Does my opinion matter?

The answer: probably not!!

Lately I seem to have developed a real aversion for Realtors and the whole Real Estate business. I can honestly say that I'm sick of the words "for sale", "binding contract", "mortgage", "open house", "make an offer" etc. etc. I'm also tired of cleaning my house for people who truly have no interest in seriously considering my home for purchase. I'm tired of strangers walking through my home opening up every closet door, cabinet and drawer! It's bad enough that the public has this 'right' while my home is for sale, but today one of the Realtors from the Real Estate office we're working with crossed the line!!

We had another open house today - yup, another one! The Realtor who was to do this open house did another one for a us couple weeks ago. All seemed fine when that one was over. He was kept busy with 14+ families walking through the house. This time there were only 5 families who came to the Open House...probably because it's just after Easter and most of the public schools around here had their Spring vacation. Anyhow....we returned home and he was still here alone in the house. We stood out on our front porch and talked for a few minutes before he left, and here are a few things he told us:

"It didn't go well, we only had 5 families."
My response: It figures.

"There's a house a mile from here that is your biggest competition. If you want to go see it, I'll take you there this week."
My response: WHY? Why would I want to see our biggest competition?? I did look up the house online and you know what? It's a LOT smaller than our home and isn't fixed up as nicely. HOW is it that it's our biggest competition? This Realtor was praising this house up and down right in front of us!!! That's very unprofessional.

"You'll sell your house soon." (Then in the next breath) "It's a tough market, you have lots of competition and people aren't buying. It could take a while."
My response: This guy has no idea what he's talking about! He's contradicting himself!

...and the last thing he said to us...sit down for this one...

"Oh, by the way, I used your computer to send an email. Mine isn't working."
My response: WHAT!?!?!?!?! When my husband told him that he hid our computer mouse (which is usually what we do for Open Houses - just in case) he said "Oh, I looked for it and found it." Again....WHAT!?!?!?!?! We were appalled - to say the least!

We called our 'real' Realtor up a little bit later and told her what he did. We told her how upset we were and that it was totally unacceptable! I looked on the computer to see what he actually did...yes, I'm a computer geek and can figure it out...and found that HE SENT AN OFFER FOR SOMEONE FOR ANOTHER HOUSE - WHILE DOING AN OPEN HOUSE FOR US!!!! I printed it out and saved all the information on my computer for proof. I not only have people's checking account numbers (from a check they gave as a deposit) but all their personal information. I bet he had no idea that we'd be able to access it. Shame on him! How unprofessional, not only to invade our personal space like that, but to put someone else's information on a stranger's computer!!! What really gets me is that he had to actually turn ON the computer and wait for it to boot up since it was off, AND...he had to look through our drawers to find the computer mouse. It was NOT in an obvious place!!! It lead me to think 'What else was this guy looking through while he was here?' Creepy! We will NOT allow him in our home ever again! A computer is private with personal information on it....our bank accounts, passwords etc. We were extremely upset and are not sure what to do about it next. Ideas??

So, as you can tell, I've had it with Realtors! Besides all this new mess...we are just tired of the games most of them play! We have been in touch with our buyers (the people who originally purchased our home, and who still want it once they get a buyer) and found that both their Realtor and our own Realtor have given false information to each of us. It's so frustrating!! We have become friends with these people now, yet when we were dealing with them only through the Realtors, we didn't like them for various reasons - all of which were brought upon by the Realtors because of false information.

We are still praying that God will allow our original buyers to sell their condo first, so we can sell our home to them. This would be the best care senario for us all. Please keep praying for us. If you're tired of reading all about our home sagas, I apologize. I'm sick of hearing about it too, but unfortunately it's been life consuming for us these days. I have also seen both of my kids suffering because of it. They were doing fine until recently. Most of their toys and things were packed away (since next week we were supposed to close on the new home and move), so they have been very bored and sad about it all. Please pray for them specifically! Thanks so much.

Until next time...