Doing the Right Thing…

July 27, 2009 · Kathy Wall

As most of our readers know, our Prudential office has kiosks at Serramonte and Tanforan Malls. Many of us agents do regular shifts at the kiosk each month in the hope that we will meet buyers and sellers.

Recently I was covering the night shift, which goes from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. It was very quiet that night, but at one point, a very young man stopped by the booth and said he was thinking about selling a house he owns in South San Francisco. I would, normally, be very excited by this (leaping up and down with glee, actually!) Unfortunately, the more we talked, the more I realized that he shouldn’t sell this house.

It seems that he inherited it from his Grandmother and owns it free and clear. He’s still going to college and living in the house. And, while he isn’t thinking about it now, someday he’ll probably have a family and want a house. If he sells it now, the money will be gone and he will be back to struggling like everyone else to afford a home.

The long and short of it is that, (kicking myself!!) I encouraged him to keep it. He really appreciated the advice and my integrity. And, even though I could really use the money that this commission would have brought, I felt good about myself as a human being.

At the end of the day, we are here to give people good advice, not just advice that will benefit ourselves.

Interestingly, within 2 minutes of his walking away, a couple came to the booth. They have a house that they really want to sell and, by golly, I got an appointment to look at it the next day.

Karma! It really does exist! And, (I hope and pray!) it truly does pay to do the right thing.

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Filed Under Important Thoughts

Tags: Bay Area Real Estate, CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, first-time home buyer, home, Marketing Your Home, Prudential California Realty

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7 Responses to “Doing the Right Thing…”

Jonathan Shaw on July 27th, 2009 3:36 pm

Hi Kathy,
Wow, what a beautiful article. In todays world, doing the right thing, having high integrity, should be the way everyone conducts themselves. And, I too, believe in karma, and hope this one good deed results in 10 listings. It would be interesting to see how other agents would have handled this situation. A job well done!
Jonathan
Adam Chinn on July 27th, 2009 9:02 pm

Hi Kathy,
It is great to see that you are one that makes great decisions and do the right thing. I have been in similar situations on advising clients to do something that was not totally beneficial to me, at least commission wise. Hopefully that young man will remember you and refer you to his friends and family. People want to do business with those who have high integrity, in the long run it will pay off.

I also believe in Karma, it help with both my personal life and in business. People will remember how you treated them.

Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work Kathy,

Adam
Dean Rizzi on July 28th, 2009 12:10 am

so true Kathy, whenever confronted with a dilemma, I ask myself “what’s best for the client?” It has always served me well. Cheers!
Brian Boisson on July 28th, 2009 9:34 am

Kathy,

Good job! I think you did the right thing sharing your wisdom and I hope you gave him a card because I bet he will keep it.

I would also bet that he knew that was the right answer and even if a pushy agent got an appointment with him, he would choose to keep the property, and the agent wasted his/her time.

Karma surfaces it itself all the time, and it makes me appreciate the good in people out there, and that is why you are a success in your career IMHO!

Brian
Karin Cunningham on July 29th, 2009 7:56 pm

What a great success story! Can I really get business from the mall kiosk? Can I set up shop and be a real estate counselor/therapist at Serramonte or Tanforan shopping centers? Your darn right! What a life!
Larry Franzella on August 4th, 2009 9:17 am

How true it is! Once you have built a reputation of doing the right thing and giving good advice the business will come back to you ten fold.

Great post.

Larry
Shokoofeh Nowbakht on August 5th, 2009 11:34 am

Kathy, You gave great advice. Like you said, we are here to consult buyers and sellers and help them make a decision that is best for them and their current situation.
Shokoofeh