So I found a REALTOR on Twitter.  I found LOTS of them.  Thanks, you guys!

I didn’t just get one more person to interview, I got a new network of real estate professionals to whom I can turn with serious questions.  They’re on their way, just around the bend, since my goal is to list my home in January.  That’s um, next month.  O.  M.  G.

Of the many fine people who came forward, this REALTOR got my name wrong at first.  She called me Tracy, and believe me it wasn’t the first time that’s happened in my life.  But what really got my attention was that she immediately realized her mistake and made a self-deprecating joke about it.   I connected with her, and we started emailing and DM-ing.

And then she read “Diary of a Moving Mom.”  And commented about something I tweeted.  She was paying attention to me.

Like Agent Carol who sent me a box of cookies and brownies the week after we met, Agent Elaine did that little something extra to make sure her name stuck in my brain.  She even agreed to come see my house and meet me over a holiday weekend.  I had high hopes for her.

And she was delightful.  She tolerated my 4-year-old’s incessant interruptions with grace and humor.  She shared her opinion about the current market and told me about another listing search website I hadn’t heard of before.  She stressed the power of the internet and how any marketing plan that doesn’t include a heavy internet presence is missing the mark.

But the first thing she told me was that she wasn’t sure she was the right agent to list my home.

Huh.  I didn’t see that coming.

I wondered if my house was too small-time for her.  After all, she specializes in an area that includes some very pricey homes.  But she would have known my house’s general market value before she came.  Elaine went on to explain that indeed, she wasn’t very familiar with sales in my neighborhood and in this unpredictable market it might be better for me to work with someone who is.  She certainly can list my house, and stressed that she would give 110 percent to the marketing effort if chosen, but she leveled with me.  Even after her straightforward admission, Elaine sat with me for an hour, answering my questions and chatting with my son every time he came in to say “Realtor, Realtor?  Are you done with your meeting?” Who does that?

After thinking about it non-stop ever since, I’m coming to realize that someone who believes in the power of networking, that each connection can be a stepping stone to something great but not necessarily the thing itself – that’s who does that.  But this also means that I still haven’t chosen an agent.