~ By Mike Galinac, Exact Match Properties ~
Now, more than ever, I think we all need to find ways to laugh a bit more, or maybe a lot more. It may not always be easy to shift your focus away from the many things surrounding us, that can cause us to become upset, anxious or depressed, but I think it’s important that we try. With that in mind, I would like to offer you my next installment of my new Blog category, Embarrassing Real Estate Stories. In my 31 years of selling Michigan real estate, I have had many successful and rewarding experiences, but I’ve also had my share of embarrassing moments too. Fortunately for you I’m not too proud to share them!
This story is one of my all-time favorites. It’s one of those situations that seem devastating and quite stressful at the time, but after it’s over and a bit of time passes, it’s easy to laugh about!
I was about to meet new clients for the first time. This couple was looking for a small cottage on the lake, and I had three homes set up for us to tour. Back when this happened, it was not uncommon for my clients to ride along with me during showing tours, but in this case, we agreed to meet at the first home, and drive separately. This arrangement later proved to be my saving grace.
Upon arriving at the first home, we noticed that it was very dirty, full of junk and had evidence of several dogs and cats, both inside and out. Let’s just say that Mr. & Mrs. Clean definitely did NOT live there. We managed to look past the distractions, focus on the potential and proceeded to tour the home. Then it was time to head to the second home. My clients said that they knew where it was, which was about five miles away, so off we went. I left the site first and no sooner did I start to drive, that I felt a bite on my ankle. Great, I thought, I just left an infested pigpen, and I must have picked up a passenger! Just then I felt a second bite, and I knew it had to be fleas. You should know that I’m one of these people that seem to attract all types of biting insects, even when nobody else is getting bothered. Lucky me! Then there was a third bite, and by the way, a single flea can bite up to 400 times in a day, and each bite can itch for over a week! I started to panic because the bites were slowly traveling up the leg of my dress pants, and I was driving down the road. I knew that somehow, I had to get my pants off and find the culprit before he reached the end of the trail. I had toured the next home once before, and I remembered that it was vacant. My only chance to come out of this without looking like a total freak show and scaring off my new clients, was to get to the next home before they did, get inside, whip down my pants, find that damn flea and execute him before they arrived. I proceeded to put the pedal to the metal and managed to make it through a traffic light, just before it turned red and stopped my clients. I then broke every speed limit between there and our next appointment. I got to the house in record time, jumped out and ran for the bathroom. The flea had made it all the way to the top of my thigh, leaving a trail of at least 15 bites behind him. I grabbed him, flushed him down the drain while cursing at him (like that did any good!), got dressed and got back to the front door, just as my clients arrived. I can only imagine that they were wondering how I got there so fast, but they never asked, and I never told them. We completed our tour, while I fought the urge to scratch, and our relationship was off to great start. Weird, but great!
I hope you enjoy your day and find a reason to smile! Thanks for reading, Mike Galinac
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