November 14, 2019. Madison, Mississippi. Oliver.

There was much to admire in Oliver. He was the top agent in D.C for many years and he was the top agent in the office. He worked hard every day. He went to Mass every day at 6:00. After breakfast he went to work and he never stopped until dark. He always dressed well, always in a suit and tie. And he was always positive. He never said a negative word so he was cheery and enthusiastic when you met him. He and I worked together in the office as agents but when I was asked to be the manager of the office I said I would not manage Oliver, so he moved with Butch to Potomac. My problem with Oliver was that he took every advantage for himself. I was the opposite as an agent. I called what Oliver did was cheating. Oliver started into the real estate world right out of high school. His system was to obtain listings and sell them himself. This was pre lockbox and computer. Before computers, information on new listings was difficult. Cards were delivered to offices with the new listings so Oliver always sold his own listings before anyone knew about them. In the early days of Oliver's life as an agent in order to see the listings an agent was required to make an appointment either with the seller or with the listing agent. Of course, neither was ever available on his listings. But the lockbox came along, which Oliver hated. Often the lockbox was turned backwards, or no key was in the box on his listings. Next came the computer, which again Oliver did not like. But what Oliver did was to have his listings priced high. When an agent such as me had a buyer write a reasonable offer on his listings, Oliver made no effort to educate the seller on the price. I many times came with the comparable sales in the area but Oliver only supported the high price. After 4 or 5 agents brought offers that were all in the same range, Oliver would them write his own offer and sell it. As an agent, I stopped showing Oliver's listings, which of course was what Oliver wanted. I do not like cheaters although I got along well with Oliver. Butch often said to me that the most interesting part of his job as a manager was trying to keep Oliver out of trouble. I wanted no part of Oliver's business. Most agents felt the same way and were pleased when he was no longer in the office. A bad reputation for one agent taints everyone else in the office. I often thought that Oliver would have made even more money if he co-operated with other agents and not cheated. It worked for all the other agents in the office after he left. But that was not his style.