When the Seller is a No Show for a Curtis Park Agent

Front porch of a home in Curtis Park.

Although my calves ached like no tomorrow after our visit to Malakoff Diggins on Sunday, I showed up bright and early on Monday for a listing appointment in Curtis Park. I was to meet the owner of the home, and he had scheduled an appointment with the tenants. My husband says the reason my calves ache is due to the curse of the single-level home, but he doesn’t count our step-down family room which, if you count the step up to the living room as well as the kitchen could very well be steps.

I pulled up to the curb, crawled out of my vehicle and shouted out the address to the people sitting on the front porch because I could not see a house number. Is this the right house? I asked. Oh, yes, they replied but everything has been canceled. What? The seller had not called to make me aware of the cancellation. When he called, he said we met 10 years ago and while he did not buy a home, he was impressed with me.

I’ve come a long way in Sacramento real estate over the past 10 years, having moved from a Master’s Club member into mega-production territory, but I did not tell him that. I asked who else he was meeting with, and he told me. Asked if I had ever heard of the guy. The last time I heard of that guy was when his seller called me, no joke, and asked me to list her home in Curtis Park. She wasn’t happy with whatever he was doing and wanted to hire a different Curtis Park agent.

This realization didn’t hit me right away. It’s when I pulled up his last 12 month’s of production as a listing agent that I recognized the address of the property and looked the owner. Sure enough, same listing agent. That particular Curtis Park agent has listed and sold one house a month, whereas I have listed and sold more than one home a week over the past year throughout a four-county area. That person has been licensed for 5 years, and I’ve been working in real estate for 41 years. I believe sellers deserve a fair comparison.

I asked the tenants if I could tour the interior, since I was already there. Nope, no way, Jose, they said, tattooed arms folded. No can do. Uh uh. Not gonna happen. I continued to press and explain my situation. Because after all, there is a reason I have survived in real estate all of these years. I’m just a Curtis Park agent who would like to give the seller an estimate of value. Then I asked about something else and, voila, the doors to the home opened. Just like that. They gave me a personal tour.