The first deal I didn’t do was to a young married couple (supposedly) from Rancho Santa Fe, California. They called me through an ad I ran in The New York Times on an exclusive listing. This was PG (pre-Google) and before the death of print. I met with them when they came into town and we bonded over the course of the next two weeks. Every day, I hired a car and driver. We toured properties and went for lunch. After showing them 19 homes, we got an accepted offer on a beautiful loft in TriBeCa. They were really excited when they said goodbye to me and looking forward to getting back to California to pack up their belongings and make their way back to NYC and their new dream home. The contract went out to their attorney, who was one of the top attorneys in New York City. A week passed with no word on the contract, and then another, and just as their attorney and I started to get concerned, they signed the contract – with one important detail missing – they didn’t send the deposit. My client feigned ignorance and assured me and his attorney that the check was on its way. Two painful weeks later, a check arrived in the mail for the deposit. A personal check for over $200,000.00. I can’t say that his attorney nor I were surprised when the check bounced or four weeks later when we both lost complete communication with our client. We both had a gut feeling that he was full of shit when the check didn’t arrive, but we both still held on to the slim chance that he was sincere and that he was going to proceed with the deal.
Two years later, when I was representing a new client, I had a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. A deja vu. Before submitting his offer on a large townhouse, I insisted that he send me proof of funds. Needless to say, when he sent me a letter from his Swiss Bank account showing liquid assets in excess of $1Bn I knew my feelings were well founded. The combination of the amount of funds and the terrible fake copy of the Swiss Bank’s logo was a dead giveaway. He was an imposter. I stopped responding to him.
I constantly get calls from people who ask me what it takes to become a successful agent. The first thing I tell them is that they need to be able to get back on the horse when they get thrown off because getting thrown off the horse is inevitable. If you do this long enough, you will encounter a client like this. You will meet someone, who for some reason, will waste your time. This can take its toll on you because as agents, we get emotionally and financially invested in our clients. This is part of the reason why I think people who come to real estate from the entertainment or hospitality industry do so well. Rejection is a part of the deal and one’s ability to react, respond, and rebound is key to being successful. When you do it long enough, and if a client isn’t referred to you by a reliable source, you get better at learning to see through the bullshit by asking the right questions and getting the right information. But it’s always out there.
Less than a year ago, I had a contract out with a client for a $50M deal. He was referred to me, checked out, hired a top-notch attorney, and seemed earnest, but something felt funky. In the end he turned out to be a master in the art of deception. After three months of back and forth, he disappeared, and the deal disintegrated. I was less surprised and far less disappointed than my first non-deal, but I still held on to the thread of the deal and the dream until the bitter end.
And that’s what keeps bringing us back for more. The hope.
Let’s do this.
-Shaun