Some Buyers Are Assholes
I was working with a Canadian family about a year ago. They were looking for a vacation condo on the beach up to about $1.3 million. On their first visit I showed them everything for sale on Lido Key, Longboat Key and Siesta Key that matched their requirements. We must have seen around 20 properties. They were pretty picky.
Over the course of two visits and several days within a 60 day period they ultimately decided on a certain beachfront condo on south Longboat Key. We looked at everything for sale in that complex. Throughout our time together looking at property I got to know the husband, wife and two kids. I built a pretty good rapport with them (or so I thought).
They decided to make an offer on a very nice unit on south Longboat Key. Like all buyers they wanted to get a deal and submitted a low ball offer. The seller countered their offer and they sat on it for a day to decide. In the meantime, another buyer came along and bought the unit. Of course, they were pissed. They even blamed a little bit for losing the condo. The wife said, “I wish you had pressured us more.” It was them sitting on their asses that cost them the condo, not me and my lack of pressure.
They came back to town about a month or so later to look at more condos. A couple of more condos came on the market in the community that they liked best. I showed them all of the units. Nothing really excited them. So they decided to wait for others. I agreed to alert them when anything else came up for sale.
Nothing really came on the market for months. We played the waiting game hoping for other units to come on the market. I corresponded with them periodically mostly by email.
Late in 2008 I just happened to be looking on the MLS at a closing that took place in the condo complex that they liked. I looked at the tax records and found out that the Canadian idiots purchased the unit that I showed them earlier in the year. They used a different Realtor to purchase the unit. Assholes!
It was by looking at numerous properties on three barrier islands that they decided on where they wanted to buy. Their education was achieved through my efforts. Assholes! It was my efforts that showed them the unit that they eventually bought. Assholes! It was through my efforts that kept them up to date on what came on and sold in the community they liked. Assholes! All of these efforts on my part helped them make the decision to purchase the unit that they did. Assholes!
I am not sure why they decided to use a different realtor. It may have been because I was brutally honest with them about what I thought they could buy that unit for. They wanted to purchase for 70%-80% of list price and I said that it was possible but extremely unlikely. I told them that if they wanted to buy at that price they were going to have to wait until market prices dropped to within 5%-10% of that price. Perhaps, I should have bullshitted them. They ended up paying about what I told them that they would need to pay.
The bottom line is that they are assholes and karma will eventually catch up to them.
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I can understand your frustration. It comes with the “you can’t please all the people all the time” mantra. I work for a tradeshow display company. I can’t tell you the amount of people (dozens per month, infact) that I’ll make contact with, spend hours selling up, provide information for, pull samples, make presentations, the whole 9… only to have them buy for less money elsewhere.
Even if money is not the issue, I’ve had people who play some really interesting games with suppliers. They’ll get 4 or 5 of us all providing information and then use it against each of us. “He said X, you said Y, prove Y to me.” Then, when you prove Y, they run back to the X guy and humiliate him, then demand he make the offer better.
There was a time I really loved the thrill of sales. Lately, I just want to punch someone in the neck if I feel they are going to screw with me. Love the regulars, hate the haters. Thankfully, I have hundreds of great customers, so the 5%-ish of people who are unreasonable haven’t killed my enthusiasm all together.
As for real estate, I had an interesting realtor situation about 10 years ago that went belly up. I found a local realtor and asked to see a bunch of properties. The realtor was always busy, didn’t return calls, etc.etc. He did finally show me one property, but was incredibly rude throughout the process, didn’t want to offer me any advice, kept looking at his watch, etc.etc. Then, after a dozen phone calls and emails to him to follow up on the property, I never heard back from them. The house was snatched up by someone else and I ended up being on the lookout for another house.
I proceeded to find another realtor, which I did finally use to buy a different house, which I’d never seen before Realtor #2. She was responsive, gave good advice and even helped get the price down. Two days after I closed, Realtor #1 showed up at my old house and demanded $5000 from me. The balls! I ended up explaining my situation, told him to kindly screw himself and closed my door. He waited outside for an hour and then called the police!
They showed up, explained to him that there was nothing they could do, then he left. A week later, he showed up at my work and demanded the $5000 from my EMPLOYER! I ended up calling Remax (his upstream people) and filing a formal complaint. About a month later, I found out he has been contacting the realtor I did use and was harrassing her!
I finally had enough and ended up going to his house and pulling a gun on him. I told him that if he EVER pressured anyone like that again, I was going to personally execute him. He would near hear it coming. I would simply end his life so he could never do this to anyone else again. Thankfully, I, nor Realtor #2, ever heard from him again.
To be honest, the whole situation has really put me off from ever buying a house again. I’m really worried I’d run into another realtor like that and I just can’t deal with it.
Denis Baldwin’s last blog post..Body Worlds Exhibit at MOSI
Did the canadian value the service that the realtor provided. In marketing today I asked the question if a customer does not value the service you provide what do they value? This is when customers go cost shopping; they dont understand the things a realitor does like simplifing paperwork and things like this. As for the other guy he needs to get a life and move on. I am sure its not the first time a deal has fell through.