Caught your eye, didn't it? The post is by Geno Petro, a REALTOR in Chicago who has a really unique and engaging writing style. He made a post today that caught my attention, if not for the subject matter than for simply the stories he tells. They're funny and, unfortunately for many of us, true. I've not had anyone pee in my car - thank GOD - but if you've been in real estate any length of time at all, something unusual is bound to happen. Here's some of his text, you can find the whole piece here.
"I’ve been putting clients into my car and cruising the streets
of Chicago for nearly a decade now; the first three years as a leasing
agent, the remainder as an actual dues paying realtor. I estimate that
I’ve personally shown over 10,000 properties to almost 2,000 different
people; a few of whom were clinically certifiable and dozens more on
top of that, just plain peculiar. I laugh and cringe out loud (which I suppose would be COL) when I think back on some of the screwy scenarios I’ve witnessed or been a party to. Such, as they say, is life in this big city.
There was the lady who peed in the back seat of my car, the last cloth seat vehicle I’ll ever own. COL.
There was the fairly well-dressed gentleman who came in just before the
close of business one evening, adamant about seeing one of our rental
listings (posted in the lobby window) on the far north side
of Chicago. A half hour later he bolted from my car as I was
attempting to parallel park in front of the property–-a free ride home
to the neighborhood being his sole intention all along.
Then, there was the transvestite who couldn’t stop weeping because
she had just been dumped by her lover–poor thing. I took her into a
Starbucks to calm her down and everyone in the place ended up staring
at me. And perhaps the most memorable of all was the woman
and her ‘attorney’ who stormed into the lobby of our ‘Free Apartment
Finding Service’ (or so read the sign on the awning), demanding the
‘free’ apartment. But to be fair, most of the above episodes occurred
in the earliest days of my career when I was known to befriend any
man who happened through the door with a need for housing and the first
month’s rent to back it up.
My thoughts today, however, drift back to a middle-aged Mandarin
couple I met earlier in this year and what
they taught me about showing
property to people more spiritual than myself. After several times out
in the car we finally came up with a very short list of townhomes they
could possibly live with (or even walk into, for that matter). They insisted we meet at sunrise to view all the listings in which they expressed any serious
interest. Luckily for me and all other parties involved (sellers,
listing agents, etc), they didn’t like many. Early morning light was
very important to them and how it rose each morning over any
encroaching, easterly building was vital to their respective flows of
energy. That, and the street number assigned to the address. “No florce. no florce.” No fours. (Unlucky.)
They gave me a small book, FENG SHUI DOs & TABOOs, by Angi Ma Wong,*
so I could be clear in my head about their intentions and what I, as a
realtor, should know about living spaces in general. I still read it at
night when I can’t fall asleep or there’s nothing good on TV (which in
itself is considered a ‘taboo’ in the bedroom {see below} albeit, lame in comparison to other such interdictions in that particular venue)…"
It's actually a good reminder for anyone, regardless of their industry. We're all different - we have our quirks, our issues and our differences, but that doesn't always make us wrong and it DEFINITELY makes us unique. But also remember ...
don't get in my car if you've got to pee. Thank you.
