Unhelpful Realtors and an Unfaithful Buyer

Our appraiser came early yesterday, but we’d pretty much finished putting things in order, and I think (hope!) it went well. The guy was quite speedy, and I didn’t see a good opening to point out our nice upgraded quality fans, front door, etc., so I was glad that I had typed up a sheet in advance with our recent (and not so recent) updates. He took the list, and also the five comparables I had pulled, willingly. He is not even from our county, and actually admitted that he doesn’t have access through the MLS to the information on active listings here, which is information required on the form. If he uses the comparables I gave him, which were good, and gives credit for our updates and big back yard we will be okay. He did ask, though, if the comparables were within a mile, and they aren’t. We use two miles as a standard distance limit, and if he limits himself to comparables within one mile, we are sunk. I’d appreciate some prayers or positive thoughts on this matter!

I haven’t heard back from any of the realtors who promised to send me listings and information, and my opinion of realtors is not improving. Actually, though, I slipped up last night and sent an e-mail to a realtor with the wrong realtor’s name in the greeting, so now I feel sleazy too. Back in January, when we thought we’d be moving by March, I contacted a realtor named Delia up in NC. She was listing a house that I loved (since sold). She signed me up for a service which shows listings in the area, with pictures, tax information, etc., and includes the option of sending questions to the realtor who signed you on. She answered questions for me on two properties. In addition to this site, I am also looking at all the other sites showing listings that I can find. Some of them require that you give your name, e-mail address, and phone number, which I do. About a week ago, I got a call from a realtor named Gary. He is up in Winston-Salem, and he chatted with me for quite a while about houses and the market in his area. He offered to sign me up for a listing service which would show me houses in the area. I agreed happily, not realizing that it was the same service I had from Delia. When I got his e-mail and realized that the sites were the same, I decided to use both of them, but to set up the parameters differently so I might get some different houses. It turns out, though, that there just aren’t that many houses that strike my fancy (and fit my budget), and my “favorites” are the same. That is how I happened to accidentally send an e-mail to Gary, asking him about a house, addressed “Delia” – I thought I was looking at the Delia-linked site, but it was actually the Gary-linked site. All I want is to find a place to live next month, but now I feel like I’m two-timing realtors. Of course, none of them seem to be knocking themselves out working on my behalf, so maybe it just doesn’t matter. Regardless, assuming Jerry the appraiser comes in with the right number, we are going up next week and finding our new house!