The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: The Life of A Real Estate Agent

The life of a real estate agent doesn’t always run entirely smooth. In fact, sometimes it can be downright crazy. Through the years of my career as a real estate agent, I’ve stumbled across some experiences you could call a little crazy. If you think the daily life of a real estate agent is routine, we’ve listed seven real estate experiences (all true stories) that might change your mind.

Real Estate Agent Experience #1: A State of Things

One listing I visited was completely vacant, with no utilities. I could hear running water when I stepped inside, however. It was coming from the basement. I knew I had to get it turned off, so I took a neighborhood stroll and knocked on some nearby doors to borrow a wrench. The water was finally turned off.  That’s not the worst part, though: the pipes had frozen. And the basement had flooded so much with the running water, I couldn’t list the house until two months later.

Real Estate Agent Experience #2: Residential Change of Mind

Another time, someone living in a high end neighborhood told me they didn’t want to sell their house anymore. When we went to pick up our sign, we discovered that our large (and expensive) sign had been changed by the owner.  Now, it was a For Sale By Owner sign with his phone number! Turns out he never sold his house.

Real Estate Agent Experience #3: Goodbye Doorknob

We sold a listing and a few days prior to closing I had to meet the buyer to sign a document. They didn’t have their own agent, neither did they have access to a fax machine or e-mail. The buyer offered to bring my sign and lockbox so I wouldn’t have to stop by and get it. I told him that was very nice, but the lockbox was attached to the door so I’d probably have to get it. He said, don’t worry, he’d already gotten it off. Well, I didn’t ask how, but when I met him I found out how!  He presented me with the lockbox, still attached to the doorknob. He had removed the entire thing - doorknob and all!  P.S.: He said I could keep the doorknob since he already replaced it.

Real Estate Agent Experience #4: Resident Rodents…And Other Things

Our buyer’s agent, Jeannie Fredrick, has even more stories. She recently visited a house with a couple who wanted to try to find a great deal on a foreclosure.  Everything was decent until they got to the partially finished basement. Rat traps were placed about every six feet along each wall and there were dozens of roach motels. The wife was wandering in the rooms and looked up toward the ceiling of one room. She noticed a clear, cellophane-like tube about 12 inches long hanging from the corner. Suddenly, her face went ashen and she turned and ran out of the house. It was a snake skin. We were all left wondering where its previous occupant might be.

Real Estate Agent Experience #5 & #6: Obstacle Courses & A Real Steal

Our buyer’s agent Jeannie also previewed some houses that were very similar to an obstacle course. She had to jump over piles of dirty underwear, dog poop and even less imaginable things. She’s flushed toilets that haven’t been flushed in days, and those weren’t in vacant houses. One client was looking for a ‘steal.’ So she went to preview one of those “too good to be true” houses and certainly found that “steal.” The previous owners had stolen the kitchen cabinets, the furnace and a/c units, the toilets, the sinks — even the proverbial kitchen sink!

Real Estate Agent Experience #7: Rain Predicted

Laura Herrera, our buyer’s specialist and partner, was recently out with an entire family looking at houses. After three or four houses, she found one that the buyers really liked. When they were walking through the house, the buyer had the idea to check the water pressure in all the bath rooms, sinks, showers, toilets etc. As we walked in to the master bedroom, he decided to check the pressure on the Jacuzzi bath tub. He filled the bath tub with water up to the top and turned on the Jacuzzi, unaware that all the jet holes were pointing up.  Needless to say he got totally soaked. The entire family and Laura could not stop laughing about this. The next time they went out, he came to the car wearing a raincoat, prepared to do the exact same thing on all the other houses we were going to preview. What a great sense of humor!

Of course, if you ever visit a home listed by the Curtin Team real estate agents, you will never find any of the crazy scenarios we’ve shared. Check out some of our featured listings.

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