Posted by Ray Wright on January 27, 2010 at 1:00pm
Well, I lost buyers today and I figured I'd vent here to all of you.There's been times when I've stopped working with a buyer before. Sometimes I fire them and sometimes I refer them to someone else, depending upon certain factors. But today, I just lost em.We've been working together for about 5 months and I've shown them quite a few homes in several areas. I've held their hand, helped them secure financing, explained the options and used my expertise to educate them in today's market. We've made 2 other offers and have been beaten out by the multiple-offer-auction atmosphere of the current repo market.I showed the husband a property on Thursday while his wife was out of town and he wanted to get his wife to see it. He really liked it and so we set up a time to go see it after church on Sunday, since his wife was due to be back Saturday, mid-day. Sunday came and I didn't see them at church nor did they return my call. After 2 more voice mail messages over the past 3 days, the husband finally called me back. He was a little hesitant and sounded very apprehensive on the phone. I thought maybe they had a death in the family. But then he said it, "uh...sorry to tell you, but...we already made an offer on that house with another Realtor".Inside my head I was yelling, "WHAT?" and going thru my mind was the vision of me shaking him and smacking him, saying, "What were you thinking?". But all that came out of my mouth was a calm, "Really? Hmmm."To make a long story short, they are acquaintances from church. Because I viewed them more like friends and not clients, I didn't have them sign a buyer/broker agreement and went off of faith and trust. I do that quite often with buyers whom I look at as friends more than clients. The wife got back into town a little earlier Saturday than expected and so the husband decided to drive her by the house he saw. The listing agent was having an Open House and they actually went in and saw the home. Then, the listing agent talked them in to making the offer right then and there with promises of saving them money and guaranteeing them they would get the house if they went with him. The buyer really couldn't explain exactly what the agent said or exactly how the agent was going to be able to accomplish this, but they wrote the offer up, submitted it and got accepted this afternoon, right before he called me.No, I didn't ask how he thought the bank's Realtor would get them a "better deal". I didn't ask why he thought the bank's Realtor would work for a one time buyer just as hard as he works for the bank that gives him 50 to 75 deals a year or more. I didn't ask what price he offered although I expect it's quite a bit more than I would have suggested for that home. I also didn't ask him how he was going to face me every Sunday and Wednesday at church from now on. I just said, "thanks for the call and I hope things work out for you and your family!". What I DID do was immediately go off my diet and buy a Venti Rasberry Mocha, drowning my sorrows in sugar and caffeine and asking myself why I didn't have them sign a buyer/broker agreement.It will be interesting to see how this deal of theirs all pans out. Perhaps in the future, I'll start having even my friends and family sign buyer/broker agreements. Or probably not and I'll be blogging about this issue again in the future the next time it happens.By the way, if you or someone you know is at risk of losing a home to foreclosure, please know that there are new options available to avoid this devastating occurrence. And know that there is someone here you can trust to help. As a Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist, I understand the ins and outs of Short Sales and Loan Modifications. I am also a Wachovia and World Bank trained Pre-Foreclosure expert and well educated in the Government’s new H.A.F.A. and H.A.M.P. programs for helping homeowners facing foreclosure.Click on the link below to find out more about Preforeclosure alternatives:http://www.partnerfirst.org/raywright/Click on the link below to search all homes available in the MLS::http://raywrightsellshomes.com/f-properties.htmlClick on the link below to read what other clients have said about my service:http://raywrightsellshomes.com/f-testimonials.html
Ray, I feeeeeeel your PAIN! Asset or pain in the former? I believe we know the answer. I went through this same scenario last year. I had a referral from a satisfied client whom I helped obtain a home. They were ecstatic and mentioned my name to a friend. I met up with this friend/wife and we connected immediately. We looked at several properties and made offers. Unfortunately, we were up against all CASH offers and 20%+ financing and we had a slim and none shot at these properties (this client went FHA).
Long story short, I later found that they went to another realtor. I must have been naive to believe that this would NEVER happened to me. Yeah right! ....just like there is no snow in California. Who goofed I've got to know. :( This was the first time this had ever happened to me. You know what I did...NEXT!! No need to cry over rotten spoiled stinking milk. :-) Going forward I am having all my buyers sign the buyer/broker agreement. We learn from our mistakes and change it so that the occurences will be a thing of the past.
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Long story short, I later found that they went to another realtor. I must have been naive to believe that this would NEVER happened to me. Yeah right! ....just like there is no snow in California. Who goofed I've got to know. :( This was the first time this had ever happened to me. You know what I did...NEXT!! No need to cry over rotten spoiled stinking milk. :-) Going forward I am having all my buyers sign the buyer/broker agreement. We learn from our mistakes and change it so that the occurences will be a thing of the past.