Don’t Disappoint Us

A real story. From my case files. Names changed to protect privacy.

My phone rang in April 2010.

I had been a property agent since January that year. Three months in. Zero network. Zero track record. Just training, a folder of printouts, and a willingness to pick up the phone.

This was my first call from a prospective seller.

A couple wanted to discuss appointing me to market their investment condo for sale. Gary and Penny wanted to meet.

I said yes immediately.

# # #

My agency had given all the rookies a standard presentation folder. About thirty printouts inside. The trainer told us: present it page by page, follow the flow, and you’ll secure the listing.

In the days before the appointment, I kept going through that folder. Reading it. Rehearsing it. Hoping familiarity would carry me through.

I arrived at 2pm. Punctual. Gary and Penny were already waiting.

While Penny got me a drink in the kitchen, she fired the first question over her shoulder.

The job interview had started.

# # #

The session lasted about an hour. I thought I answered their questions well. I felt confident, the way you feel confident when you don’t yet know what you don’t know.

But Gary and Penny gave nothing away. No smiles, no nods. Professional.

Then, as Gary wrapped up the session, he said something I wasn’t expecting.

I asked who they were.

The first name he mentioned was probably the most prominent agent in that district. Even a rookie like me knew who he was.

The second was the agent who had sold Gary and Penny this very unit.

I drove home thinking it was over.

# # #

Two weeks passed.

Then, late one night, a message appeared on my phone.

I had clinched my first exclusive agreement to sell.

When I met Penny to sign the paperwork, I asked what had led them to choose me.

She told me calmly.

Agent B didn’t turn up.

I sat with that for a moment in disbelief. How do you not show up?

And I made myself a quiet promise: I would never be that agent.

# # #

The real test came after.

The unit had a tenant. And the tenant was uncooperative.

Over three months, the full exclusive period, she allowed me access twice. Two viewings in ninety days. Buyers couldn’t see a property they couldn’t enter. It was the first time I understood how badly a difficult tenant can derail a sale.

Gary and Penny, to their credit, gave me more time. Two additional months.

Eventually, I found a buyer. The offer was there.

But by then, the market had moved. The proceeds from the sale would no longer be enough for Gary and Penny to buy the replacement property they had planned on. Different properties appreciate at different rates. They had watched the gap widen while we waited on the tenant.

They thought carefully. And they decided not to sell.

Five months of work. No deal. No commission.

I understood their decision. The numbers didn’t work anymore. It would have been wrong for me to push.

# # #

What happened next, I didn’t expect.

Gary and Penny expressed their appreciation for my efforts and compensated me for my time.

There was no such arrangement between us. Agents only get paid when the property is sold. If the seller changes their mind for any reason, there is no commission unless it has been explicitly agreed and written down beforehand. We had no such agreement.

They paid me anyway.

And from that point on, they handed me all their property matters.

# # #

I’ve been managing their investment unit ever since. A few years later, they asked me to take on another unit. Both are still under my care today.

Over the years, they have referred friends to me.

And then, in March 2025, fifteen years after that first phone call, Penny sent me a message out of nowhere.

She had just referred a friend to me for a sale. We were exchanging messages about that. And then, unprompted, she wrote:

Fifteen years. She still remembered.

That’s all it ever was. My job was to find the buyer. Their job was to decide.

# # #

I think about Penny’s words sometimes. The first ones and the last ones.

Don’t disappoint us.

I hope I never have.

# # #

If you’re looking for an agent who will show up for the appointment, for the hard months, and for the long haul, you’re welcome to reach out.