Didn’t List With Me

Debbie Clifton wrote a thoughtful piece on how friends listed their house with someone else. I can relate. About two months ago I got an email from a dear family friend. She was my 82 year old mother’s college roommate, her life-long friend, and my oldest brother’s Godmother. She sat with us when we said our last goodbye to my dad and then again with my older brother’s passing. I think you get the picture.

The email said that she had listed her co op apartment for sale and to please keep it in mind if I had a buyer. Now obviously, this friend knows I am a broker. She knows I am a good broker. She didn’t forget about me, because she wrote the email. But she chose another agent without even interviewing me. Am I hurt? No, but I am curious. I certainly could have used the listing (I’d view it as a fairly salable property) and I think I could have sold it by now. It hasn’t sold yet.

I’m not going to ask her why she listed it with another agent. She had her reasons, and talking about them might make her uncomfortable. Maybe she meant to interview me but the first agent she spoke with talked her out of it. This much I know- my mother’s friend owes me nothing. The thing to do is see if I can bring a buyer, and if it expires, make a note to gently convince her that I am a viable option. If she tells me it is uncomfortable to do business with the son of a close friend or something else, I’ll have my answer.

The Universe doesn’t owe me a piece of the action. I have snatched my share of listings from the more obvious or expected agent my whole career. Sometimes the ones that might seem natural for me don’t go that way. On the whole, I win far more than I lose. In the meantime, I’ll try and bring her a buyer. If I am successful, I’ll make some money, feel vindicated, and help a woman who has known my mom for twice my lifetime to get to the next chapter of her life.