How Far Would You Go for a $14M Listing?
Some high-income sellers test agents to see if they’re worthy. In one of two “strangest request” stories, a Houston agent agreed to undergo acupuncture.
NEW YORK – Two real estate agents recall the strangest requests made by clients. Dee Dee Guggenheim Howes at Houston-based Compass Real Estate said one client asked that she and possibly her assistants undergo acupuncture when they visited him for a listing appointment.
“It was a test,” Howes said. “At this price point – the house was about $14 million – clients sort of think they can test you. It was his way of seeing whether I would do what I needed to do to get the listing and follow along with him and his ways.”
The lesson Howes said she took from the session? “You never know what to expect [in the luxury market]: You just have to go with it.”
Bianca D’Alessio, founder of the New York City-based Masters Division of Nest Seekers International, recalled showing a historic building near Lincoln Center to a musician. He wanted to be certain that the sound trash makes going down the garbage chute wouldn’t bleed into the apartment. The testing process involved four or five showings at different times of day, and dropping various types of filled garbage bags into the chute from several different floors before the client was satisfied.
Source: Wall Street Journal (05/29/23) Gamerman, Amy
© Copyright 2023 INFORMATION INC., Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688