SECRET ROOMS, NAKED FOLK, STINKY CATS...
Category Advice
When it comes to showing homes for rent or sale there are sometimes last-minute emergencies, various mishaps or minor frustrations that can cause worry, but they are usually dealt with swiftly and easily. However, there have been some eye-opening moments for agents in various parts of the world over the years. BILLY SUTER reports.
PICTURE it. You are an estate agent who has got someone really interested in the home you are showing, and are putting on your best sales pitch, presenting all the facts and figures, when you approach the door to the bathroom you are proud to show off.
Then, suddenly, your smile freezes as you open the door ... to find an elderly man soaking in the bath!
This is the dilemma a red-faced agent in Yorkshire found himself in some 30 years ago, he recalls online, adding that it is something he has never forgotten.
It is but one of many amusing, or eyebrow-raising incidents recorded on various internet sites concerning estate agents who have had to do some smart thinking and clever talking to worm themselves out of an embarrassing situation.
Take the UK agent who was told that all was okay for a client’s viewing for a possible sale. He knocked on the front door of the house, heard nothing, so entered with his client - only to find a naked man walking about, saying he knew nothing of the agent’s visit. At no time did the bloke make an attempt to cover up.
There is also a tale of a highly embarrassed agent who took his client into a home’s master bedroom only to find a couple naked on the bed - reading newspapers.
A report from West Yorkshire tells of an agent who spent an hour chasing a dog around the street after he unlocked the front door of a house he was showing, only to find the pet in the home and ready to bolt past him. The only way he could cajole the hound back into the garden was to play stick-throwing-and-fetch.
Speaking of pooches, there is also an online report about an agent who stood wide-mouthed when a client insisted on bringing her pet along with her when she inspected a home she was keen to buy.
The dog was dragged to all corners of the house and had to wag approval before the client took any further action, we hear.
It has also been reported that an agent once assessed a two-bedroom flat above a shop. When he went around to inspect the property and take pictures for the agency website, the owner insisted one of the rooms could not be looked at as it was “in use”.
The agent reportedly noticed the door to that particular bedroom was ajar and peeked in to find a room filled with bondage equipment and appliances, with lots of gold, fluffy handcuffs everywhere.
The owner was apparently not amused, hurried the agent out and decided not to sell afterall.
One of the most amusing stories, however, involved an agent who was warned by the owner of the home he had on show that her cat suffered from severe flatulence.
It didn’t help that the feline then took a shine to the agent and stuck closely to him whenever someone came to view the home during showhouse day.
Word is the cat constantly passed wind, with the most appalling, gag-inducing pong ... and the looks the agent got from potential buyers were cool to say the very least.
Blaming the cat, the agent said, just seemed to make things worse...
Author: Billy Suter
