborhood. He told me about the upgrades he had chosen and how his home was unique in the neighborhood (red flag), although I didn't agree with his assessment. Now the moment of truth. He told me he wanted tp list the property for a little over what he had paid for it at the top of the market. I calmly explained that its current market value was substantially lower and the home would be ignored on the market at his suggested price. He said he had purchased the property so he could make money when he retired and that was he planned to do. Really!

The short of it is that he believed that if every home owner refused to sell at today's prices and demanded a price in line with what they had paid the housing crisis would be instantly over. His logic against the reality of the day.

I didn't take the listing, but a few weeks later a letter to the editor appeared in our local paper from him. He explained the four agents from four major companies had refused his listing. He wrote he had a right to list his home at his price and those Realtors and their respective companies should be banned from doing business. He wrote that a law should be passed that mandates an agent to list a property as the home owner demands, with no right of refusal. He explained that it was the agents that wanted to keep the market suppressed. Really!

A few weeks later I received a call from my friend that had made the referral. He apologized and said he had no idea what his friend had been up to. He said he realized now that his real goal was to be turned down so he could rant at Realtors because he believed a Realtor had misled him when he made the purchase.

Next time I will hang up politely after the third red flag.

My name is Dale E. Bledsoe with Crown Key Realty and as always I may be reached at 209-481-6031. You may also visit me on the web at www.dalebledsoe.com