Extreme real estate

When going through real estate school, I'd heard some really crazy stories. You want to remember these stories because you don't want to make the same mistakes some of these folks made.

Oftentimes, mistakes are made because of a reliance on statistics. You say to yourself "chances are, such-and-such is not going to happen so I'm going to err on the side of cheapness..." For example, I recently had a client for whom I was trying to save a buck and get the survey from the most recent owner.

Since the listing agent was on vacation, I was unable to obtain such a beast. With less than 48 hours left before closing, I was able to find a good surveyor, get the place surveyed, and feel comfortable with the situation.

Believe me, I wanted to save my client money figuring there would be no problem with the property but sometimes, you just can't take the chance.

I have another client who made an offer on a property that ended up being vandalized last week. It sickens me that there are kids out there who think this is funny but my clients lost interest. I've heard stories about such things but here was my chance to experience it first hand.

I don't wish this on anyone but sometimes, you have to experience the bad stuff in order to be a more efficient Realtor.