Back in the day…
In the early days of Real Estate, it was a fun experience working with and against other Realtors to get the best deal for my clients! My motto was then and is: Do the right thing, because it is right!
Yes, it was hard, and sometimes dirty work! By dirty, I mean convincing a big, strong guy who knew everything about home construction to get down on the dirty ground, sometimes mud, and crawl under a post-and-block foundation with an Ice Pick and poke the beams, checking for dry rot. Not many people knew this, but I carried an ice pick in my fanny pack, not for protection, but for that purpose.
Most of the time, agents helped and cooperated with each other to close deals that were good for both parties.
I fondly remember one of my clients, a new Pastor being recruited for a local church. He inquired about a nice house for sale through a Big Shot Realtor who shall remain nameless. I don’t reveal any names; they are all made up to protect the guilty! The big-shot Realtors I worked with or against all looked down on Women Realtors. I have to admit it was fun to beat them at their own game. This nice guy told me that the congregation gave him $10K as an incentive to move to Phoenix to lead them.
I pre-qualified clients before we went to the bank to apply for a loan. I explained that the most vital question he would be asked is: Is any part of your down payment borrowed? If the answer is yes, they will deny you.
Remember: He is a Pastor, and had been given money as an incentive to move.
I took him to the bank, and when the loan officer asked him the question, he told the loan officer that his down payment was a gift. All good! He qualified.
When I presented the contract to the sellers, with the hotshot Realtor advising them, it was for 5K less than their selling price. I attached a $10K earnest money check to the offer. I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to his arguments for why they should counter back with a full-price offer. And no matter the arguments the Agent presented, the seller was mesmerized by the check and the fact that my client was a paster. They accepted the offer almost immediately with no changes. To say he was mad at me would be an understatement!
Everyone was happy except the selling agent. A couple of weeks later, at an MLS meeting, he loudly declared that I cheated, that the big check didn’t mean anything, and that I should know one dollar would be valid earnest money. I knew that, but that big check was more impressive. As he glared at me, I quietly told him that the earnest money check bounced the first time it was deposited, but cleared the second time. He nearly blew a gasket as I smiled.
Some of the Big Time Brokers were so nasty to us lowly agents that we loved getting back at them, legally, of course. For instance, when you sign onto an agency, all your listings and sales belong to that Broker! If or when you leave for greener pastures, they are all left behind. Soooo… When you leave, you have to close all sales, and you never leave a listing behind. It takes a bit of juggling, but I’ve done it several times. My mamma didn’t raise no fools!
My books are available on Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Everand, Smashwords, Tolino OverDrive, bibliotheca, Baker & Taylor, BorrowBox, Hoopla, Vivlio, Palace Marketplace, Odilo, Gardners, and Amazon.
They are available on my website at www.brendacolbathbooks.com.
To read my past blogs, click on “Posts”, and you can scroll through the list.
Hope your day is filled with fun and love. See you next time…Back in the day…
In the early days of Real Estate, it was a fun experience working with and against other Realtors to get the best deal for my clients! My motto was then and is now: Do the right thing, because it is right!
Yes, it was hard, and sometimes dirty work! By dirty, I mean convincing a big, strong guy who knew everything about home construction to get down on the dirty ground, sometimes mud, and crawl under a post-and-block foundation with an Ice Pick and poke the beams, checking for dry rot. Not many people knew this, but I carried an ice pick in my fanny pack, not for protection, but for that purpose.
Most of the time, agents helped and cooperated with each other to close deals that were good for both parties.
I fondly remember one of my clients, a new Pastor being recruited for a local church. He inquired about a nice house for sale through a Big Shot Realtor who shall remain nameless. I don’t reveal any names; they are all made up to protect the guilty! The big-shot Realtors I worked with or against all looked down on Women Realtors. I have to admit it was fun to beat them at their own game. This nice guy told me that the congregation gave him $10K as an incentive to move to Phoenix to lead them.
I pre-qualified clients before we went to the bank to apply for a loan. I explained that the most vital question he would be asked is: Is any part of your down payment borrowed? If the answer is yes, they will deny you.
Remember: He is a Pastor, and had been given money as an incentive to move.
I took him to the bank, and when the loan officer asked him the question, he told the loan officer that his down payment was a gift. All good! He qualified.
When I presented the contract to the sellers, with the hotshot Realtor advising them, it was for 5K less than their selling price. I attached a $10K earnest money check to the offer. I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to his arguments for why they should counter back with a full-price offer. And no matter the arguments the Agent presented, the seller was mesmerized by the check and the fact that my client was a paster. They accepted the offer almost immediately with no changes. To say he was mad at me would be an understatement!
Everyone was happy except the selling agent. A couple of weeks later, at an MLS meeting, he loudly declared that I cheated, that the big check didn’t mean anything, and that I should know one dollar would be valid earnest money. I knew that, but that big check was more impressive. As he glared at me, I quietly told him that the earnest money check bounced the first time it was deposited, but cleared the second time. He nearly blew a gasket as I smiled.
Some of the Big Time Brokers were so nasty to us lowly agents that we loved getting back at them, legally, of course. For instance, when you sign onto an agency, all your listings and sales belong to that Broker! If or when you leave for greener pastures, they are all left behind. Soooo… When you leave, you have to close all sales, and you never leave a listing behind. It takes a bit of juggling, but I’ve done it several times. My mamma didn’t raise no fools!
My books are available on Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Everand, Smashwords, Tolino OverDrive, bibliotheca, Baker & Taylor, BorrowBox, Hoopla, Vivlio, Palace Marketplace, Odilo, Gardners, and Amazon.
They are available on my website at www.brendacolbathbooks.com.
To read my past blogs, click on “Posts”, and you can scroll through the list.
Hope your day is filled with fun and love. See you next time…