Morrow County, Ohio Real Estate

You Called Two Realtors Out To Show You The Property???

Clearly, many people just don't have a clue as to how the real estate business works.  Earlier this week, a young man called me about one of my listings in Morrow County, OH.  I told him it was a "Short Sale" and explained to him what that meant.  I also told him there were two offers in on this property but the bank had not yet approved either of them, so we were continuing to show and would take his offer as a back-up should he decide that he wanted to offer.

He wanted to meet me at this Mount Gilead home on Friday at 2:30.  I called him this morning to confirm our appointment and to make sure he had talked with a lender in the meantime and was sure he still wanted to consider this property as it was "a little rough" and he would need to invest another $20,000 to $30,000 beyond the asking price in order to make this a home he could live in.

He said he had done his homework and was confident that this home was one that he could purchase and rehabilitate.  And with the rental market in Mount Gilead the way it was, he felt he could make this home cash flow easily.

I went to the property at 2:30 and there was another agent there (whom I know) but neither of our buyers had shown up yet.  The other agent and I had a brief conversation when a truck pulled up and out got "the buyer"

I said to the other agent (Jim), that must be "Chad" the buyer.  Jim said "Yes, that's Chad, he's my nephew and he asked me to help him find a fixer-upper." 

EXCUSE ME?  He's YOUR buyer?  I thought he was MY BUYER!  Agent Jim was as surprised as I was to find that Chad had asked both of us to show him the home.  You see, Chad thought that Jim would show him the property and represent him as a buyer's agent, but that I would need to be there to unlock the house and answer any questions regarding property condition.

I quickly shook his hand, thanked him for his interest, and told him he was "in good hands" with his Uncle Jim.  I then made haste getting to the car and back into the office where I could do something productive.

At first I was upset that this young man had wasted my time, but I was quickly reminded that we agents have done ourselves a disservice over the years by not educating the general public will enough on how our business works.  I am continually amazed at how often I find myself in a conversation with someone explaining to them about real estate agent representation and compensation.

I know we've all experienced situations similar to this in the past and I write this just a reminder to all of us to be ever aware and take that few extra minutes to talk with your potential suspect/client about your profession and your relationship with the client.