At least one Realtor cared

First you should know how much I distrust Realtors. In the Great Circle of Life, they fall somewhere below journalists and above car dealers and lawyers.

On Tuesday, I welcomed two real estate types who promptly handed me their cards, as all good Realtors do. They were cordial and professional, despite the fact that I had stumbled out of bed from my mid-morning nap without a shower.

After briefly walking through my house, their first advice to me was how to figure their commission. When I called them, I told them I was looking for help, somebody to advise on where to go next with our home. One other piece of advice: Consider a short sale. Thinking about it later, they looked as excited as watching Harry Reid read the phone book on C-SPAN.

And they were gone.

Aleya Murphy, a broker with Town & Country Realty, arrived Wednesday for her appointment, carrying her company’s marketing plan and detailed information I could use to potentially sell our home. In the back room, the dog vocally registered her dismay for being barred from sniffing our guest. 

Like my Realtor guests from Tuesday, I told Aleya I was not committing to a real estate expert. I told her my quandary, how I suspected the current housing crunch would leave upside down with our home.

That didn’t stop her. She still went through exhaustive work for me, knowing that we most likely wouldn’t be in a position to sell our house for several months. In fact, until she walked in, we had given her zero commitment to hire her to sell our house.

Not only did she patiently explain the numbers to me, Aleya offered some specific advice on what we could do to get our house ready.

By the time, she was done, I told her I would commit to her if I had anything to say about it.. Several months from now when we are ready to sell our house, I won’t call the Realtors who seemed bored and disinterested.

I will be calling the person who showed interest in my house and my situation. And you if you need her to help you in the mid-Willamette Valley in Oregon, you should call Aleya as well.