Crazy Sh*t In Real Estate with Leigh Brown - Episode #47 with Pam Gebhardt

In this episode, Leigh welcomes Pam Gebhardt to the show. Pam is a realtor in the Atlanta area and has been in the real estate industry for more than 26 years. Her crazy story describes a kind deed that went terribly wrong and is, indeed, a tragedy! Listen to hear why Pam no longer gives housewarming parties as a congratulatory gift to  her clients.   Please subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or in the Podcasts App on your phone. Never miss a beat from Leigh by visiting The Leigh Brown Experience. Time Stamped Show Notes:  00:21 – Introduction for today's episode 00:36 – Introducing Pam Gebhardt 00:54 – Pam was trained in Education with a master's degree in Mathematics 01:01 – It's her 26th year now, as a realtor in Atlanta 01:58 – This is a true and crazy story 02:12 – Pam lives in a gated golf course community 02:17 – She sells and lists homes around the area 02:21 – When Pam sells a luxury home, she throws a housewarming party for the clients 02:37 – She sold a $2.8M brand new home to friends in her community 02:48 – They closed in July, but her clients didn't want to do the party until they had all the furniture in the house 02:58 – They called Pam in mid-October for the party 03:03 – They had the caterers and 140 guests ready 03:27 – People were in the house – it was full 03:35 – Pam and the owner were in the basement, in the home theater and bar 03:49 – All of a sudden, Pam and her client noticed a smell – which they thought were people going up and down the elevator 04:10 – Pam suggested to her client to get people off the elevator, which he did 04:21 – They started to see smoke coming out of the cam lights 04:27 – 5 minutes later, all the alarms went off in the house 04:35 – Finally, they decided to go outside 04:50 – There were flames shooting out of the fireplace 05:06 – A person came up and told them to go in front of the house – somebody called the fire department 05:18 – Everybody thought is was funny 05:36 – The firemen advised them to take the cars out of the garage and remove all jewelry from the house 05:51 – People were having fun outside 05:58 – The firemen went up the house with a ladder 06:27 – All of a sudden, all the firemen came running out of the house 06:30 – All 120 guests were outside and they watched the house burn to the ground 06:46 – Her clients lost everything! Fortunately, their old house was not sold and was still furnished 06:58 – The client moved back to their old house and Pam recommended a reputable builder for them 07:14 – Long story short, there was a defective fireplace 07:19 – Pam makes sure that inspection amendments are being chased properly 07:34 – Once the attic is in flames, there's nothing that can save the house 07:47 – The incident bothered Pam and the people in the community 08:20 – The insurance company reimbursed the money 08:49 – The clients were back in the house in a year and 21 days after the fire 09:33 – The insurance company sued the fireplace company 10:13 – It took Pam at least 2 years before she could talk about it 10:30 – Her client's father was a fire chief in another city, so he understood the gravity of what happened 10:44 – The buyers now ended up with a much better home than they originally had 12:03 – Pam's clients made "lemonade out of lemons" 12:32 – Pam now gives paintings instead of housewarming parties 13:17 – Pam has a team of 3 and is located north-northeast of Atlanta 13:30 – Contact Pam on her email 13:50 – Tweet Leigh Brown for your very own crazy story in real estate 3 Key Points It pays to check, cross check, and triple check the quality of the house you're buying. It's normal to feel guilty for something bad that happens to the house you sold, even if it's not your fault. Make sure to have a great home insurance for your home. Credits Audio Production by Chris Mottram Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives Cover Design by Two Minds Design Original Music by Rimsky Music