Nancy Knows Madison County

A long time ago an acquaintance of mine gave me the best piece of business advice I've ever received: "Nancy, you don't give away what you sell." 

My mentor in this regard is a man named Vince Bommarito, owner of the venerable Tony's Restaurant in St. Louis, a Mobil Four-Star, AAA Five-Diamond establishment. 

Despite his fame, Vince is a modest, even self-effacing, man. Praise him and he'll expertly rearrange the silverware on your table and tell you that he's just a restaurant owner.

Well, I want to be "just" a Realtor the way Vince is "just" a restaurateur, so I intend to follow his advice.

No, I will not tell you over the phone or in a listing presentation how to price your home. That is part of a detailed market analysis that I provide for my clients -- the people who hire me to sell their property. I will share preliminary neighborhood information with you in my presentation...but we will actually price your home together by studying market data and considering the particulars of your property before reaching a sound conclusion based on what that data tells us. It's a process that takes time and careful consideration because the most important thing we can do is price your home properly as it first hits the market.

Think of my listing presentation as the menu proferred when you're guided to your table at Tony's. So much information! So much choice! 

And think of the pricing of your home as making a selection based on the detailed information presented by your tuxedoed waiter.  You may want the Lobster Albanello, prepared tableside and served from a silver chafing dish, but your home may be market priced closer to the Sole Meunier. They're both delicious and satisfying, but only one is right for you under current conditions.

Bon Appetit! And when you visit Tony's, tell Vince that Nancy sent you.

Hey, can someone tell me if it's a hard and fast rule in real estate that all heck breaks out when you go out of town?

My family and I have been on a much-needed and long-awaited vacation. (My vacation condo's desk pictured to the right.) But since I've been gone, we've had two listings go under contract and a buyer who has found the house of his dreams.

I suspect my partner would like to see me get the heck out of Madison County more often. Or not, depending on how you look at it. It's great to have the business, but I feel badly that she's there dealing with it on her own. (However, I would agree to just sitting here on the beach and working my magic if she insisted.)

If I had known that I was powerful enough to cause this type of positive market movement, I would have left home a long time ago. Maybe NAR should hire me to cause an uptick in the existing home sales figures. When I'm done with that I'll wrestle those pesky new construction homes.

So, how do you agents who work alone handle this type of situation? Do you never leave? Do your brokers fill in? Do you split commission with agents who help you out while you're away?  How do you have a truly bon voyage while the work keeps coming?