A blog about the Sunshine Family's life and times transitioning from Big City life to Small Town Texas life. Oh yea, I have a husband, two young adults and two emotionally needy pets.
I am slowly working through sending out sales comps to past clients. At this rate, I should be done, or giving up, in about a week. Good news though, one person I contacted wants me to sell their condo. So the hour or two each day doing this may actually pay off.
Every year I send out neighborhood comps to most of my past clients. There are a few who don't receive them. Some clients don't want them and have told me not to bother. They say they will call me when they want to move. Some I never want to represent again. Some have homes shaped like Noah's Ark or the EPCOT Ball and are in custom neighborhoods so unless they are moving, sending them comparable homes would be setting their expectations too high.
I don't know of many agents who do this. It is painstakingly tedious, especially because I want to get the numbers as close to accurate as possible. Additionally, I have been an agent for 16 years, so I have a few past clients.
Before Zillow thought they knew everything (really, they don't), comps were much simpler. Now, no matter what I send, I get at least one person telling me I am wrong, because they checked on the Internet and the house next door sold for $173,815 more than what I think their home is worth. Of course, the Internet's data was from 2005, but whatever.
In some ways, it is kind of fun to do this. I like going back and thinking of what it was like for the client when they found their house. The look on their face, whether they had bought 10 homes in the past or this was their first, is always the same: Christmas came early and they got the best present ever. I like that look, it is the fuel that keeps me going when I am dealing with the crazy folks, the unkind people or Zillow.
Marty turned down his latest interview opportunity. He didn't feel like the location was right and wasn't convinced the company was a good fit. I am ok with that. I want him to be 100 percent sure he will be happy where ever it is he wants to land.
This job was somewhere, an hour north of civilization and smack dab in the swamp. The entire county where this job is located has about 200,000 residents.Though the idea of living somewhere rural appeals to me, the swamp never appeals to me. However, he has applied for another job in that same area. So far, nobody has called him though.
In the meantime, I am paying Buckaroo's college today and peacefully moving on with my life.
In the midst of my domestic flux that seems to consume these pages in cyber space recently, there actually is a few real estate-related items going on.
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Mrs. Hufflepuff is letting me hold a property open this coming weekend. Jane isn't available so I will bring a book and chill out for a couple of hours, hoping to find a ready, willing and able buyer.
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Speaking of Jane, she has two (TWO!) listings coming up. I am as giddy about it as she is. I am so proud of her. Commission sales isn't easy in the beginning.
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Last week I got a referral from a client whose daughter is moving here from Oregon. They have a house to sell there and will be moving to the Phoenix metro area. On their behalf and with their blessing, I interviewed a couple of agents in the area and found someone I thought would work for them. He's a good guy and a real go-getter. I think they will be in good hands.
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And finally, some of you long-time readers may remember Mitch and Tonya, amazing clients and even more amazing friends of mine. Mitch was diagnosed recently with a rare cancer. He starts chemo Monday. He is only a few years older than I am. He could use a bit of positivity thrown his way, if you are the type to do so.
Jane is an Army wife. Mr. Jane retired a few years ago after 25+ years of service to our country. She is used to the "are we moving?" game. I talked to her about my frustration. She moved 20 times in 18 years. Many of those moves were with small children at home and Mr. Jane in some other part of the world. She gets it.
She also gave me advice, which even she agreed was marginal: stop thinking about whether or not this was really happening. Yea, I will get right on that. Right after I decide if I want to pay my real estate dues for the year. They are non-refundable. Or, do I want to remake my business cards? Who else could use them if I don't? Do I sign Buckaroo up for another fire science college class? Do I buy plane tickets for Polly and I to go to Montana for our much anticipated girl's trip?
I mean, to what extent does this constant wondering continue? Jane understood that too.
At this point, I am just living my life like it is here, though I am hesitant to buy the plane tickets until after I find out if Marty will have a second interview.
For the past several months, Marty Sunshine has been applying for jobs and receiving interviews. All of these jobs just happen to be in states that aren't Arizona. At this point, he has not been rejected because of his skills. Mainly it has been Marty turning down second and third interviews because he wasn't interested or feeling like the company would not be a viable fit. Conversely, the prospective employers and Marty have chats about salary early on and they part friends (with Marty saying "I don't want to waste your time."). One employer asked if they could contact him later about another, "high-level" position they have coming up in a few months. Sure. Fine. Whatever.
At first, it was exciting to think of the possibilities. Every interview came with a will this be, "the job?" I would spend time looking up crime stats, housing info, churches, community colleges, martial arts studios and high schools (Buck wants to go to school if we move) in the respective towns. But now, I am totally over it. The kids are too. In fact, we don't even tell Polly and Buckaroo any more when Marty is interviewing.
In truth, a move could be a multi-year project, given Marty's fantasy job requirements. He isn't desperate. It also means Marty has to be actively looking, which he hasn't been for the past couple of weeks. However, he does have another interview scheduled in a few days. This job came out of the blue and is nothing like what I expected him to want. I went so far as to look up the county it was in and where was the closest Costco and Trader Joe's in relation to the job (about an hour away). But that was as much excitement as I could muster.
I am finding it tough to focus on building a real estate business when the, "are we moving, possibly?" is looming over my head. It isn't that I don't actively seek clients, it is more that why pay for a lot of advertising and business-type stuff that may not be useful if I am closing down. For example, I thought long and hard about renewing my PO Box, but then Marty turned down interview number 3 with a particular organization last November. At that point, I threw in the towel, figuring the PO Box would survive at least six more months, if not another year.
As Marty is the main bread-winner and these talks as a family have been in the works for years, I am not against the idea of moving, I just don't want to live my life in a state of flux. For the most part, I put it out of my head until Marty says the magic words, "I have a job interview lined up." And then, I start this maddening thinking (at least for a few weeks) all over again.
Once upon a time when I was a landlord, I was in West Georgia and I told the deadbeat tenant I would be by to pick up the rent. She said "Come on over. I am home alone." Then, I drove by her house. As I did, I watched her get into her car and four thugs walk to her front door. One was carrying a baseball bat.
The thugs walked in the front door, the tenant drove away. I called her a few moments later, not mentioning I had just drove by, and she reiterated she was home alone and would be all afternoon. Perhaps I could stay and chat for a bit when I came over?
Instead of stopping by, I went to my attorney's office and started the eviction process.
Utah real estate agent allegedly shot and killed
while trying to evict tenants.
Three people were arrested Saturday in
connection with the death of a Utah real estate agent who police believe was
shot and killed while attempting to evict tenants at a Salt Lake City
apartment.
The arrests took place hours after
detectives and friends searched the city for the 40-year-old victim. Police
learned just before 11 p.m. Friday that David Stokoe never left the apartment
near 900 East and Princeton Avenue, Salt Lake City Police spokesman Sgt. Greg
Wilking said.
Police found Stokoe’s body in a
semi-hidden crawl space, then shifted their focus to finding his missing
Cadillac Escalade, in addition to the apartment tenants.
Wilking said Stokoe, of South Jordan,
was likely killed Thursday when he visited the apartment. He was reported missing
to South Jordan police about that time, and Salt Lake City police got involved
after searching the apartment Friday and finding evidence that made them “very
concerned” about his well-being.
The Salt Lake City SWAT team found and
arrested Manuel Velasquez, 31; Jessica Reese, 38, who sometimes uses the last
name Miller; and Diana Hernandez, 30, outside a South Salt Lake apartment after
a short standoff around 6 a.m. Saturday.
According to
court documents, Velasquez and Reese were renting the apartment from Stokoe and
said they had issues with him because they felt he was “overstepping his legal
rights by entering the apartment without [the renters’] permission.”
Stokoe had told Velasquez and Reese
that they needed to be out of the apartment by 6 p.m. Thursday, court documents
said. Velasquez told police he and Stokoe got into a fight when Stokoe arrived
that evening. Velasquez said Stokoe kicked in the door, and Reese said during
the ensuring struggle, Stokoe put Velasquez into a “very serious” chokehold.
Velasquez told police that while he was
being subdued, he reached for a handgun inside the fannypack he was wearing and
shot Stokoe multiple times, according to court documents.
Later, Reese, Velasquez and their
friend Hernandez all allegedly cleaned the apartment and hid Stokoe’s body.
Yet, Stokoe’s mother, Diane, and his
half-brother Dean Belov, told The Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday evening that
they dispute the suspects' story. They said they believed David Stokoe was set
up by a tenant who was taking advantage of their landlord.
Belov doesn’t know what happened when
David Stokoe arrived at the apartment Thursday morning, except his half-brother
was killed soon after. He doubts Velasquez’s story, and said David Stokoe
wouldn’t instigate a fight.
“Sometimes you hear this thing, ‘No
good deed goes unpunished,'” Belov said. “Well, here’s a good example of that.”
A vigil for David Stokoe is scheduled
for 5:30 p.m. Monday at 9272 South 700 East in Sandy.
Neil Stokoe, David’s brother, said
Sunday morning that so far the family has been trying not to dwell on how David
Stokoe died, and instead are focusing on comforting each other and remembering
him. He said many of the details of the case are unclear right now, and the
family is letting police do their job and worry about that side of things.
“Honestly,
the fact of the matter is we’re more concerned about our family, their
wellbeing, the ongoing support of my sister-in-law Nikki and her family, and
their wellbeing," Neil Stokoe said. “Frankly, police are doing a fantastic
job.”
Velasquez was booked into the Salt Lake
County jail on suspicion of murder and obstruction of justice, in addition to
possession of a firearm by a restricted person and a felony-level discharge of
a firearm offense. Reese and Hernandez were both booked on allegations of
obstruction of justice.
Court records show Velasquez has been
convicted of several felonies since 2008.
Police found Stokoe’s Escalade in West
Valley City with two people inside about two hours after they arrested
Velasquez, Reese and Hernandez. After interviewing the pair, Wilking said
police don’t believe they’re connected to the homicide. One of them was booked
into jail because of a parole violation. The other was released, he said.
Stokoe’s family released a statement
Saturday night about his death.
“Our hearts are broken over the loss of
Dave,” the statement read. “This situation is tragic beyond words, but we are
remembering Dave the he way he deserves to be remembered, as a hero and
champion.”
The statement said the family is
choosing to focus on remembering Stokoe and are trying not to dwell on the how
he was killed.
It ended by saying, “We are so grateful
for the overwhelming love and support we’ve received through prayers, service,
emails, posts, and texts. We feel your prayers and appreciate the outpouring of
love and charity from friends, neighbors and strangers."
A GoFundMe account has been set up support Stokoe’s family. He
leaves behind his wife, Nikki, and their four children.
She started our phone call this morning at 7:21 a.m. with "I am sorry to have kept you in suspense." Actually, she hadn't. Inga just hadn't made her desires official.
This morning, she did. With no great shock to the masses, Inga is not selling her house. She told me this weeks ago, but said (unprompted) through tears, e-mails and way too many phone calls, that she would "think about it." At the time I took it to mean, she needed to convince her soon-to-be ex-husband she wasn't selling the house. But otherwise, yea, I was pretty sure she wasn't selling.
There are many life choices that came into play with Inga's decision. None of these choices happened in the past month. I am aware this is an aspect of what I do. Most people move with more than just their worldly belongings. They move with their baggage too. Or in Inga's case, she and her baggage are going to stay put.
This past Tuesday I went to my first Community Outreach meeting. I am underwhelmed. It wasn't cliquish--because there are far too many new folks there for it to be so. But I suspect at one point it was, and that's why there are far too many new folks.
The Chair seems to have a commitment to the group, could manufacture words with more than one syllable and moved the meeting in the right direction. So, there's that. This group is a bit more eclectic than the Grievance Committee folks, who were there to get down to business.
A Type of Mechanical Lock Box
Fortunately, there was a point to us meeting (though it took about 15 minutes to figure this out). The Community Outreach group is there for a few purposes. First, they help with Realtor's critical needs. That is, if a realtor has a hardship, there is money allotted to help the agent. In fact, this is how I first heard of this group. A realtor I know passed away very suddenly. His family needed funds for his burial.
In addition to the critical needs, they also provide mechanical lock boxes to the East Valley municipalities. The boxes are placed on homes (with a key inside) where the elderly and disabled live. If a first responded is called to this residence, they can access the key instead of breaking down the door. I actually suggested we get Buckaroo's fire fighting teenagers involved in this.
The committee's charity of choice is a Veterans group (it was undefined which one) and they work throughout the year with real estate companies to support them. Last year, several agents took a Saturday to paint a few disabled veterans' homes.
They also have a "festival of trees," whereby they collect artificial Christmas trees from the communities and give them to needy families. They work with the East Valley municipalities with this one too, looking for deserving folks.
In addition to the above, they hold blood drives and "social" events. There was some talk about making the blood drive some sort of Game of Thrones theme, but only three people (including the Chair) had ever watched Game of Thrones. That didn't stop the Chair from declaring that should would be the theme.
So far, I am not sorry I joined. But I am also not sorry I am missing next months' meeting.
Once a month, I meet with a friend to discuss the upcoming challenges we face in the world of sales. She is a loan officer--and oddly enough, I have only given her one client in the last several years, it has just worked out that way. However, we meet. We set goals and we hold each other accountable. And woe be to the one of us who didn't do our homework!
My goal for the month is to find a client. My secondary goal is also to work on my passion project I am currently obsessing over. Hers is to close three loans. We often chose a book to read. She found one I can't wait to sink my teeth into, once I finish the second Harry Potter book, which should be around Wednesday.
Last year we tried to add a few random people to our group, but that didn't work out. But, we keep looking--just in case. Once upon a time, Senora joined us for about two years. However, these days Senora is busy with El Jefe and doesn't want to play. So, right now it is the two of us.
I would be afraid to go to her next month and tell her I don't have a client. I suspect she would be equally as hesitant to come to me and say she didn't have three loans in the works. It is just how we are. So, I guess I better find a client.
Inga sent me a cowardly e-mail last week saying she doesn't know what she wants to do. She may want to move out and sell her house. She may not. At this point, she is putting the sale on "hold for a week or two." I have already paid for the sign post (installed) and some advertising. I am wishing I hadn't.
I did speak with her later that day. She cried. Honestly, she doesn't want to move. Most of the drama in her life right now is based on choices she made long before last week. There is nothing I can do to help her at this time but give her space. It isn't great for my bank account or to help conquer the cost of Buckaroo's grocery addiction, but I happen to think she really needs to discern more before she goes forward. I had wondered when I met with her last week if moving was in her best interest.
Last summer I went to a luncheon and drug El Jefe along. We had a guest speaker, and I wrote about the incident. Just so you don't have to click anywhere else, here is what I wrote:
Another was an attorney who told a horror story that got El Jefe to snort ice tea through his nose and exclaim to the entire room, "Holy S***, does E&O (malpractice insurance) cover this?" To be fair, El Jefe only said what the rest of us were thinking.
And by the way, the answer is No. If a seller independently counters to two buyers and both buyers accept the counter offer, the seller has sold the house twice and there will inevitably be a lawsuit as one buyer will be seriously unhappy (the agent used the wrong form and not the form that would have covered this--glad it wasn't an agent under my brokerage).
Last week I heard this attorney speak again. He brought up this same case: the seller counter-offered two individual buyers and they both accepted the terms. Hence, the house was legally sold twice. However, this time I had the oportunity to ask how this case came out.
It turns out I was wrong. One buyer was compensated by the E&O insurance (even at the meeting last week we were all astonished E&O covered this) more than $200,000 to remedy the situation. The "losing" buyer who did not get the house bought another property. This time they had a HUGE down payment.
Moral of the story if you are a selling agent: make sure you use the right "Multiple Counter Offer" form, otherwise your broker will be walking your license back to the state pretty quickly. If you are the broker, your E&O will probably triple and your deductable will be astronomical.
I called El Jefe after this meeting to let him know how this ended. We joked a bit and he asked if I was the agent who made the mistake. "Yea, because that's what you taught me," I replied.
I have spent the week getting ready for the new year. As a broker, I have to make sure my files are in order, just in case the Arizona department of Real Estate wants to see them. They were in order prior to this past week. Now they are in order, but in a storage box, aptly labeled and out of my filing cabinet.
Taking a moment to look around my office, I made sure all was in order. Someday the the AZDRE will audit. It is best to be ready--just in case. One of the "most important" documents I can have in my office is a Fair Housing Flyer. The law requires me to make sure it is predominantly displayed. El Jefe had his in his lobby. I have seen other posters located in real estate offices anywhere from the break room to the broker's door. Hell hath no fury like the government agency who finds out there is a real estate company who doesn't announce they play by the rules!
Most of these posters are the large-kind and take up a good portion of a wall. Mine is just a piece of paper held on to a white board with a magnet. Also sharing space with the Fair Housing poster are the Red Sox tickets from a game Bliz and I went to at Fenway Park a few years ago. A birthday greeting from Bliz as well. Also, a rosary and a few pictures Buckaroo has drawn. Those are also proudly displayed.
Well, Inga is house shopping. Mind you she hasn't sold her home yet, so she isn't buying anything at this moment--which was a fun fact I had to remind her about 487 times today. But, she's looking. And, like any good buyer, she is ignoring everything I am saying and searching the Internet for validation.
Inga wants a "fixer-upper." She found this gem and is thrilled. The truth is 1) the home she wants is uninhabitable and she won't be able to get a mortgage on it, 2) she doesn't have the money to fix it up even if she did get a mortgage, and 3) SHE HASN'T SOLD HER HOUSE YET.
But, she's stoked.
Most likely, this house will be scooped up by an investor who will add a wall or two, include a stove and perhaps a bathroom and probably--just a guess here--wire the place for electricity. In the meantime, I spent the morning talking her down from this gem, expectation-setting and getting her loan officer on board to tag-team. Maybe she will listen to him.
Last Saturday I met with Liam and Inga. Last summer they dumped me and hired someone to sell their home. It didn't go too well. This past week we met and I pretty much told them (in ultra-polite, professional words), that in order to sell their home, we will do this my way. Given they already had a bad experience with an agent they bossed around, they were willing to listen.
First, there will be a lock box on the home. Buyer's agents aren't going to roll the dice and work around the seller's schedule.
Second, Inga (who lives in the home, as Liam has moved out) needs to go make herself a nest at the local Starbucks when there is a showing. In fact, the more she is at the local Starbucks means she has more showings. That is a happy problem. But more importantly, she is not to follow potential buyers around the home and try to sell the place on her own. The buyers can see for themselves there is a closet and a dishwasher. If they are confused, they can ask their agent.
Third, they will clean up the property. It isn't dirty. It is not ready to put on the market. And, once it goes on the market, the beds are made, the counters are clean and the towels are fluffed in the dryer every day in anticipation for a showing.
And fourth--this was the biggie--we aren't overpricing the house. It is not worth $20,000 extra because there is an above ground pool. Don't believe me? Ask the appraiser I called today, just to make sure (I was hoping for a few bucks, but no). We will price the house aggressively so that it sells.
The entire process took three hours. Inga asked how she could keep from stressing. "You need to concentrate on here and now, not the possibilities of what could happen," was my answer. In the end, Inga has a lot to do to get ready to put it on the market. I have already ordered a sign post and hope to have my "coming soon" sign up in the next day or so. I also have my graphic artist working on my marketing pieces. In addition, I am looking for real estate tours to get this house some exposure. The floor plan is quirky and it is going to need a bit of extra effort to get this one sold.
So I met with Dana and Kent. They have a bit of debt and a lot of equity. They wanted to sell, rent some place and pay off their debt. That's all well and good, but not realistic. First, they don't have oodles of debt. They have enough debt to be annoying. Second, they don't have so much equity they could buy another home for cash. Third, what they would pay in rent is considerably more than their mortgage payment. Essentially, they want to stop the short-term bleeding by chopping off their hands.
As much as I would love to sell their home to cover Buckaroo's insane grocery addiction, it isn't in their best interests. And that's one of the reasons some real estate professionals get into trouble--sometimes they work in their own best interests. It gives all of us a bad name.
Now, I am not virtue grandstanding here. In fact I really, would have rather offered them a listing contract. But the meeting just happens to be blog fodder. And more to the point, I do believe in Karma. I also believe in Heaven. Both of which I want on my side. Knowing what I know and letting them think that selling their home so they can do better wouldn't sit well with my conscience.
Though it isn't really my job, sometimes what I do falls into the nebulous catchall category of "provider of common sense." I told them that I strongly suspected even if they refinanced, if they don't fix their current money habits they will be right back where they started a year from now. This originally didn't land well, but as the conversation continued, they seemed to agree: they needed more than a short-term band-aid.
The way we left our chat was threefold. First, they needed to refinance and pay off what they could. I got them in touch with a loan officer, who took their application and is helping them weigh their options. Dana and Kent will still have equity if they go this route, refinance and pay off their debts.
Second, I suggested they search for better paying employment, as it seems to me that might a significant reason their issues are what they are. In fact, I suggested if they didn't feel like improving their primary income, perhaps a second job for both of them for the next few months until they get back on their feet might be something to consider.
And third, I recommended Dave Ramsey. I like his podcasts. I am not a super-big fan of all of his methods, but he gives some pretty reasonable common sense approaches to how to live life within one's means. And if Mr. Ramsey wasn't their cup of tea, look around for other options to learn how to manage their money. Because managing money is actually a learned skill. I was pleased to see Kent spend a moment on Google looking up Dave Ramsey before I left. Hopefully they will get on the right path soon.
This didn't happen to me. It happened to another agent here in the Valley.
So the buyers of a home are licensed Arizona real estate agents. They are in their 10 day inspection period, but they have not told the selling agent when they will be conducting their inspections. The selling agent calls, texts and sends a carrier pigeon but no response.
That's ok. It isn't the selling agent's job to manage the buyers.
The owner of the house just wanted to know so that they could schedule their life around when the buyers would be showing up. They still had some items left in the house, and went back on a regular basis to clean up and pack.
So last week, the sellers show up to grab a carload of their possessions and find the buyers (mind you, they are real estate agents) inside the home with a home inspector. And, they were doing their laundry! Yep, the seller's washer and dryer were humming along.
When the seller saw this, the buyers (did I mention they are licensed real estate agents in the State of Arizona) said, "I hope you don't mind. We needed to get our laundry done."
The sellers minded. A lot.
I have no idea what will happen from here. Ok, I have a few ideas. First, I am sure the buyer's broker was informed. I will recognize this broker by the bruise on his or her head where the desk met their forehead. Second, I would bet my last Pop-Tart that the buyer is probably no longer asking for any repairs. And third, the High Inquisitor Squad will recognize the buyers by the squeaky clean clothes they will be wearing at their hearing.
Dana contacted me. Throughout the course of 16 years, I have helped her, her ex-husband and her current husband move a total of six times. So, I kind of know her. Anyway, she wants to sell her current home. She bought it at the exact right time and has at least doubled her equity. However, she is "in debt" and has decided to sell.
Now I would love to help her and sell this house, but I also want a place in Heaven. Selling this house is not going to solve the long-term issue. First, her mortgage is super-low. Did I mention she bought this house back in 2008 and paid almost nothing? Second, anywhere she rents or buys is going to cost her more than what she is paying for her current mortgage. She said her budget for rent is $1000 a month. I can't find anything for rent in a neighborhood she wants to live in for under $1000. Third, her debt isn't really that much. Of course, it is a small fortune to her. I get it. And fourth, she has done this very activity before with her now-ex husband. It didn't resolve anything then.
What truly has to change is behaviors. I know this. It isn't me being self-righteous. It is just an independent observer on the outside looking in. Dramatic shifts, like moving, will pay off the debt and leave her with extra, but it won't really resolve the poverty mindset. She has to do that on her own.
Tomorrow I am meeting with her and her husband. We are going to sit down and see what makes sense. And if this makes me the worst salesperson on Earth, so be it. I would love to have the listing but I think they would be foolish to move.
The last three cases we heard were all related and it was motioned (and seconded) that they be combined for "judicial expediency". Otherwise, if the way these are written is any indication, the High Inquisitor Squad will need to mark off six days on their calendar.
Case One reads like a diary at a 13 year old girl's slumber party: Buyer's agent filed a complaint that seller's agent was mean. Her complaint alleges lots of different items, none of which fall under the category of a code of ethics complaint, but do make him sound like a pluperfect asshat. Being an asshat isn't a violation. However, her issue was that the selling side wanted what they wanted and the buying side didn't. The selling side's want was not in the final contract. But the selling side didn't care and behaved like it was in the contract, ignoring what was legally binding. This caused all sorts of turmoil and confusion. There were code of ethics violations based on what evidence she alleged, beyond her accusing him of him being a jerk.
Case Two is the selling agent (the pluperfect asshat) against the buyer's agent (the preteen girl) in rebuttal to the first case. It reads like the diary of Central Casting's 16 year old bully or a pluperfect asshat. He even rebutted her claims with handwritten words like, "Wow! I am so glad I am not her." Through the 257 pages of obnoxiousness, we did find one area where the buyer's agent may be in violation of the code of ethics.
Case Three is the seller against the buyer's agent. The seller is angry she didn't get her way and blames the buyer's agent. Why this is the buyer's agent's fault, I don't know. We all agreed that the selling agent didn't educate his client better. It looks like it was written by the selling agent and pretty much is a reproduction of what was said before. Except in every paragraph the seller mentions she has a heart condition. Every paragraph. Anyway, because it is related to the two other cases, it is going to the High Inquisitor Squad.
It is sad this case is getting this far. I see a few areas where, if this ever is my situation, I hope I make other choices based on what I know now. One obvious choice was that the agents could have picked up the phone and discussed a lot of the challenges upfront. Another choice is to not let things escalate to the point where the police are called (I read the police report too). This education for me alone was worth the 257 pages of obnoxiousness. I wish them all the best.
I can't write the particulars about each grievance complaint, but I can give a broad idea.
In case 1, a loan officer has been the target of social media bashing by a real estate agent. The person in question (a real estate agent) has been accused of using an alias and saying lots of untrue, ugly and unkind things about the loan officer. And though this agent used an alias, there is strong evidence to link her to the e-mail addresses and names.
Anyway, making untrue comments is a violation of the code of ethics. The High Inquisitor Squad will be hearing this case.
If you are interested in my take on bearing false witness, hit me up. But you may want to set aside an hour or two.
This past week I went to my first Grievance Committee meeting. There are actually two Grievance Committees. I am on the one which meets on the odd months of the year. The reason there are two, is to avoid conflict of interest issues (such as if El Jefe files a claim it would automatically go to the other committee). I was concerned the group would be cliquish--mainly because I am a social maladroit and have no business doing anything in a group of three or more. And, it was cliquish in a strange way.
The chairwoman is someone I met at Broker school. She was one of my instructors. It turns out we liked the same author and I gave her some of the books I finished which were collecting dust on my shelves. A few months later she called me to thank me. She had finished the books. Some time later, she called me again, left a voice mail, telling me there was no reason to call her back. What she wanted me to know was this author would be at a local Tempe bookstore (with bad parking) if I might want to show up. Then the author's new book came out a few months ago. I read it, and sent it to her. She wrote me back, congratulating me on my brokerage and thanking me for the book. Now, the only way she could have known about the brokerage was to do a bit of research. Though that wasn't part of the plan of reaching out to her, my ego was pleased.
Anyway, the reason it was slightly cliquish is because I walked in and realized this woman was the chair. She greeted me like a long-lost sister with a warm hug and saved me a seat. She also whispered that she hand-picked me when she saw my name on the list of potential candidates.
I was pleased to see everyone took their role seriously. We all were dressed up and everyone was prepared. Our chat was polite and formal. The entire process lasted an hour, with a few housekeeping mentions: like that fact I am required to take a few classes and what our roles and responsibilities happen to be. This looks to be a fun year, if you are into nerdy contract-law types of things like I am.
The grievance committee is like the grand jury of real estate arbitration. Our job is to politely and professionally discuss each case and see if, based on only what was submitted, if the Realtor Code of Conduct had been violated. If we reach a conclusion that there was a violation, the case is then sent to the arbitration committee, also dubbed the High Inquisitor Squad. We can add people to cases, we can add and remove violations too. It was an interesting day and I found it to be a great exercises in professional development. I will write more on the cases--all which are being sent to the High Inquisitor Squad for trial.
Incidentally, the Grievance Committee and High Inquisitor Squad members' names are secret. Our meetings are closed-door and we are to turn in our notes on the way out the door so they can be destroyed. Interesting stuff.
