Too much of a good thing?

Most Realtors can not afford to waste their time working with clients that that do not trust them enough to do their job. However, sometimes buyers mistakenly think they may be better off if they have more than one Realtor working to find them a house. Yesterday, I encountered a seller that was taking the same philosophy.

This seller had an inactive real estate license. When we spoke on the phone, she really wanted me to list her home which was on acreage. She knew the value of putting it in our MLS. She was also already sold on the "value" that my company and it's website provides sellers. Even though I had not seen the property, the price she wanted to ask ($500,000) seemed reasonable for the amount of acreage and the area. She was ready to put the property on the market that night. So, I cancelled my existing plans for the evening and set an appointment to list her house. She was anxious, so I wasn't going to make her wait.

Before I left, she sent me an email with driving directions and a paragraph that she wanted included in the Special Provisions. Let's just say I frowned when I saw the paragraph. It was not good. On the 50 minute drive to her house, I formulated my strategy. Essentially, she wanted the listing to be an open listing. Out of all my time selling real estate, I've never had a seller suggest such a thing. To me, that is the equivalent of telling your husband, "You know what honey? I love you. I think you are so wonderful that I want more than one husband." It just doesn't go over too well.

The lady was really sweet, elderly woman who knew what she did and did not want. I asked myself, "What would I tell my students to do in a similar situation?" " Would I want my newest agent to take this listing?"

We discussed what she had in mind. If she found a buyer, she didn't want to pay a commission. She already listed the property with a friend that lives in a tiny town near Waco. That friend said she would put the house in the Houston MLS. Waco is about an hour north of her property. Houston is about 2 -2.5 hours south of her place. Supposedly, the friend does lots of open listings and that friend was more than happy to do an open listing for her. (Everybody does it...yeah right. Why didn't she list the property with one of the agents from our MLS that did a CMA for her?)

She also already told one of her friends in Austin that she could try to sell the house. That particular friend was just getting back from a cruise, so she hasn't put it on the market yet. She gave that friend her word. There was no way she would go back on her word. Alright. That is fine. Austin is maybe 2-2.5 hours away from her place. She wondered , "Since both of my friends are willing to do an open listing, why won't you?"

I found myself looking at my watch. I thought to myself, "If I leave within the next 10 minutes, I could still make it to the meeting that I decided to skip since she was so anxious to get her property on the market." I explained as nicely as possible, "Thank you, but no thank you. I wish you the best of luck."

I'm glad that I don't have friends like her friends. I'd suggest to my friend that she needed to find ONE agent that was an expert in the area where the property was located.

Realtors that are part of an MLS, are you willing to take open listings?