#86 in a series of true experiences in real estate
February 1995, Hills Newspapers
It is lovely to work with Anet. She’s so happy. She smiles and laughs and offers hugs to all her favorite people. I think she was born happy, but it probably helps that she really likes her job. It would be hard, I think, to do real estate well if it wasn’t what you wanted to do. Anet does it well.
Not long ago we showed a house to a man whose wife had seen it first and wanted it. We walked through together talking about its pros and cons, then sat down to listen.
“It’s a nice house,” the man said. He paused. “It would work for us. I might be sorry if it sells and we haven’t found anything we like better. Do you think we should make an offer?”
“Nope,” replied Anet. “You shouldn’t. What you’ve just said is that you haven’t seen enough houses. There isn’t any magic number, but when you’ve seen them, you’ll be able to recognize your house. You won’t have any question then about making an offer.”
This is typical of Anet. She does everything she can to soothe and enlighten. She would never urge someone to do something he was not ready to do. She’d say, “It wouldn’t work anyway. It’s hard even when you’re really dedicated. It makes a lot more sense to wait until you’re really sure.”
To a buyer nervous about his offer being acceptable to the seller, she says, “Try not to worry. Go do something that will distract you. I’ll call you the minute I know anything.” Then, because she’s excited and is skipping around, she adds, “Maybe I’ve already said this, but presenting offers is my favorite part of real estate! Thanks!”
Later that night she calls the buyer. “It’s good news!” she says. Star sparkles seem to be falling off of her. It’s hard to know whether she or the client is more excited.
To someone who is trying to understand the minutia of loans, Anet says, “This is a lot of stuff to pack into your head. Stop me if there is anything you don’t understand. We can go over it and over it again.” Later I hear her saying, “Wow! You got all of that! You’re wonderful!”
And on another day, after the inspections have been done, she offers, “There is going to be a breather here. It will probably feel funny after all the hurrying you’ve been doing. But you’ve done great! Now relax and start packing. There will be another flurry in a couple of weeks.”
Anet is a great cheering section and helper. As a client recently told me, “Working with Anet is like having a tour guide in an unfamiliar country. Just when it’s unclear where to stay or when to move on, road directions and recommendations are supplied.”
Buying or selling does take time and concentration. Most of our clients have full-time jobs. They can’t take weeks or even days off to do real estate, so they have to fit it in around the edges. Anet calls them, faxes to them, drops off packages in their home mail boxes.
She makes sure the have everything necessary to make their own good decisions. More than that, she makes the process as pleasurable as possible.
“Be kind to each other while you are going through this,” Anet remembers to say to couples. “Buying (or selling) a house can be very stressful. You need to stop and talk about other things and just be together.”
Anet is the perfect partner for me. She loves doing the parts of real estate I don’t like, and she’s very, very good at them. Negotiating, for instance, is not my cup of tea, but it is certainly hers. Unfailingly polite and patient, she enjoys explaining a zillion contract parts to clients, likes working out the details, is excited about finding solutions that work for everyone. Somehow, she almost always manages to make everyone feel he’s a winner.
She’s even good at opening sticky door locks (I’m terrible) and is an expert map reader (I always get mixed up and go the wrong way), and she can happily obsess for hours about structuring the details of a loan (difficult and boring for me).
People at the title company like her and, I have no doubt, look forward to getting her phone calls. Roofers, glass and fireplace men, termite and building inspectors and other agents like to hear from Anet, too.
She always is so happy. She always sounds glad to be alive. She remembers everyone’s name, says why she’s calling and what she needs, and gives warm thanks when she gets it.
I really am lucky, don’t you think? I never have to worry that I’ll have to pick up the slack. We always meet clients together, see houses together, share what each of us has learned individually. But we each have our own responsibilities, and I always know that Anet’s part will be done thoroughly, on time, and with the best possible outcome.
The company is just the two of us, so whatever either of us does reflects on the other. I could not be better represented than by Anet.
