The wheels of the bus go round and round...

Real Estate is a business like any other, but it hits 'closer to home' than most because it's all about HOME!

I have to walk a line between business and personal relationships, as do my clients. Many are long-time friends who know me well enough to accept what I say as truth. They know that if I'm not familiar with something or don't know the answer to the question, I'll say so. And they also know that I've spent countless hours being educated in this profession and thoroughly research the subjects I talk about. So it's always a shock when one of those 'inner-circle' clients just throws me under the bus.

I am trying my best to help everyone, whether personal friend or not, to find their way through the quagmire in this real estate market. It isn't easy telling a client and/or friend that they can't afford a particular property they have their heart set on or that their current home can't sell at high enough a price to even cover the current mortgage. It is all personal stuff. But they can't take it personally.

One of my dearest friends and former client had a meltdown last week over the size of the offers we received on her vacant home that's been listed for sale on and off for nearly 2 years. She was flabbergasted that the market value of her home had decreased before her very eyes and that the appraisal from 30 days ago for a sale that fell apart won't hold up now.

After several lively discussions over a weeks time, she sent an email , stating that she has decided not to sell, wanted the home taken off the market and removed from MLS. She offered to pay for the advertising we have done thus far, knowing that is part of any early withdrawal obligation. At that point I hadn't decided to pass on those fees and needed to speak to my broker to determine if he wanted his share of the costs generated by our extensive print and Internet advertising.

Imagine my surprise when I went to the property to remove my sign and lockbox...there was a 2nd sign in the yard from another real estate firm, announcing the home's availability for rent!

I could feel those bus wheels crunching.

I'm still shocked and saddened that she could do such a thing...heck, she didn't even give me the chance to find the tenant and recoup some costs through a commission. She just phoned someone else...as though I hadn't done my job and wasn't capable of renting her home since I couldn't sell it at a price that pleased her. Yes, I took it personally.

Both she and I were then at an emotional high point. Business and personal were so finely entwined that I couldn't see a way to separate them for nearly 12 hrs.And that bus kept rolling over me every other minute.

After a night of restless sleep I was able to become calmer and just 'let it be'. I wrote to her that I'd removed my lockbox and sign and mentioned that the home's AC wasn't functioning when I entered the property. Then I alerted another agent who had looked at the home for herself as to it's rental potential. And I gave her the owner's contact information so they could deal directly. That would save the owner a commission. After all, money is bus fuel, and I just wanted to stop that bus.

I haven't yet figured out the amount we've spent marketing this home, but it's substantial and way more than she will want to pay to make up for running me over. I'd been keeping the listing all this time because she was a friend and I've spent way too much on it's marketing to make the arrangement profitable, even if we had completed a sale.

So clearly, I hadn't been unemotional, as I preach to others. If I had been, I wouldn't have renewed the listing so many times. I just didn't want to toss her into traffic.

Each time I've found myself under a bus, I've wondered where the problem lies. And now I know it's with me. Learning not to take it personally isn't easy for anyone on any level.