HUD Articles

It's nice to make connections.

Sometimes, in the real estate industry, we tend to forget that. We get so focused on getting the sale or getting the listing, on moving from contract to close. We think about deals and contracts and inspections.

Sometimes, sadly, we forget to think in terms of people. Buyers are people. The name or names on a contract are people. The inspections are for the people who are buying not a house, but their home.

On a recent Saturday, I held an Open House at one of our HUD listings. Most Open Houses I've held in the past have been lonely things with proverbial tumbleweeds rolling through the living rooms of the houses in question.

Not this time!

When I drove up ten minutes prior to the start of the Open House for this particular HUD home, there were four people waiting. I was able to quickly open up and let them in to view the property. I had the opportunity to speak with these folks and it was really amazing. We talked about their families and what they were looking for in a home and how tough it is out there now to find something affordable and how low inventory is at the moment.

I talked to everyone who came through...eight families in total. I learned about the buyers and their families. I even made an offer for one of them; unfortunately, his offer wasn't accepted, but I'll keep looking for a good house for him.

Because he's a person; not just a buyer, not just a customer, not just a client. A person in search of a home.

And that was a great reminder about why we do what we do.