An unexpected signing bonus
Kathleen Riordan Kiel hit it off immediately with her real estate agent, Mickey Turner.
It was the mid-’70s, and a friend referred the home-seeking Pan American Airlines flight attendant to Turner, an agent with Re/Max Execs Redondo Beach. Turner, who sidelines as an entertainer, showed Riordan Kiel a number of places, including a one-bedroom Redondo Beach condominium she ultimately purchased for $50,000.
End of story? No. More like the beginning of the story.
Real estate transactions often spawn lifelong friendships between agents and clients. It’s impossible to know how many develop into long-term relationships, but the 2004 National Assn. of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers reported that 84% of customers said they were likely to use their agent again or recommend him or her to others.
Shortly after her purchase, Riordan Kiel attended one of Turner’s gigs, where he sang and played piano. They stayed in touch -- and not just because, as she said, he’s “a wonderful showman.”
When Riordan Kiel married, the friendship expanded to include her husband and Turner’s wife, Monica.
“My husband and Mickey got along well,” she said, “and we all did things together socially.”
About 20 years ago, the couples purchased town houses next door to each other in Redondo Beach. By then Riordan Kiel was close to the Turners emotionally as well, a bond that was further strengthened when her husband became ill and eventually died.
“With the death of my husband, I was on my own again, and Mickey and Monica were like family to me,” she said. “They include me in holidays, and we rely upon one another. It’s been a great friendship.”
OK, so it’s not quite the Stockholm syndrome. But sharing an intense experience, such as an emotionally charged real estate deal, can lead to a lasting friendship, according to Ricki Bander, a Los Angeles-based psychologist.
“I think for most people looking at buying a home, it’s both a financial and emotional decision,” Bander said. “A home buyer is looking at the investment monetarily and also as a commitment within a community they want to belong to.”
The recommendation of a real estate agent, she added, might come to the buyer through a church or a friend.
“That gives them a sense of knowing the person and trusting this person -- a sense of familiarity even,” Bander said. “There’s a sense that you’re partnering with someone who’s looking out for you.”
And that can be the beginning of a relationship built on trust.
Jane and T.T. Yang relied on that sense of trust 28 years ago when the couple was closing a deal on a home in Los Angeles, purchased as an investment, about a week after the birth of their second son, David.
“I was pregnant when we looked at the house,” said Jane Yang, now 66, a retired engineer. “But when we closed, my son was born, and I had to go to the bank to withdraw money.”
To do that she needed a baby-sitter for her newborn on short notice. Her real estate agent, Judy Sheller, stepped in. “Jane needed someone on the spot.”
As it turned out, Sheller actually was more comfortable baby-sitting than working the open house where she met the Yangs. Not only was it Sheller’s first open house, but she had never closed a sale.
“She was real nervous when we made an offer on a house,” Yang said. “She asked us if we were sure we wanted to do that.”
Indeed, it was trial and error, recalled Sheller, now co-owner of Bizzy Blondes in Mar Vista, a sales team affiliated with Keller Williams Realty. “I had to figure things out as I went along.”
That was just the beginning for the Yangs and Sheller. Nineteen years ago, the couple purchased a home in Brentwood for $710,000, where they reside. But after the deal closed and the Yangs were ready to move in, the previous owner seemed to have seller’s remorse.
“It was during bad times, economically, and they didn’t want to move,” Sheller said. “They locked the house and didn’t leave any keys. It was around 10 at night, and we had to find a locksmith. And once we got inside, we found out the previous owner had taken all of the lightbulbs out of the house. I was freaked. It was the biggest sale I’d ever made in my life at that time.”
Today, Yang still laughs about that night and how it further cemented the friendship with Sheller. “We were so tired, and then we couldn’t even get into the house or see where we were going,” she said. “We were in it together.”
Unfazed by the experience, the Yangs, with Sheller’s assistance, continued to purchase more properties for investment purposes. In fact, it evolved into quite a family affair.
“The kids would go out with us all the time, looking at open houses,” Sheller said. “They learned about homes from the time they were babies all the way up to their teens.”
That knowledge is coming in handy now as Sheller helps David, 28, search for a home. “It’s come full circle,” she said.
Comments may be e-mailed to Chuck Green at cgreenj@aol .com.
