Why I Like Neighbors -- Reason #37

"Nosy Neighbor?" Try, Best Ally

At least to some Realtors, neighbors are time-wasters and tire kickers.

They come through open houses not to buy, but to see how their Kitchen compares with their neighbor's, to get interior decorating ideas, or to see what their own home is likely worth.

All (occasionally) true, but neighbors can also be the best salespeople for their block -- who better to field a question about local schools, kids on the block, nearby shopping, etc.: the next-door-neighbor . . . or the Realtor trying to collect a commission?

Neighbors at open houses know who they are -- but prospective Buyers typically don't.

All they know is that the house that they may be interested in buying is full of lots of other prospective Buyers, too.

Free Recruiting

It's also the case that neighbors recruit their friends to move nearby.

Holding an open yesterday in Golden Valley, the next-door-neighbor came over to tell me that she was hosting a party for her son's football team later that afternoon.

If I gave her a stack of marketing flyers, she was happy to set them out where her house full of guests would see them.

I did . . . and she did.

1 for 298!

Housing "Ahab" Finally Finds Her Moby Dick

Bay Area real estate has always demanded patience on the part of buyers. Many spend months scouring listings in hopes of finding "the one." Then there is Lidia Pringle. Over two-and-a-half years, Ms. Pringle personally inspected 298 homes in Marin County.

--"A Picky Home Buyer Pursues An Epic Hunt for 'the One'"; The Wall Street Journal (12/29/09)

My Realtor's take on Ms. Pringle's quest isn't surprise that she actually went through 298 homes.

The surprise is that she actually bought one.

In my experience, viewing that many homes -- in fact, a fraction of that number -- invariably takes one out of the "serious Buyer" category and into an altogether different one: "open house hobbyist," perhaps, or maybe "too-much-time-on-your-hands architecture buff."

Given that the upper bracket properties Ms. Pringle was checking out typically don't open their homes to the public, the likelihood is that she viewed most of those homes through Realtor-arranged private showings.

Poor Realtor(s).

Apparently, Ms. Pringle ditched the Realtor who'd arranged most of those showings and bought through one who showed her exactly one home, the one she bought.

Ahh . . . the agony (and the ecstasy) of working on commission!

P.S.: one of the things Realtors quickly realize is that sometimes, the harder you work for a client, the less they appreciate it. Realization #2: so-called tire kickers never kick the tires on the housing equivalent of Chevettes and Pinto's (remember those?); it's always Porches and BMW's.