Real Estate Agent

If you’ve ever had a bad experience with a Real Estate Agent…you are not alone! Years ago, long before becoming a Real Estate Agent myself, I too had a crazy (bad) experience with a Real Estate Agent. I was in the market for a Real Estate Port St Lucie home, and since I didn’t have a lot of time to waste, I created a very specific criteria list to present to my Real Estate Agent.

Do you ever feel like the best way to learn how to do something right is to watch someone do it wrong? That’s exactly how I felt when I was a buyer being shown property that had nothing to do with what I wanted, and everything to do with what my Real Estate Agent wanted. 

Let me explain; sometimes real estate agents become a little shortsighted and focused on only their own listings because of the monetary reward they receive from receiving both sides of the commission (sellers and buyers). This strategy seldom works because most agents don’t have an abundance of every type of property to meet every person’s criteria. Trying to (force) sell a property to someone that isn’t a perfect fit is like trying to force a round peg in a square hole. It’s just not meant to be!

My Real Estate Agent was well aware of my criteria, which consisted of at least 3 bedrooms in a gated community with a private pool, CBS construction and a large primary bathroom with a nice size soaking bathtub. Does that seem too challenging? Not really, right? Guess again.

This particular real estate agent proceeded to show me only his listings that did not meet my criteria at all. Everything he showed me missed the mark by a mile. The final property, the one that got him fired, was simply ridiculous. As we walked through the house and into the primary bathroom, I saw a very large “cave-like” stone shower, but no bathtub. I asked the agent…“Where’s the bathtub?” He said, “Don’t you think the shower is amazing…it’s a love grotto!” 

Shocked, and feeling a little (actually…A LOT) uncomfortable I said that I really would like a bathtub. He said, “I’ve got your bathtub, follow me”. He escorted me to the back patio which was just about twenty feet from the tee off area of a very busy golf course. He pointed to an old nasty looking hot tub, smiled, and said…“Who needs a bathtub when you have a hot tub?”

Needless to say, he wasn’t the Real Estate Agent that sold me my house. He was, however, a good example of what not to do when selling real estate. I have found great success by listening closely to my clients and finding them the perfect property that meets (or exceeds) their criteria, whether it’s my own listing or not. My client’s happiness supersedes everything! I may not know everything, but I do know that you can’t fit a round peg in a square hole, and a bathtub is not the same thing as a hot tub!