I am fond of the saying “crisis doesn’t build character, it reveals it”. Full of truth. The same can be said about real estate, it reveals character. Even more so in a seller’s market.

Seller’s markets will reveal Character, or a lack thereof, in people when they are the seller. It has been my experience that it is a minority that are in the “lack there of” category. I’ve been unfortunate to have three experiences with sellers this season that were in the disappointing field. I won’t go into the details but the Golden Rule wasn’t in play. The only positive from each was that I did have a gut feeling from the start after meeting the people about their character. Not of all involved, but the person taking the lead, yes. I am an eternal optimist and chose to ignore the internal tip and assume the best in all cases. Another good saying. “Never assume”.

On the upside, this spring and summer the rest of the buyers and sellers that I have worked with I’d be proud to call a friend after closing. Full of character. Really decent people. In some cases, characters (in the best sense). The type of people that do the right thing when nobody is around or looking.

So what is the reason of this post? It is partially therapeutic as it gives me an avenue to vent as one of the three revealed themselves this week and it feels good to let it out (thank you to my virtual therapists out there). The other is there are lakefront buyers out there that have missed out in multiple offer situations this season and may feel discouraged or that they didn’t get a fair shake. If they are reading this, let me offer that Alexandria area is a wonderful area to live and the majority of real Estate transactions are positive. I can’t speak about each transaction but the likelihood is they were handled properly and fairly (likely but not guaranteed…make sure your representation is experienced in multiples). My recent experiences of people behaving badly are not normal. Alexandria is a curve breaker for good people in the United States of America and it is a great place to live. The three sellers I am referring to are a high for me in a season looking back at the last Eighteen Years. It usually has been none or one each of the last eighteen years.