Strangest place I've closed a deal

"I've always believed deals are like dairy," said Heidi Lamar, owner of SpaLamar in Scottsdale, Ariz. "They go bad if left on the table too long, so it's best to close them whenever and wherever you can."

She took her advice to heart when she worked as a realtor in Portland, Ore.

"I had a client who liked to buy unusual property," she said. So when a listing for a fire station came her way in 2004, she got to work.

"My client wanted to convert the station into a residence and needed to quickly close on it before the end of the year," she said.

Lamar needed to get the fire chief's signature on the contract, but he was on vacation until after New Year's.

She contacted him anyway and offered to drive to any location.

They met an hour outside of town at an unglamorous dive bar. "It was one of my most fun deals," said Lamar. "I even sent a keg to his firehouse as a closing gift."