Today I walked away from what would likely have been a good house to sell. I don’t like to walk away from good houses, but at this point in my life and career I’ve got little tolerance for dealing with toxic people. When I first became a Realtor 22 years ago my mentor told me what his mentor told him, “At some point in every transaction, clients will get a little crazy.” That was a bit of an exaggeration, but stuff does happen when in escrow. It’s okay and it’s understandable that people can get a little crazy because selling a house can be a stressful. I’ve always considered myself pretty good at defusing potential volatile situations and minimizing stress.
Most of my friends and clients will tell you I’m a relatively mellow guy. I’ve surfed for the past 45 years, so I’ve learned how to go with the flow and how to tackle the most challenging conditions. However, there are some places I won’t surf because they are too dangerous, and some potential clients I won’t work with because they are too toxic. Today I met a seller who right off the bat I could tell was going to be ‘not worth it’.
I could go into details, but I’ll spare you the juicy bits. Suffice it to say, within 60 seconds of meeting the potential seller at the house, and being berated right off the bat, I said “I’m sorry, we aren’t going to work together.” I walked away from the client in record time.
This isn’t the first piece of business I’ve had to walk away from because the seller was too toxic. I had a client who I learned after we signed a listing agreement, he was a very vocal racist. I couldn’t take listening to his ranting about ‘the immigrant invasion’ and putting down Latinos in particular, so I walked away. There was an elderly client who was being abused by his son. I had to call adult protective services, knowing that the son would make sure I was fired. Somebody else sold those houses, and I was okay with that.
In the end I am a Realtor, and as such I am an independent contractor. That means I can pick and choose the people I work with. If you are a good person, I’m going to love working with you. If you are toxic, you’re going to need to find another Realtor to take your abuse.