Laura Fangman, realtor of 10 years and micro-farmer, gives us the dirt on some drama that ensued when she showed a home to a buyer who had recently gotten into a fight with the seller, unbeknownst to her. Laura reflects on her experience as a new realtor and how she learned to select her clients carefully from that point on. Tune in to hear how Laura insists on asking better questions, receiving better answers, and what she does if she can’t get them.
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Time Stamped Show Notes:
- 01:20 – Laura is in Virginia with a micro-farm outside of D.C., has been licensed in Georgia and Tennessee, and has been licensed for 10 years
- 02:25 – Laura’s CSIRE story
- 02:30 – 10 years ago, she got a call on her cell; it was an agent from a close market, from the same brokerage, calling to refer a client
- 03:10- She spoke to the people and was excited; they were working on selling a house before buying one they liked and said they were already working with a lender
- 03:48 – She took them out to see homes, the last home was the original one they were looking at; the sellers and their agent were there
- 04:40 –The agent’s male client starts losing his mind; he was shouting obscenities, trying to move past his agent to where her clients were standing, his wife started crying
- 05:30 – She leaves the house with her clients, apologizes, and walks back in to talk to their agent; something was going on
- 06:02 – She learned that the sellers and her clients had had an altercation and fight that involved police not long before the showing
- 07:00 – The clients and the realtor who referred them to her were friends and had set her up to show it, knowing that guy from the altercation was the seller
- 07:30 – The seller had just gotten his stitches taken out from the last altercation
- 07:40 – Laura learned that it is important to prequalify clients before taking them out to make sure they are serious about the purchase
- 08:18 – If that had happened now, 10 years later, Laura would’ve been better equipped to handle the escalation with the broker who referred the clients to her
- 08:35 – Real estate is a self-policing profession; oftentimes new realtors aren’t prepared for this
- 09:10 – Laura doesn’t know if that realtor is still in the business
- 09:28 – What Laura would say to a potential buyer/seller who doesn’t want to answer questions
- 09:43 – “I’d be more than happy to refer you somebody who might be more interested in dealing with this? Can recommend another agent?”
- 10:00 – She has lost clients over this, but she refuses to invest valuable time in people who aren’t serious about doing something and don’t understand the importance of it
- 10:30 – She insists on a lender letter (proof of funds letter if paying cash)
- 11:00 – How to reach Laura: her website, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
3 Key Points
- As a new realtor, be aware that you may need to self-police; if caught in a scary or serious situation, make your safety top priority.
- Make sure someone is prequalified before taking them out; not just to make sure that they’re at the right price point, but to make sure they’re legit and serious.
- Select clients that understand and respect your service and time investment; if they don’t, it is okay to acknowledge that it isn’t a good fit.