Lanette, The Magnificent: A Day in the Life of a REALTOR

I'm psychic, I really am.

Or, maybe it's just that certain aspects of real estate are so predictable (and I've been a real estate pro for so darn long) that it appears that I am indeed psychic?

Case in point - I get a call from my buyer who is eager to see the proverbial listing that has been on the market forever (well over a year, anyway) and time is of the essence. The buyer wants to see the property, like, yesterday since the buyer is convinced that this is The One.

So, (being the conscientious Realtor I am) I get on the phone poste-haste and get the appointment set-up. I get my confirmation from CSS, then I call the listing agent. I inform the l/a that my client is already psyched about the home, I inquire about disclosures, I ask about any current interest/offers, and I am subsequently informed that the disclosures will be faxed to my office shortly and told -- "No, there are no other offers/interest. Go ahead and show it, girl"!

Alrighty then.

I schedule it for first thing in the AM since it's already past 5; I'm scheduled to bowl at 6:30 and if I miss this quality time with the husband, I'm a dead woman.

Anyways, it's all good with my buyer. We meet the next morning to see her dream home and (I'll be darned!) turns out it actually is her dream home after all!

I love it when a plan comes together.

O.K., so now I'm in offer-writing mode. I call the listing agent to advise we'll be writing an offer. I had to leave a v-mail message since the l/a didn't pick up. I e-mail a copy of the listing to my buyer's lender and eagerly await his customized lender letter. I call county planning/zoning to get an answer to a question the buyer had. I call my inspector to run a question or two past him. Yada, yada, yada...you know the drill.

Oh, almost forgot...I scoot over to the buyer's current home to do a pre-list walk-thru since this offer will have a home sale contingency (and I'll be darned yet again; my buyer's got equity -- lots of it!)

And then, after all is said and done, I find out that the house is already under contract and was under contract when I showed it. A little birdie told me (not even the l/a!). I'm really not sure why I was surprised at the status since (dripping w/sarcasm) it was still showing as active in MLS.

After over 400 days on the market.

I must confess, I knew this was a strong possibility. I know how popular these 400+ DOM homes are (especially after the many price reductions). Moreover, since I am intuitively talented that way, I should have listened to that inner voice that told me all along that this was The One -- the one that would garner sudden and varied interest after one lil phone call from me (after nada interest for, did I mention it already, a year)?

I swear, if I could just harness this psychic ability for the greater good, the world would be a better place for us all.