Shelly Field

There is a first time for everything they say. I had never been brought to tears before, but a couple of weeks ago when some "long term" clients backed out of a transaction after the inspection the tears fell.

It's a long "real estate story" familiar to those of us in the field. We have been looking at houses since 2008 with a hiatus of a few months. I have had Ron & Eileen (not their real names) home on the market for many months also without a bite and with very few showings. They can afford to buy without selling and seemingly were determined to do just that. Their plan was to rent out the new house and fix it up for themselves when their own house sells. I ran with them on that decision. They honestly are great people, but they were deluding themselves, or at least he was.

They were fanatic about looking at houses and spent my time and theirs doing it often and at length. The showings always turned into an inspection with them pointing out all that was wrong with the home. They found a home not even listed that they wanted to see. They saw a "for rent" sign and called the property manager which led them to the previous listing agent. She was happy to show them the house and called me soon after. They always tell other agents they are working with me. That is great! She had the house listed twice for long periods of time before the seller took it off the market to rent. It wasn't renting either. My clients after three long looks decided to make an offer. He was clear that his wife really wanted the house because of the location and many other aspects of the home. They accepted our first offer and that had him perplexed: should they have offered less? Mr. Client told me he had reservations, but his wife really wanted the house and he would move forward. He went into the inspection, I believe, with the intention of not buying the house. It is a good house with three LP boards needing replacing, a refrigerator on a GFI, and some other minor issues. They wanted almost everything fixed. The seller offered to do at least half and they said no to the purchase.

I am not a person that counts the money from the commission check prior to close. I know better. But in this case the amount of time I had put in with them caught up with me. When they sat in my office telling me why they were not going to buy the house, I got teary eyed. I didn't cry till later, but they knew I was upset. The wife was also; they apologized. I did the paperwork and handled it all very professionally until they left. At that point I hung my head and had a bit of a breakdown.

No one should ever minimize the stress we endure as agents working so many hours for absolutely nothing. I had spoken with this man on the phone for lengthy periods of time. Is my time worth anything? At one point they talked about buying a FSBO and asked how I would feel about that. I asked him how he would respond after putting in months of work for his boss to tell him thank you with no pay. Thanks just doesn't pay the bills. They agreed. And that was a good thing.

I don't want to be a whimp, nor do I want to be a whiner. Sometimes it just hurts too much and I give in. And they are still my clients and I am still their agent. I have their home listed and I hope to get them into the house of their dreams...soon!

Clients can be friends or neighbors but one thing is certainly true. They are looking for a professional agent to give them valuable advice, correct?

Well, that is what I did. I have their home listed this year for 40,000 less than we listed it last year. It was high last year and they wouldn't budge on price.

This year the market has dropped even more. But believe it or not an agent in our office brought them an offer the first day after the home was listed! The offer was 20,000 lower than listing price and the real kicker for my clients was: they asked for 7500.00 for their closing costs. The fur flew with that one... they expected the offer price, but not the closing cost request. I explained several things to them about our current market and about my experiences with stubborn sellers.

I told them this very true story:

I had clients in December who put an offer on a home that was listed at 389000. We offered 20,000 less and the sellers refused our offer. It was much more complicated than this, by the way. Long story short, the same house now has a purchase price under 300,000 and is still on the market. The people who put an offer on my current client's home had put two offers on the previously mentioned home also.

So as we worked through the thought process of countering the offer my sellers (and neighbor) said to me: "everyone is representing the buyer" who is representing me?" Well, I am I said. I am representing you to the max by educating you about the current market and the consequences of not taking ANY offer seriously. His health is not good and they really want to move on....so they told me. He calmed down and we have countered after a verbal agreement with buyers' agent. It should all workl

The point is: sellers have tough pills to swallow. It may feel like their agent is representing the buyer in this unprecedented BUYERS' market. To represent our sellers we must help them see how many options buyers have. If we don't accept their offer, there are so many more homes to choose from and the prices continue to drop.

Lately, I have had many open house guests doing their research on homes in town, smaller homes, homes with less maintenance, homes on one story etc. It is a true conundrum for them and I relate very well because I am in the same boat.....or close to being the same boat. I can empathize easily.

A typical story:

We live out in the Black Lake area on acreage. We spend all our free time working on our place. We have weeds, we have too much lawn, and in general there is just too much to keep up with. And that is just the outside. We have outgrown our house, but the housework continues in rooms we don't need or use or want. Dust collects, cobwebs fly in the air with ease, and the walls still need to be repainted. We can't afford to pay to have all these things done, but is it a plausible time to sell in this market?

I show them the smaller home with a view that has recently been totally remodelled. It has a nice sized backyard and a small front yard with minimum beds to plant or weed. There is a smal trex deck needing no stain. There are new laminate floors downstairs and new carpeting up. The view from the front room and the master suite upstairs is awesome. They can walk downtown and to the library. It has condo benefits, but with a small outdoor space, a great tandem garage with work area....

The "upstairs" part can be a show stopper for a pre-retiree. Who wants to bother with stairs if the knees or back or feet are painful? So they move on with their looking and their pondering the options. I tell them they are doing absolutely the right thing in seeing what is available for what price and thinking through the benefits of making a big move. Maybe their last home purchase....that's a lot to think about.

I always offer to do a market analysis for them, too. That adds to their knowledge base when the decision time comes.

I keep thinking: what is going to happen to all the HUGE homes out there with all the rooms with all the cobwebs way up high.....???

You might be wondering what MY weight has to do with Real Estate. I had an epiphany on the subjectI I thought I would share with all of you.

A couple of years ago I lost over 20 lbs going to Weight Watchers. I have managed to keep the weight off for the most part: (one part is 5 lbs I am dealing with now). My focus on weight and diet and nutrition has affected my social life.

I am very committed to good health for many reasons. I like wearing a size 6, I like feeling good, I like being able to touch my toes and go to Jazzercize and walk to the top of a hill with ease. I didn't mention I am 61 (very hard to believe) and the time has flown by. At about age 44 my focus changed as far as exercise went and the weight loss came after. I got a divorce around that time, had a hysterectomy and was in counseling. That's a lot! I found at that time I was not enjoying lunches out with the gals from work. The conversation, the eating and the spending money just wasn't making me comfortable any more. From there I have become, perhaps; overly focused on food. I don't drink alcohol much either; it is calorie-ridden and my husband doesn't drink.

So back to real estate. A social life is an important part of building relationships in this business. "Getting out among them" is huge, don't you think? I belong to a church and love the worship and service and helping out where I can. I do not like the emphasis on potlucks and eating in general. I go to WCR where our luncheons are always a salad. I recently went to a wine-tasting and auction; it was great fun. But that is not my norm. It is a stretch for me.

I need to get over some of my fear of food and gaining weight and get out into the world more. I know how to manage what I eat in social settings; it is doing it that makes me hesitate. I sometimes think a person is looked down upon if they don't drink or eat "normally".

Suggestions or comments appreciated. Has anyone heard of a real estate weight watcher group? :-)

Today I had yet another out of state call to get my money for relocation referrals. I asked for a call back and then ignored the call??? I am always afraid to ask the inevitable: "how much does it cost" for all these people looking for homes in Olympia Wa?

It is amazing how ingratiating these callers can be. But they don't fool me. Once they get my money, our relationship will end. My credit card will have the contact with them; I am convinced they count on my ability to forget those monthly subractions from my account.

Might I be ignoring a good thing? Has anyone had good luck with these pay for referral companies? If so , what do yo recommend. How do we find them instead of them contacting us?

What do you think rainmakers?

PS: I already am paying Google/Net-biz $50.00 a month for "driving people to my website". So far the vehicle has a flat tire or the transmission is out!

Thanks for any comments!