The Real Estate Business

Beware those who pose as "friends" while seeking to rob you in your vulnerability! Sally called last night, ecstatic that her decorator friend Nancy had said she was going to buy our house, warning Sally that she "would be putting in a low bid, and not to take it personally." And Sally, astute business woman that she is not, told her that we "could just say no" to the offer, that we "could all be friends." I think not, especially if an offer materializes with strings or an absurd amount. As I have yet to see the offer, I must not be too quick to judge. I can see the tire-kickers' waltz, the violins about to play, the pat on the back to see where to stick the knife.

This is the very same Nancy who had her friendly broker lowball the estimate for our house last summer, coming in a mere 50% below all other realtors in their estimate, while communnicating all this information within hours between themselves, before we, the owners, even knew the resultls of her appraisal. This is the same Nancy who offered to pay Sally "McDonald" fare while working together over the the winter and spring, who has less talent than her ability to manoevre and negotiate. This is the same Nancy who has clients paying her tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars on gaudy and useless interior decorating projects all the while, whose husband is a distribution executive at Reader's Digest. This is not an impoverished "friend," but one who has larceny in her soul. All is not right in our little town. I do not trust this person. She knows too much about our pains, our vulnerability. We have confided in her over the months, as a friend. It is an equation that is out of balance, a train in the process of derailing. I can see the disaster many miles ahead: just wait. The sharks are circling. The table's set for feasting, and guess who's for dinner?