There is never a dull moment in the world of real estate, whether bringing your wrestling-inspired A-game to a showing or facing a stripped-down (literally) open house visitor. Thankfully, our team of real estate pros is always up for a challenge, sharing some of their most memorable and certainly surprising moments with The Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal recently asked The Agency Pasadena’s Director of Residential Estates Amy Weber whether her background in show business helps her sell homes. The former actor and World Wrestling Entertainment performer got her first national commercial, directed by Michael Bay, one month after moving from Illinois to California when she was 21. She would go on to perform live in front of 60,000 people with the WWE, tearing her rotator cuff and cracking her tailbone in the process. Seven years ago, she transitioned full time to real estate.
“When you meet someone to list their home, it’s like an audition. You kind of have to treat it as such; you have to bring your A-game and all of who you are.” Amy tells the WSJ, she does get recognized at open houses and is often asked to sign a flyer or brochure. Read more.
John Tashtchian, The Agency’s Director of Estates Division, was recently asked by The Wall Street Journal how he shows homes while following the rules of social distancing. John shared a story of clients in L.A. who own an “iconic, one-of-a-kind property” in San Francisco that had seen squatters and break-ins after it was foreclosed on in 2018.
“Fast-forward to February of this year, and we have two different parties write up offers right around the time of the lockdown,” John tells WSJ. “We ended up getting an offer, negotiating and closing all during this pandemic. This whole process was done pretty much remotely up until two days before the closing when we had another break-in.” The deal almost blew up, but amazingly enough, and to John’s surprise, it closed days later. Read more.
The Agency San Francisco’s Zhane Dikes had a blush-worthy story from a recent open house, answering The Wall Street Journal’s question, has anyone ever gotten naked during a showing? Zhane was hosting an open house in the Mission District when a man entered as she was busy with other visitors. After a while, she noticed she hadn’t seen him and went to investigate.
“I walked past the bathroom and heard the shower running. Sometimes people like to turn on the shower to test the water pressure,” Zhane tells WSJ. She knocked and asked if he was taking a shower, to which he replied, “Yes. I am. I’ll be out in just a second.” Zhane says, “I was mortified and blown away and uncomfortable—all of the above. At any open house, I’ve always told myself to be aware at all times.” She ran to get the help of a neighbor, who opened the bathroom door to find the man naked. The man took his time finishing up, even using one of the staged towels to dry off. The cops eventually escorted him out while someone played the song “So Fresh, So Clean” by Outkast. Read more.
