I am NOT a shopper!  I have to be clear about that from the very beginning because I think it will give some insight into who I am as a person and as a Realtor (though sometimes the two are so closely related it’s hard to know when one starts and the other ends!)

 I hate to shop for a variety of reasons.  I hate fighting for a parking spot.  I hate trying clothes on.  I hate those fluorescent lights that make you look an anemic yellow and stretch out wide like the mirrors in a carnival so that no matter whether you’re a size 2 or a size 14, you leave there swearing that tomorrow you’re going to start the Atkins diet!  But even more than this…I hate these words as soon as I walk into a store….

“Can I help you find something?”…………….

 Arghhhh!  I run for cover every time!  I walk in to a store and quickly survey the exit route.  Where’s the nearest door?  Of course I have my back up plan…my cell phone, glued to my ear so that I can just smile and nod “No Thank You”.

 I peruse the aisles…I need a new blouse…it’s winter and I’m walking around with sleeveless tops and a leather jacket!  I look for colors that I like and make my way towards them, and then see the selection of blouses offered…I grab the same shirt in every color and in three different sizes and I’m off to the dressing room…but not before I hear, “Can I help you with those?”  Nails on a chalkboard to me…”No Thank You”…

 I try the clothes on and realize that the lime green shirt just doesn’t work with my skin tone but the top itself is great and I’d like to see it in another color…Darn it!  Where’s the gal when I need her?? 

 So why should you care that I loathe shopping?  I’ll tell you why: because buying and selling Real Estate is really no different.  At the end of the day, you hate to walk in to an Open House and feel “accosted” by the agent there.  You give out a false phone number and email address just to get them off you.  You may even throw out a little white lie… “I’m just looking for a friend”.  And I don’t blame you! Most experiences people have with salespeople is, let’s face it, salesmanly.  No one WANTS to be sold…No one wants to be put on a list with a hundred other people of generic homes being emailed to them.  No one wants to be pressured into buying a home that doesn’t work for them, but being made to feel like “you’re an idiot if you don’t buy now!  Rates are low…blah blah blah…”

 What you want and need is information!  You want to be spoken to as a peer, not talked down to by someone that only has a commission check in mind…you want to search the internet and see what’s out there.  You want to be able to make sense of it all before you have a conversation with an agent about where you are, where you want to be and how you will get there. 

 Now before I go on, I will throw in a caveat here:  I personally know many Realtors who would talk you out of writing an offer they didn’t think would benefit you.  Usually these are the people who are in the people business.  They genuinely care about you, where you’re at and where you’re going and they trust that after assisting you in gathering the information and showing of homes, you will use them and not your uncle Charlie who was licensed a month ago to help him get over his fear of the contract.  Realtors don’t get paid until you close escrow. NO minimum wage, no compensation for time, no cash advances for gas etc.  Now back to my regularly scheduled rant.

 So, you go into Open Houses… “Can I help you?” “No thanks…I’m just looking…”

You log on to the internet to see what’s out there…more open houses…more “can I help you’s” and then FINALLY you find the home of your dreams…and who’s there to help you…?

 If you’re lucky, the person that held the Open House may be the right person to help you.  Otherwise, you look around, like a lost kid at Nordstrom hoping someone will show up.  But if you plan it right…you would have already developed a relationship with a Realtor who sat down with you and your family and created a strategy that works for you…and this agent was referred to you by someone you know and trust….and NOW you can take a deep breath and say….Ahhhhh. 

 So, lime green shirt notwithstanding, we all need a little help…