Skip to main content

The Definition of Insanity (in Real Estate)


More than a couple of years ago, I witnessed something that makes me laugh and cringe at the same time.  Having lunch at a local restaurant, I spied a real estate agent and a loan originator having what I would characterize as a “first date”. I couldn’t help but overhear little snippets of their conversation, and as far as I could tell, things were going relatively well . . . at least until the agent asked the LO this question: “So, do you like to sit at open houses with agents?”  I immediately looked to the LO’s face awaiting the response.  I didn’t need to hear another single word coming out of the LO’s mouth because his face said everything:  you would have thought the agent had asked him if he enjoyed bobbing for apples in a pool of acid judging by the look on his face.  While his face was communicating complete revulsion, his lips said, “Yes, of course.”  And that’s when I looked over at the agent’s face to see, with absolutely no doubt, that she didn’t believe a word he said.  And yet, he was so close!

Speaking of open houses, I recently had the chance to sit at one with an agent, and between the pop-ins from various interested parties, fellow agents, and curious neighbors, we got to know each other a little better and swapped stories, professional and personal.  The one I remember most vividly was when she had graduated from high school, she joined the military a heartfelt thanks to her and all others who serve!!! and when she arrived at her first overseas assignment, she noticed that a very large number of her fellow female soldiers were pregnant.  Thinking she might have missed something in her recruitment paperwork, she asked someone who had been stationed at this particular installation for a while for an explanation.  Turns out the hospital at this military base had been dispensing outdated birth-control pills . . . and that’s not a good thing.  

I’m going to give the medical staff at that hospital the benefit of the doubt and say they were most likely operating in completely good faith I certainly don’t think they were sitting around the break room at the hospital thinking up ways to “prank” their female patients.  However, it wouldn’t surprise me if there was a soldier working in the local supply depot or maybe a general back at the Pentagon (my money’s on both of them being male) who saw that there was old inventory of this medication at that base and even had an inkling that this could lead to less-than-positive things but did nothing about it.  It would just be easier (for them) to let it go and deal with the results.  

I’ve met a lot of real estate agents who tell me story after story of how they have a favorite LO, but this LO’s company is fairly regularly messing up their transactions, which results in MUCH LONGER closings, tons of mistakes, and understandably irate clients their clients.  Oddly enough, most of the agents who share these stories with me admit that they stay with the LO and just put up with the headaches caused by the LO’s company.  What?!!!! That’s like going back to same doctor who dispensed the outdated medication KNOWING THAT THE HOSPITAL IS STILL STOCKING THE OUTDATED MEDICATION because you liked the doctor’s bedside manner. That’s cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, folks!  Just as it would be wise for the lunching agent to avoid referring business to the LO who lied to her face, it would be equally wise to find a new mortgage company who didn’t make YOU look like a liar, right?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

An Age-Old Concept Reaping Future Rewards

W hy are social media like Facebook and Instagram so darn popular among real estate and mortgage folks?   Hint: the top reason might be an endless supply of memes, cat videos, and the chance to be snarky, but the other reason runs a VERY CLOSE second.   Give up?   Answer:   They’re free – and they really help even the playing field by enabling a one-person shop look and market like an organization who employs an army of wordsmiths and graphic artists. This new century is glorious, right?   With that in mind, let me re-introduce you to a centuries-old concept that is equally glorious – and can help IMPROVE the playing field for you, regardless of the size of your team: karma.   On the subject of “free”, I’m not suggesting that you work for free, but when you freely give of yourself and your knowledge, you’ll see a greater payoff, I promise! Recently, an agent came to us with a question: she has a client who is looking to sell his condo.   It...

KNOWING is Half the . . . Problem

If you’ve learned one thing from reading these columns, it’s this: I don’t read a ton of books by or about the French philosopher Descartes or spend large amounts of money traveling the world to view the Masters’ paintings in far-flung museums – my entertainment and sources of knowledge run to the more . . . mundane, if you will.   Well, I’m not about to disappoint.   In the movie Men in Black , the two main characters J & K (played by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, respectively) have recently met and K is trying to recruit J to join the clandestine government agency that monitors aliens on planet Earth.   Agent K has just shown J a lot of things that are hard to believe/explain and urges J to keep them secret.   At this point, J interrupts him, and this piece of dialogue ensues: J: Why the big secret?   People are smart.   They can handle it.   K: A person is smart.   People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you...

The Power of Doubt

We find ourselves in that weird week between Christmas and New Year’s – that week that feels a bit like the Twilight Zone where no one’s sure what’s real and what isn’t.   Because of that, most people tend to focus on one of two things: eating as much as possible or setting goals for the upcoming year.   The former is squarely focused on the present – how much can I stuff into my gaping maw at this very moment before I pass out and/or puke – while the latter is focused on the future.    Last week, before the Twilight Zone kicked into full gear, I read a short article that resonated with me, and I think it’ll prick up your metaphorical ears, too.   The author of the article is a gentleman who professionally trains Olympic athletes, and he highlights the talents of a particular athlete from the Philippines who is training to be a marathon runner.   He points out that this runner is not a professional athlete, nor does she receive any type of financ...