I’m in a difficult situation. My very close friend is a real estate agent and I had to make a decision to list and show my property quickly but my friend was due to give birth the same week. I decided not to hire them for the job as I knew they wouldn’t have been able to handle the responsibility. This has had a huge impact on our friendship and I’m feeling a lot of guilt as a result.
My friend is currently building a $3M home and they have admitted to me that they don’t need the money as their partner is the main provider. Even though my friend has only been a real estate agent for two years, I decided to hire the #1 realtor in my city, who I’ve known since high school. The Realtor I hired has over 20 years of experience and a large team, so even if I had gone with my friend, they wouldn’t have been able to refer me and get a referral fee.
The urgency to list, show, and sell quickly was due to the fact that my tenant had moved out with short notice. I live in another state and I didn’t want the property sitting vacant and burning cash. I had already been searching for a house for months and needed the money from the sale of my old property to help me buy a new one.
I know in my heart that I made the right decision for my family and finances, but the cost of that decision has been the loss of my close friend and that is something that I’m struggling with. I’m trying to figure out how to move forward and make things right again but I’m not sure what the best course of action is. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.