#18 in a series of true experiences in real estate
July 1993, Hills Newspapers
Anet has been talking lately about what makes the difference to her in a sale. This came up because we just sold a house to some people who might be our all-time favorite clients, and we have been talking about why this is so.
We know the answer: Diana and Ricky were committed.
It was great. Not that the sale didn’t have its problems. But we were able to overcome them because our buyers (1) Made a clear, thoughtful decision to buy this particular house; and (2) Made sure we know what they wanted to accomplish. There were no secrets.
Anet is the negotiator. She likes presenting offers. She likes working things so everyone feels right about the sale. Keeping the lines of communication open is so much easier than an adversarial relationship.
The minute someone gets scared or defensive, it takes twice as much energy to get anything done. When everyone is moving in the same direction, we can get to where we need to go.
At the start, our buyers seemed pretty typical. They were very excited on Sunday when they first saw the house. But on Monday, when we met to write an offer, they were nervous and unsure. It was their first house, and they hadn’t looked at all that many. It wasn’t that they were unable to be committed. They just wanted to know if this was the one.
Are you paying too much? Can we afford the work it needs? Can we get our money out? What about this neighborhood? Is it scary or okay?
Good questions. No sure answers. No one can tell you for sure how much a house is “worth.” Nor can anyone assure you what it will sell for some day in the future. We do know this: Buying is too big, too hard to go through unless it feels right for you.
About the neighborhood, we said, Go back to the house during the day and at night. Talk to people who live in the area. Find out if you are going to be comfortable there.
They apologized for their indecision. We said it wasn’t necessary. They went back to the house right then and talked to the guy who fixes cars in his driveway across the street. They liked him. They felt fine. They made a decision to buy that house that same day. They said they were ready, and they must have been, because they never looked back.
Here is the part where hey came became all-time favorites. They outlined for us why this house worked for them, what was practical about it, what made it possible for them to wrap their dreams around it.
They told us how much money would make it work. They were willing to accept the risk of the future. They’d buy if they didn’t have to pay more than their maximum. They’d work on it and live in it, make their home there. Do the best that you can for us, they said. We trust you.
Anet had what she wanted. She knew their bottom line. She knew their investment. And they believed in her.
She could not negotiate with good knowledge and good spirit. Very, very different, she assures me, from negotiating a purchase for a buyer who can take the house or leave it. When there is little heart in it. When I am less likely to be paid.
As anyone who has bought a house will tell you, finding the house is only the beginning. If it’s only a house that will do, chances are you’ll get mired down in the process and quit.
But if your vision is clear, your selection right, if you know where you are trying to go, you can do it!
Ricky and Diana got their house. Every single time we talked to them during the transaction (a lot of times), we smiled with the joy of it. They heard everything we said, they moved forward steadily, and they compromised when there was no other way.
Our only regret is that it will be some years before they are ready to buy again.
