Home sales are booming on the East End and apparently people who aren’t already real estate agents are considering it. Been there, done that. Although I’d never planned to sell real estate, it happened by accident when I rented “desk” space in a Grand Avenue real estate office.
It was a busy spot with a steady stream of people asking about buying, selling, or renting, or how far it was to the casino. (Yes, that really does happen!) Business was good and the broker needed to bring in another agent. Since I was already there, we decided it should be me.
So, I took a course, passed the test, framed my license, bought an appropriate real estate agent’s wardrobe, and, ta-da! My career was launched.
Does your mama know?
I met so many people they sort of blend together, but some I still remember. There was that young couple, barely out of their teens, from the Bronx. They’d been headed to Claudio’s, but got caught in the ferry line and before they knew what had happened, the boat was moving.
They stopped in front of our office to grab a map and turn around. Two hours later they were back asking to see houses in their price range.
He was an NYC firefighter and she was a waitress. Unfortunately, there was just one property slightly over their price range. A sad, old, broken house with cracked panes, a caved-in cellar, and a crumbling foundation. The wood floor was so rotted we had to hug the walls, which smelled like mold and/or cat. Lots of cats.
In real estate lingo, this long-abandoned wreck was described as “a charming fixer-upper.”
They loved it. And she was bubbling over with excitement. They would borrow money from their parents and come out on weekends to fix it up. What would it take? Six months maybe? A year? And look at all the money they’d save doing the work themselves.
Real estate agents are not supposed to roll their eyes, it’s rule #23. But by then, mine had rolled to the backside of my head. It took some fast talk, but the young couple agreed to sleep on the decision and see the house again before making an offer. And to bring their parents. That last part was my suggestion.
On their first trip to the Island there had been no traffic. But this time they sat, stopped on the LIE for three hours, and then waited nearly an hour in the ferry line. Neither set of parents looked happy when they climbed out of the car and stared at the pile of rubble their kids were asking them to finance, and, actually, some of the glow had worn off their kids’ faces, too.
Long story short, they did not make an offer on that house. No one did for many years, until finally someone with lots of time, patience and a hefty bank account transformed it into what is now “a cozy English cottage.”
I have no idea where that young couple ended up and of course, I made zero commission, but one of the mothers hugged me. And I like to think at the least, I saved a marriage.
Then there’s the trees and ferries
As we walked a Nostrand Parkway property covered with majestic trees, a potential buyer said the first thing he’d do was cut down those trees. “All of ‘em.” He hated trees. And he hated waiting in the ferry line even more.
What prompts a person who hates both flora and ferry lines to even look in the direction of this Island?
He thought there should be an express line and that if he paid extra, he could just go to the front, like using a fast pass at Disney World.
The man decided Shelter Island wasn’t his kind of place when he learned the ferries run only three days a week during the winter. And not on Sunday. Or when it rains.I have no idea where he got that misinformation. (Wink wink.)
The most profitable sale, EVER!
Yes, I experienced a real estate agent’s dream. The BIG one! But I’m not referring to money. I am referring to a young family that I helped find a home on the Island. They moved into a modest house and almost immediately became active in every area of our community. They still are.
If I said more than that, you’d know who I’m referring to and I won’t reveal who they are. Ex-agents don’t kiss and tell, rule #17. But you know them, or know of them. And each one of us on Shelter Island has benefited in positive ways because they chose this location.
That family is one of the big reasons I consider my real estate career such a gratifying experience. And also the fact that I ended up with a whole new wardrobe.
