Treasures in Heaven

I often joke about how I want a place in Heaven more than I want to sell a house. Last Wednesday's adventure was one of those types of days. Mitchell was referred to me by a lender friend. He has a home in Youngtown that he wants to sell. Youngtown, is a small community, about 1.3 square miles long in the West Valley. It was once an exclusive retirement zone (and in fact, the oldest retirement zone in the United States), but now it has family-type dwellings across the road, with kids and all.

Anyway, Mitchell has decided to sell his house without an agent. He wants to be a real estate agent someday, and figured out that this would be good practice. I started our chat with, "I understand you are selling by yourself, but do know, I would like to apply for the job if you change your mind. And if you do change your mind, I will mentor you throughout this sale process." Then, I proceeded to discuss with him for more than an hour and a half what he needs to know and different scenarios that might come up. He took notes, thanked me and raised his eyebrows a few times.

With the best of intentions, Mitchell invited me to do lots of things for little money ("will you take $250 to put this on the MLS?") all of which I declined, explaining there are agents who will jump at this chance. But I don't want to take on the liability involved. Besides, with the market being what it is, I doubt he will have trouble selling the house. And that is unfortunate in a way, because Mitchell might just get a false sense of security on how "easy" real estate sales can be.

Mitchell asked me about the purchase contract I use. I told him I couldn't provide a blank copy to him (because I like my license) but there will be agents less scrupulous than me who will do so. He will find them.

This trip was a labor of love. I knew darn well I wasn't getting the listing before I drove over. It was a favor for my lender friend. And that's ok. Maybe Mitchell won't need my help with this sale, but maybe he knows someone who will. It doesn't hurt to help others. And it doesn't hurt to store up a few treasures in Heaven. You never know when you will need them.