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CONFESSION #0053 — SELLER MELTDOWN
Saturday, May 3, 2025
I spent three weeks convincing my seller that $850,000 was aggressive pricing for their neighborhood. They insisted because they'd "put at least that much into renovations." We're talking about a kitchen remodel from 2019 and a deck that already needs restaining. Fine. We listed at $850,000.
Three weeks, four showings, zero offers.
So I gently suggested a price reduction. You would have thought I asked them to sell a kidney. The wife actually cried. The husband sent me a six-paragraph email at 11 PM explaining how their neighbor's house sold for $870,000 "just last year" — conveniently forgetting that house had a pool, a finished basement, and wasn't backing up to a cell tower.
We finally agreed on $799,000. Now they're telling everyone at their church that I "forced" them to practically give their house away and that the market is "rigged against regular people."
The house went under contract in four days. Four days. They're still mad at me. I'm bringing champagne to closing but honestly it's for myself.
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Judge Reginald Escrow III
⚖️ Presiding
GUILTY OF PERFORMING ECONOMIC SURGERY WITHOUT ANESTHESIA
This Court has reviewed the evidence and finds the defendant guilty of the most ancient of real estate crimes: being correct while the clients were emotional. The audacity of suggesting that a 2019 kitchen remodel and a DECK THAT NEEDS RESTAINING does not constitute eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars of value is apparently now grounds for church slander. Judge Escrow notes that the neighbor's house had a pool, a finished basement, and did NOT share sightlines with telecommunications infrastructure, but sure, the market is "rigged against regular people." The defendant secured a contract in four days after the reduction, which mathematically proves the defendant was right, and yet the defendant will still be discussed in hushed tones during the fellowship hour. This Court hereby orders the defendant to drink that champagne alone in the parking lot before closing because you earned it and also because you cannot be trusted around these people with a loose tongue. The husband's six-paragraph 11 PM email has been admitted into evidence as Exhibit A in the case of Why Agents Develop Substance Dependencies. Court is adjourned; Judge Escrow must go lie down in a dark room and think about everyone who has ever "put at least that much into renovations."
Comparative Market Heresy
Have a confession? Judge Reginald Escrow III's docket is always open.
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