All is fair in love and war. The same holds true for working the booth at the fair. I had to actually do work related activities during the day. My shift began at six. Once again I enjoyed the private delight of driving through the special vendor entrance, guiding my jeep past horses, the cow barns, stopping at the pedestrian cross walk and continuing to the on-site parking for vendors. It really is nice when such small priviledges bring such joy to my heart. It was extra special tonight...my lovely wife was with me and she got to enjoy the treat as well.
On to the evening. There was a lot more traffic in the vendor area. Apparently, local fair goers suffer from "fair fatigue" early in the week of our fair. It follows on the heels of a nearby counties events and those that enjoy visiting the fair circuit need a little time between visits to recharge their batteries.
I was in the middle of explaining the highly technical job of blowing up balloons when a young couple stopped and exclaimed, "Hey, we know you, you helped us buy our house!" I looked up to see Rob and Melissa (apparently on her way to being great with child). They were very happy to see us and began to relate the story of how they got their first home.
It was a couple years ago, about mid-January, when they first began their search. Rob laughed as we talked about the superbowl sunday when I met them to tour an open house. We got there around noon for a one o'clock open house and found a crowd of about 50 other people waiting to get in. Parking was at a premium. I was walking from my car to theirs and took an awkward step on ice. Apparently, they were in tears as they watched me, my briefcase and their paperwork go flying through the air.
The house was not quite for them and they decided not to join the other six offers that were being submitted that afternoon. The following weekend, one of the homes chosen for viewing had been on the market 2 days and was available for viewing during an open house. The listing agent was one of those folks that put a sign in the yard and tell the seller to hold the open house. Rob and Melissa walked through and loved it. The owner was hosting the open house. We went outside and "we want to submit and offer on this house." I pointed out the large numbers of buyers that were coming and going and told them, "OK, let's write the offer right here on the hood of my car. You will then walk back into that house with me and tell the owner that youi will pay him full price for the house if he accepts the offer right now." I wrote it up and Rob and Melissa went back in and cornered the owner in the kitchen. Rob made his pitch and the owner stammered "I think I need to talk to my wife, she won't be home for thirty minutes." I could have kissed Rob when he smiled and said "We'll wait." The owner turned to me and asked, "Can I accept an offer now?" I told him that I was not his agent but it was my understanding of Maryland law that he had the right to accept or reject any offer.
Cut to the chase. His wife came home. They accepted. Later in the evening, his agent called to say that it was underhanded and he had three more offers to present. I told him to hold onto them, my clients might not like the ocndo docs but as it stood, they had a ratified contract. Rob and Melissa are going to need a bigger place once the baby arrives. They asked if I had time to sell their home and help them find a new one. It is nice being at the fair. Would I have been involved if I had not seen them at the fair...maybe. They did mention that they do receive my monthly market reports, but I didn't know she was expecting and I believe that I may have missed the boat if I had not been here at the fair.
The rest of the evening was spent chatting with folks. Most were concerned about the mortgage industry implosion. I shared that the dust will settle. The feds will cut rates and the market will improve as it always does ...from the bottom up.
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