I have had enough bad experiences with real estate agents that I don't trust them until they've earned it.
I bought my first house as a newly married boot lieutenant in the armpit of NC. Although a nice house it is easily the worst investment I ever made. The market crashed, new construction dropped the price and kept building. Housing values tanked. I moved away years ago and have been stuck with a rental that gushes money. It has been empty well over a year altogether adding up the vacancies through the years, but current 2 year lease is up end of May. The rent market is way below the mortgage. I shell out a good chunk of change over rent receipts to pay the mortgage every month, before repairs.
When hurricane Florence came through last fall this house was right in the path. I got really lucky. Only minor damage. A lot of houses in the area were a complete loss. This has improved the rental and selling market due to the storm damage creating a shortage.
I talked to my property manager a couple weeks ago and said I have had enough of the house. She didn't even blink, said this is a good time to sell, referred me to a sellers agent in her company.
I talked to the agent. I nice young lady, very upbeat about the prospects of selling. Said she would need to arrange to get in the house and look around before coming up with a list price.
So I hear back from her a week later. Her tone is changed a lot. The house looks, good, I might consider doing this, that the other before listing. Did I know the rental market is up? It would probably sell within a couple weeks....she spoke to a market analyst that thinks I would be better off keeping it as a rental for a few more years. I laughed and told her I lose money every month have been since I moved out, and no the tax break doesn't cover it.
Sensing that something more was goin on, I asked her if she met the tenants when she looked in. Yes the wife was home. And you found her sympathetic? She said....well we are really supposed to keep those things separate...I am just trying to keep your best interests in mind. This is a nice thought, but I know full well she doesn't make a penny unless the house sells. I know nothing about the tenants, just that the lease is up and the property manager flipped me to a selling agent without a thought.
So I asked the agent to tell me what's going on. She said, well it's a military family with small kids, and if they have to move with the hurricane last year, they will have a really hard time finding another place to live in the area. They really, really, really want to stay in the house. I thanked her for sharing her concerns.
I called the property manager and told her that they have a keeper with that agent....couldn't find a better heart. We tweaked the rent a little and continued the lease for a couple more years. I called the sellers agent to thank her for her time and told her what we did and that I won't be selling this time, but when I do I will be sure to give her a call. I didn't think I would ever hear somebody so happy to lose a sale.
