Steve Westmark knew he had to keep his cool when he found his seller asleep and the house a mess minutes after the open house was scheduled to begin. Little did he know, he’d be dealing with paramedics and questioned by the police in this unfortunate, real estate story. In this episode, Leigh interviews Steve Westmark, from Minneapolis, Minnesota—a realtor who stayed calm in a terrible situation.
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Time Stamped Show Notes:
- 00:20 – Introduction to today’s episode
- 00:28 – Today Leigh welcomes Steve Westmark!
- 01:03 – Steve started in 1973, right out of elementary school
- 01:09 – Steve works in the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis, Minnesota
- 01:56 – Steve is finally sharing his real-estate story!
- 01:57 – Steve was planning his open house from 1:00-4:00pm
- 02:04 – Steve arrived at the house at 1:05 and luckily no one was there
- 02:21 – When Steve walked into the house, the seller was not prepared
- 02:40 – Steve started cleaning everything and making the house presentable
- 03:10 – Someone rang the bell, but the seller was still sleeping in bed
- 03:37 – Steve walked the client around the house
- 04:00 – Steve told the client about the potential of the house and took a look at the lot
- 04:24 – Steve walked up the bedroom to wake up the seller
- 04:37 – The seller didn’t look alive, so Steve called 911
- 05:22 – Steve went back to the room, as advised by 911, to verify whether the seller was dead
- 06:09 – Steve closed the open house, even though interested buyers kept coming
- 07:00 – Another client arrived for the open house at the same time as the police
- 07:51 – Steve walked in the house with the police and answered their questions
- 08:42 – The paramedics came and it was confirmed that the seller died from a heart attack, Steve was released by the police
- 09:18 – Steve called the pastor who referred him to the seller and told him the sad news
- 10:43 – The family of the seller gave Steve back the listing after 6 months
- 10:50 – Steve was still able to sell the house
- 11:08 – Leigh’s takeaways from Steve’s story
- 12:10 – Contact Steve Westmark through his website at com or at SteveWestmark.com
3 Key Points
- Plan and organize your open house—be there AHEAD of the scheduled time to make sure everything is in order.
- Stay calm and keep your cool, even in the most stressful and unplanned situations.
- Do your due diligence and check in with your seller before the open house.
Credits