Already more than several times this year I’ve had people whom I thought were a bit more noble about their intentions when using quite a bit of my time in establishing values on their homes and later find they’ve sold them privately. I understand being in competition with other Realtors for listings, but to knowingly look to an agent for a free market analysis and estimate of value is being downright cheap and on the side of not being forthright about their real intentions. I was internally furious when one returned a call today to tell me she’d sold her home to a gentleman whom just “happened” to call her about it since he heard about it from a “friend”. Seems a deal was quickly struck while mentioning she was glad it happened because she needed to get rid of it. I asked her how much he paid her for it and she told me. I did a quick mental calculation and realized she’d sold it for an amount I recommended to her about a month ago less the commission. Hmmm. So it appears better to discount the price of a home for a near perfect stranger rather than have a Realtor sell it for a fair price. At the time of our meeting at the home, I gave her an estimated sale price based on her wanting it sold quickly. In her attempting to play the Realtor, she discounted the property twice. Oh well, I must remember that we are living in the times of more people feeling it’s simply OK to create their own situational ethics. Even though she was the one that called, I found myself breaking off the conversation due to her continued attempts to get some sort of blessing over the whole thing. I simply wished her the best and closed door on another on who works the crowd. As I’ve told many, I forgive much but forget little.
It was quite interesting to read the news regarding the petition that’s being circulated over the condition of the commercial buildings way up on North Federal. I think it’s great to get the citizenry fired up about their surroundings—especially when some of those families have lived up there for generations. More and more these past years I’ve been hearing both buyers and tenants saying they absolutely DO NOT want anything to do with purchasing or renting anything up there due to the stories they’ve been hearing. I can say some of what they’re saying is true. There are far too many tenant occupied homes in that district which I believe creates a non-cohesive neighborhood. Pride in ownership most times becomes a reality with homeowners over renters. Most homeowners realize that if they take care of their homes, their homes will take care of them. Some landlords could care less what their properties look like as long as they’re producing income. It sounds something like corporate profit-takers rather than long term investors doesn’t it? Well, owning rental properties is a business, and too many times, the business owners are not working towards being business-like. There are good tenants and bad tenants along with good landlords and bad landlords. I’m finding more and more the scenario where good tenants are reaching out to good landlords while the bad tenants are quite comfortable with their bad landlords. I did a bit of mother hen tenant scolding today regarding the condition of her apartment’s interior. She later agreed to start making an honest effort. I try never to be mean but once in a while I get hard. Exiting, she smilingly said, “You’re quite the detail oriented mother hen.”
