Archive for October, 2007
Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, But Names Will Sink a Real Estate Deal…
October 18th, 2007 Categories: One Minute Realtor
…quicker than you can say What DID happen to that counter offer? Yes, as contract negotiations move forward, and a deal starts to take shape, sellers and buyers sometimes adopt a candid and less than exemplary view of one another.
We know this because we’re privy to the name calling that sometimes ensues. Depending, say, on the amount of an offer or the length of a repair request, sellers may wonder – aloud – if the buyers are, by turns, dreaming, out of their freakin’ minds, or blood-sucking bottom feeders. Buyers have been known to call sellers stubborn, plain greedy, or dumber than dirt.
All of which makes for great theatre, but seldom helps move a home sale closer to the finish line.
Any agent worth his or her own salt won’t get caught up in the drama and name calling. Among other things, our job is to be the buffer between seller and buyer. We diffuse emotional situations, not kindle them. We’re adept at keeping our clients from shooting themselves in the feet. We might take a quick cheap shot at an unreasonable party if we think it will help you get over it. But remember: you hired us to help you buy or sell a home. You want us to be the calmest person in the room, not act like your best bud.
So, if you’re buying a home in Annapolis and you tell us you want to make an offer on 123 Main St, we’re not going to tell the seller’s agent you said it smelled like a barnyard. If the other agent is a hack, and repeats what was said to the sellers, the deal might die a quick and spiteful death. We’re going to say to the agent that our client is interested in making an offer, “but they will require that you remediate the pet odors.” Expect us to be the picture of professionalism and tact. After all, that’s why they pay us the medium bucks.
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