From Carchemish to Ur

I wrote about this home a few weeks ago in a post titled Susquehana Real Estate Company. Between then and now, I have been gone from home and focused on other things.

Today is June 9th, 2009. While driving to get coffee this morning, my wife informed me that the homeowners (sellers) have moved out. The home now sits empty. As does the flyer box.

Apparently, the first allotment of flyers, which I assumed were paid for by the broker, was a one-time option. Once depleted, his responsibility was met. Both to the seller and to the agent.

His hands were washed clean.

As for the agent, perhaps it’s unimportant to her whether this home sells or not. I have to consider that as an option after a conversation I had with an agent last week who currently holds 3 multi-million dollar listings that according to her “will never sell.”

“Why would you represent them if they’ll never sell?” I asked. “Because having my sign out there on the lawn for everyone to see will get me new clients.”

Ultrabrite smile.

I choose to not print the invisible thought bubble that popped over my head but thought about the post Brian wrote titled Secrects, lies, real estate and Zappos and about the invisible stain of distrust on this broker’s otherwise clean hands.

Maybe I’ve got the listing agent above all wrong. Maybe she really needs to sell this home to support her family. But what would it take to refill the box with a stack of new color flyers? $8.00? That’s less than two Venti Cappuccinos a month. What am I not getting?

It’s entirely possible that while real estate textbooks harp on contracts, laws and basic real estate mumbo jumbo, and though we all seek to jam a whole bunch of social networking down practitioner’s throats, I  wonder if today’s agent is missing some basic business fundamentals understood by the ancient merchants who ran the Mesopotamian trade routes from Carchemish to Ur.

Invest in a good dromedary. Load it with goods.  Schelp them across the Sahara. Sell them. Buy other goods. Schlep back and repeat the process.

Maybe I can draft a simple business course and offer it through the NAR. It would educate agents on the basic tenets of investing a little to make a lot. I could title it:

From Staples to the Flyer Box

I think this would fly. Especially if a designation was offered upon completion. All we need is a catchy Acronym.

One that would look good on a business card.

Any ideas?

– Davison Twitter: 1000wattmarc