We love our clients. Serving them is a privilege, and we are gratified that many become our lifelong friends. That said, we have to admit that every now and then, clients do the craziest things.
As Realtor Magazine recently noted, “At one time or another, every real estate professional will face a strange contingency or request from a client. Some of those can leave you laughing, crying, or just plain confused.”
The magazine recently surveyed several brokers, who recalled their wackiest client situations.
Consider, for example, the buyers who told their broker that “they could sense the ‘vibes’ and emotions in each house they walked through.” They insisted the broker leave them alone for five to 10 minutes in any house that piqued their interest so that they could lie on the floor, eyes closed, to feel the home’s vibes.
They weren’t alone in their spiritual concerns. Another broker recalled a couple that asked to schedule their closing only on a day when the stars were aligned.
If buyers have their quirks, sellers aren’t far behind.
One broker recalls a man who insisted on vacuuming the carpet in one direction right before a buyer entered his home. “He told me that he could tell where the people would walk and how many steps they took into certain rooms. If he only saw two footsteps in a room, they didn’t like the room. If they walked all the way through, they were interested.”
Another client loved his dogs so much that he “became oblivious to the excrement they left all over the floors,” notes Realtor. Failing to understand why his home wasn’t selling, he insisted his agent “prequalify” potential buyers to be sure they were “pet friendly,” rather than simply eliminating the elimination problem.
Finally, there’s the cautionary tale of one elderly woman who insisted on getting her “lucky pen” from her bedroom before signing a listing agreement to sell her condo. Alas, her luck ran out before she found the pen: She never came out of the bedroom, having suffered a massive heart attack and expiring on her bed.
And so it goes. If there’s a moral to the story, we can’t find it. Except, maybe, to always be skeptical of a lucky pen.