I guess you never forget any firsts. Your first date. Your first bike. Your first dog. And you remember the circumstances around all of them. Twenty-two years ago I sold my first house. And I remember to this day what it looked like, where it was located and who the couple were who purchased it.
I was excited. I had my first buyer. They were a nice young couple. She knitted and he worked at the local Venture. They couldn't afford much, but they wanted a small house ... with a yard. We looked for weeks. And weeks. And weeks. Every week we'd start out with hope and every week we'd come back to the office down-hearted. Keep in mind, the way homes were searched 22 years ago was from a large book, similar to a telephone book. Every week we'd get several books dropped off at the office. Pages and pages of black and white photos with short blurps in description. We were directed by the St. Louis Board of Realtors NOT to give those books out to the public. But, they were out there in circulation. Clients would come into the office and go through page after page in an area and price range they were interested in. When they saw some they'd like to look at, we'd make the appointments and then drive to the real estate listing office to pick up a key. Yes, there were no supra boxes or combination lockboxes. We picked up the keys for each listing we showed and then...drove the keys back again. Those were the days.
After weeks of driving around picking up keys and returning them, I started to get a feel for what I would like in a house. Not much feel for what my clients liked, though. And so, our last house of the day was a small corner home on Eichelberger in St. Louis. It was kinda cute from the outside. A nice large yard in the back and a yard in the front. I seem to remember a fence made of stones. Not a fence you would commonly see here. We went inside the home. It was only a four room home, living room, kitchen and two bedrooms. Square. Perfectly square. The kitchen had been updated. The bathroom was small and in between the two equal sized bedrooms. And...every room was panelled. Panelled. Feeling more comfortable with these folks since I'd been showing them so many houses over months and months, I made the comment that was going through my mind. Surely they didn't like THIS house. So, I said, " Looks like a fishing lodge, doesn't it? (giggle, giggle). Stuffed fish on the walls would look appropriate." They stopped, turned to me and said, "We like this one." Ooops. Lots of back tracking. Lots of saying what's really nice about this house. And supporting the buyer in their decision. Lots of removing my foot from my mouth.
Taught me a big lesson early on. You can never tell what someone else likes. You can never tell what their dream home is. I never would have guessed fishing lodge. But, there you have it. And you know what, they still live in the home to this day. Twenty two years later.
And I learned not to give my opinion of other people's homes. I believe that when a buyer purchases a home, its a major output of money. Far be it from me to steer a buyer to purchase a certain home. Your home choice is YOUR home choice. Not mine. I can guide you in your purchases where market is concerned. But style is all your decision. I'm never bold enough to believe I know what is best for you. And I don't a good Realtor should ever be that presumptive.
Met a seller this weekend who needs to sell a condo they purchased for their daughter while she was in medical school here at St. Louis University. It's just not moving. We did some planning and set some paths to walk. And...dropped the price. It's usually all about price. There is always A price that everything will sell at.
More another day.
Thank you to all of you who have put your faith in me. I don't take it lightly. And I appreciate and am humbled by your trust in me.
Until next time.
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