Diary of a real estate rookie
Friday, January 19, 2007
By Alison Rogers
Inman News
Alison Rogers
|
I have two
clients who are a relocating couple. First the wife came out and I looked at
listings with her, then the husband came out and I looked at listings with him.
Finally they came out on a trip together, and I saw the problem: he's a little
bit country and she's a little bit rock 'n' roll. Or maybe it's the other way
around. Whatever it is, they don't like the same apartments.
Their
tastes are different in nearly all respects. My favorite bit is when they
disagree on the amount of space they're going to need because they're not sure
whether they're going to have another kid. Every time the wife says, "this
would be good when we have another kid," the husband responds with the
Mother of All Eyerolls.
This is the
first time this has happened to me. I have worked with other couples who were
much, much easier because their tastes were more in alignment. Or one person
would take the lead in the apartment hunt, and I'd basically play to that
person, with a sop to the other -- "oh, Jake just has to have his
office" -- something like that.
But with
these two -- my inclination, and I told them this once, is to get them two
entirely separate apartments. The wacky thing is, that might work. The wilder
thing is that they're obviously blissfully married. (I'm a newlywed, and it
takes one to know one.)
So we keep
searching and searching. Unfortunately, I'm not getting that much smarter at
this process. The only thing I think I've learned is that they both hate the
compromise apartments. The three-bedroom for her, with a good location for him?
Too sterile for both of them.
It's tough
because I don't want to "side" with either one of them, but I am
running out of inventory. Not as in, "they've seen everything on the
market now," but as in, "they saw everything on the market before
Christmas, and now we're in a new year, and a new season, and look, they've
seen everything else."
Generally
when I have one client, I find I can place them by showing them five or 10
listings, depending on how well I know my inventory. Now with a pair of
clients, I've gone through at least 25. Oh, I guess, I've learned another
thing: I've finally learned to walk away and let them discuss the advantages
and disadvantages among themselves, for long periods of time.
About six
months ago, a friend of mine who was a reporter met a TV producer who was
looking for real estate agents. My dear friend passed along my name, which was
perfect: I'm a real estate agent, and I want to be on TV.
The only
problem was that the show was about couples who were fighting about what they
wanted in an apartment. Since at that point most of my clients were singles, I
didn't have the war stories the producers were looking for.
Well, I
feel like I do now.
Last time I
went out with them we knocked it down to "good, better, best" --
three fine apartments, but each one a step up in quality (and price to match).
My husband and I would have compromised on "better" in a heartbeat,
but they debated long and hard about "best" -- calling me once every
half an hour -- before swinging back around to "good."
Which, hey,
has the best views of the three of them. Maybe that's what was agreed on: not
the layout, not the location, not the features, not the finishes, but what was
out the window.
Guess when
it comes down to it, even disagreeing couples share a point of view.
***
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