Summary:
Realtors help people buy, sell, or lease their homes, but when do their services and responsibility to the client end? A closing or a successfully sold property does NOT necessarily mean the realtor’s job is done. Leigh interviews Steve Weiss, a realtor of 32 years, shares about an after-sale issue where he sends his clients on a nice dinner out so that he could investigate a peculiar smell coming from under the house.
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Time Stamped Show Notes:
- 00:37 – Leigh welcomes today’s guest, Steve Weiss
- 00:56 – Steve lives in San Luis Obispo
- 01:26 – It’s located on the central coast, in between San Francisco and LA
- 01:49 – Steve has been in residential real estate for almost 32 years
- 02:58 – After 32 years in real estate and with tons of stories, Steve found it difficult to just pick one story
- 03:16 – San Luis Obispo is a college town
- 03:44 – Their real estate community has dubbed some homes by name
- 03:50 – The Alamo – a house that seems to have battles all the time
- 04:03 – The Fredericks of Hollywood – house that has whips and other crazy items hanging in sight of the public
- 04:18 – PP Home – a home filled with ladies with paraphernalia and panties
- 04:41 – Steve’s story was from the early 1990’s
- 05:10 – His son, Eric, had a friend who was moving out
- 05:19 – There was something strange about the home
- 05:38 – Steve listed the home and it sold rather quickly
- 05:54 – The buyer had a home inspection and termite inspection
- 06:15 – There were numerous things that needed to be addressed
- 06:23 – The screen that blocked vermin was needing to be replaced
- 06:35 – They tented the home
- 06:44 – The buyers moved in
- 06:54 – A few days after, there was a hint of a smell and it kept getting worse
- 07:24 – They called the fume company
- 07:34 – The fume guy went underneath the house and found a dead skunk
- 07:42 – The smell did not go away
- 08:12 – The fume guy went under the house again, dug deeper and found another skunk
- 08:58 – Both husband and wife were in tears
- 09:09 – Steve gave them cash to have a nice dinner so they could see what they could do to eliminate the issue
- 09:30 – After this issue, the husband woke up in the middle of the night and found maggots coming out from under the carpet
- 10:35 – 4 months later, the seller came to town and ran into the new owners
- 10:49 – Mrs. Buyer told Mrs. Seller that the house was haunted
- 11:19 – Stop thinking about the money
- 12:09 – Steve’s parents taught him to be compassionate
- 12:48 – Make things right
- 13:47 – Leigh suggests that realtors should have an emergency fund
- 14:24 – Do research on the realtors you select
- 14:55 – The worst thing a realtor can do is hide
- 15:57 – Contact Steve on SLO Properties or call him at 805-886-1404
- 11:22 – Reach Pat on her phone 414-588-4907 or on her website
- 12:13 – Tweet Leigh Brown for your very own crazy story in real estate
3 Key Points
- Always go back and double check items listed in the home inspection report to find out the probable causes for those particular issues.
- Even if a house has been turned over, it’s a realtor’s moral duty to help the new owners find any underlying problems regarding the sale.
- Always show compassion and make things right.
Credits
