DON'T LET YOUR AGENT SMOTHER THE DEAL.
Written by James Frangella on August 18th, 2011 at 6:00am

“Guilty, your Honor”, I mumbled as I stood humbly before the judge.

“I’m really surprised at you, Mr. Frangella ... of all agents and especially you with 20 years of experience … I would think you would have known better.”

“Bailiff, stamp him and release him to the market place,” barks the judge.

Plop. Plop. The dull sound of the stamp hits the ink pad. Blap. Blap. It doesn’t hurt at all when the bailiff stamps my forehead. I walk out to the real estate world with the letters, M.H. printed on that expanse of skin just above the eyebrows for everyone to see.

Not exactly the scarlet letter, mind you. But I know buyers, sellers and especially other agents will gasp in disbelief when they first approach me. How can one miss it?  The letters are blaring right there on my forehead. I can hear the whispering as I walk by.

My crime? For being a Mother Hen. You see, sometimes real estate agents can just smother their buyers and sellers with so much loving care that they actually kill the deal. Buyers don’t buy their dream home and sellers don’t sell. And all because the agent had to cradle their little chicks under their wing. It can even get worse if the other agent on the deal is a ferocious feathered predator. Might as well don’t even bother writing the offer up. The deal is dead from the very beginning.

Being a mother hen with your clients can be a good idea but can also be a bad idea and at times down-right ugly. Of course, it does require a detailed explanation and I would like to share a true story from the trenches of the market place. So … if you’re interested, stay tuned for all of the horrid details. It’s a long story.  Click HERE for chapter one.  

Maybe a buyer or seller should ask their agent if they’re a Mother Hen. You might not be selling or buying if they are!

RECENT NEWS FLASH!  Click HERE to see the Monterey Peninsula's market trend for the entire year of 2011.