Bob made a great point in relation to family. On my dad's side growing up when we had get togethers at my Uncle Clay's house they would all talk about how much they make.

They all were making over a 100k a year and this was I can't remember in the 80's sometime I guess.I was never self-absorbed with money like they were. I think as they have gotten older they have mellowed out some which is a good thing.

The more you are in the business the more you will value YOUR TIME. If a friend asks a question or needs help I will give a quick 30 second response. If they want more intense help I let them no upfront that I only give counsel to my clients and they will have to set up an appointment.In that appointment we will sign an agreement and then I will help them.

When I first started out years ago I would get bombarded by everyone at restaurants for lunch and dinner,parties,whatever.
These people most times were just fishing for information and already had someone in mind. I make people commit before sharing all my expertise.

Since I have done strictly commercial over the last few years this has become a non-issue. I still do residential for some family and friends but set expectations upfront on what is going to happen.

Get over it! I've had this happen three times, in the past three years with clients. just had a friend not let me refer her to an agent in Cali, etc etc. I had two clients screw me over with the old "Show me houses then I'll buy a FSBO and/or use a builder without asking you first" step. I keep them all on my friends list and don't burn bridges. I just had a guy who left me out, got screwed over by his "new " agent, then calls me back because I was nice to them and wishing them luck after he "broke my heart" by telling me he put a home under contract with out(though he wasn't a signed client yet, but we were close) If you're on Facebook, I promise you it won't be the last time.

I had a similar situation as you. My friend and neighbor asked a LOT of questions, then asked if 620,000 was a good price for their house. I said I thought it was and lo and behold, she'd been talking to everyone at work, and someone had a friend that wanted to buy it. I wanted to scream, since she'd been picking my brain for months about who pays what, how do you do this and that. Long story short, 3 mos later the buyer still hadn't signed the contract, and the deal fell through. She listed with me. Pounce on it the second it expires.

Congratulate her, then put her on "ignore". I have gotten 3 listings so far from acquaintances I kept up with on Facebook, so I think Facebook is worth it.

I actually meant to say three times in the past year.

I had a house listed in Alabama (the seller is a really good friend of mine for over 6 years) and sold it mined you, cut my commission to make it work and started showing him houses about 20 or so, then out of the blue he says hey this other Birmingham Realtor friend of mine who's son plays tee ball with my boy (known for 6 weeks) as been showing us houses on the north side of town, "which is out of your area" my thoughts are really 5 minutes north and some guy tells you it's out of my area and you just go along with it.

Anyway, so I showed him one Saturday and I think we have found the winner and just waiting for his house to close, when low and behold that Sunday in Sunday school he announced "we put a contract on a house and it was accepted"

A lose of $8400 in commission $10,000+ if you count the $2000 I took off to help his house sell.

Well times were a little rough at the time financially, guess what he went and did sent me a Dave Ramsey book about finances, I asked him did it have a chapter about how to find loyal clients.

Anyway he had to do some work on the new house he bought because it was an Alabama foreclosure, who do you think he called when it came time to move some furniture seems the other agent friend was busy.

Point of the story is he is still my friend, but all my other friends will sign a buyers agency.

What do you wanna bet that it was not a matter of loyalty, but was his MO of commission kickback. It is highly possible that selling agent agreed to a kickback in order to get the business. He just did not want to ask you to do the same twice.

Facebook is a means of information and information is power. You just have to be conscious that people are reading what you put on facebook. But seeing another agent post about a listing or potential buyer/seller post something about their offer/listing keeps you in the know.

I made a big deal over a friend that went with another agent and regret it now. There just is no room for bad blood in sales. People talk, and right or wrong things are said that could damage opinions about us as sales people. In the future I might opt to distance myself from such friends, but will try to keep the hurt feelings etc. To myself.

You forgot the rule:

#4. Never expect that your friends will become your client. Instead, hope that they'll give you referrals.

Sometimes, it's better not to work with close friends and family as it can put a strain on the relationship. In my experience, they may also expect you to dock a large part of your commission, and they are much higher maintenance....no bueno.

I would delete. Feel guilty about it. Then move on.