It's a fact that deals fall apart. Buyers see a home, write an offer, have a home inspection and proceed with financing... until the ego comes into play. The following may make some uncomfortable as it may hit home. Proceed with egoless caution.
The mighty human ego is something that we often overlook in business and our day to day. The truth is, it exists and can harm and even ruin. It can ruin home sales, relationships, business deals and many other elements in life. As Realtors, we see lots of ego! Home sellers and home buyers often have (In honor of America's Next Top Model) fierce egos. Even home inspectors, loan officers and Realtors can play a mighty part in this personality phenomenon. Let's break down the situations, scenarios and groups so hopefully we can start to fix and calm this sometimes disturbing flaw.
Home Sellers: can sometimes put their foot down a little too hard. Believing that their home and decor is the creme de la creme of all homes on the market. How dare a buyer come in and offer a penny less or ask for a repair to be made? The atrocity. Home sellers can often times while under contract and negotiations become a brutal game player and even the smallest of requests are shot down. This may become a stunning reality to the buyer and the Realtors involved but for some reason, when certain or too many requests are made, home sellers can get angry and take it personally. One thing to remember is this is no longer going to be your home and you need to work with this customer and all parties in order to close the deal. I'm not saying give up your first born along with the keys, I'm just saying try to not play the ego game. In fact, don't play a game at all. Rationally decide what's fair and think before you decide on anything.
Example: The home inspection is completed and the buyer requests every single repair be made along with a price reduction. The seller is understandably livid and instead of working with the buyer and coming to a mutual agreement, they shoot off angry, "Whatttt's?" and "Are you kidding me's" then reject the buyer altogether. Not a good idea. Decide your bottom line and how far you're willing to go and come back with that. Don't let anger decide for you just because the request may be rightfully deemed outrageous. A buyer may try to get anything and everything they can. Understand this going in.
Home buyers: Sometimes a home buyer feels that there are a billion homes to choose from and if they find a home they like, they have the feeling of "They should be happy I'm even looking at their home and making an offer. The seller should do everything I ask." Buyers, not all homes or sellers are created equal. Some homes are priced below market value when they first come on the market and the seller is simply not wanting to play a negotiating game. Having this attitude while looking for a home is not a good one to have and it's not fun. Enjoy the process, narrow down your options and if you find the "one" determine the actual value with your Realtor and digest all repairs needed when making an offer. If the numbers don't work and the seller isn't budging, you either have to walk away or step up depending on how badly you want the property.
Example: A home buyer finds three properties they like and make low-ball offers on them to see who will bite. When the sellers come back with "REJECTED" on the contract, the buyer somehow feels insulted and is now embarrassed or ego-paralyzed and doesn't pursue a reasonable offer. The problem with higher than normal expectations is that you may have just lost out on the three perfect homes for you. Instead, do your homework and offer something suitable for both parties. There are other terms of a contract that can end in your favor including moving dates, appliances or items in the home staying and minor repairs that the seller doesn't mind making. Niceness and fairness will get you more of what you want rather than greed and ego.
Realtors: There are some Realtors that take on their client's emotions and stress or have a load of their own. Some Realtors actually yell at the other Realtor for bringing an offer or for presenting terms that are unexpected. Some Realtors can actually fuel the entire fire in the deal with their own egos. Make sure you have a Realtor who is professional and feel free to ask them in advance how they will handle your negotiations and conflicts. Take it from me, the other side's Realtor can hinder advancement and hurt future progress. In fact, an irrational Realtor can blow the whole deal.
Home Inspectors: I've seen them all. All types from the talkative to the quiet. I've seen some go on and on about seeing an ant on the sidewalk and how important it is for the new home owner to exterminate and start cutting down trees. It's an ant.... I've also seen some who are highly educated in a certain field let's say electrical, and proceed to talk and talk about the electrical system and what could be done and what was done even if the entire system is fine. There's nothing wrong with being knowledgeable and knowing what you're talking about, but when it cuts into the rest of the inspection or if it's not relevant recommendations, it can scare a home buyer to shreds and lead to panic for no other reason than bragging about what they used to do for a living twenty years ago. Leave the ego at the door and do what you're paid for. Having a home inspection is a crucial part of buying or selling a home. Pick one you feel comfortable with and have a good feeling about. When on the phone with them, ask lots of questions!
Loan Officers: are often times a Realtors worst nightmare. Some may tell a potential home buyer anything they want to hear in order to get the loan. "Ah, you're great! Go find the home of your dreams!" When they haven't done a thorough enough examination of the person's finances or credit. It usually comes to light toward the end of the contract near closing when the loan officer says, "oops." They knew there was a problem earlier but ego wouldn't dare allow them to cowl down and confess they made an error. They cross their fingers and hope for a last minute miracle. When you're shopping around out there in the world of mortgages, please be careful. Make sure they've looked at all of your information properly and know every bit of your finances before giving you the enthusiastic green light. I work with the best of the best so it's easy for me to be happy with loan officers I work with and trust what they tell me. It took years of trial and error for me to find these industry geniuses. Many buyers don't know the difference and make mistakes when choosing one. Use your Realtor's recommendation as they have built a trusting business relationship with those they work with and continue to shop around on your own. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
The mighty human ego is something that we often overlook in business and our day to day. The truth is, it exists and can harm and even ruin. It can ruin home sales, relationships, business deals and many other elements in life. As Realtors, we see lots of ego! Home sellers and home buyers often have (In honor of America's Next Top Model) fierce egos. Even home inspectors, loan officers and Realtors can play a mighty part in this personality phenomenon. Let's break down the situations, scenarios and groups so hopefully we can start to fix and calm this sometimes disturbing flaw.
Home Sellers: can sometimes put their foot down a little too hard. Believing that their home and decor is the creme de la creme of all homes on the market. How dare a buyer come in and offer a penny less or ask for a repair to be made? The atrocity. Home sellers can often times while under contract and negotiations become a brutal game player and even the smallest of requests are shot down. This may become a stunning reality to the buyer and the Realtors involved but for some reason, when certain or too many requests are made, home sellers can get angry and take it personally. One thing to remember is this is no longer going to be your home and you need to work with this customer and all parties in order to close the deal. I'm not saying give up your first born along with the keys, I'm just saying try to not play the ego game. In fact, don't play a game at all. Rationally decide what's fair and think before you decide on anything.
Example: The home inspection is completed and the buyer requests every single repair be made along with a price reduction. The seller is understandably livid and instead of working with the buyer and coming to a mutual agreement, they shoot off angry, "Whatttt's?" and "Are you kidding me's" then reject the buyer altogether. Not a good idea. Decide your bottom line and how far you're willing to go and come back with that. Don't let anger decide for you just because the request may be rightfully deemed outrageous. A buyer may try to get anything and everything they can. Understand this going in.
Home buyers: Sometimes a home buyer feels that there are a billion homes to choose from and if they find a home they like, they have the feeling of "They should be happy I'm even looking at their home and making an offer. The seller should do everything I ask." Buyers, not all homes or sellers are created equal. Some homes are priced below market value when they first come on the market and the seller is simply not wanting to play a negotiating game. Having this attitude while looking for a home is not a good one to have and it's not fun. Enjoy the process, narrow down your options and if you find the "one" determine the actual value with your Realtor and digest all repairs needed when making an offer. If the numbers don't work and the seller isn't budging, you either have to walk away or step up depending on how badly you want the property.
Example: A home buyer finds three properties they like and make low-ball offers on them to see who will bite. When the sellers come back with "REJECTED" on the contract, the buyer somehow feels insulted and is now embarrassed or ego-paralyzed and doesn't pursue a reasonable offer. The problem with higher than normal expectations is that you may have just lost out on the three perfect homes for you. Instead, do your homework and offer something suitable for both parties. There are other terms of a contract that can end in your favor including moving dates, appliances or items in the home staying and minor repairs that the seller doesn't mind making. Niceness and fairness will get you more of what you want rather than greed and ego.
Realtors: There are some Realtors that take on their client's emotions and stress or have a load of their own. Some Realtors actually yell at the other Realtor for bringing an offer or for presenting terms that are unexpected. Some Realtors can actually fuel the entire fire in the deal with their own egos. Make sure you have a Realtor who is professional and feel free to ask them in advance how they will handle your negotiations and conflicts. Take it from me, the other side's Realtor can hinder advancement and hurt future progress. In fact, an irrational Realtor can blow the whole deal.
Home Inspectors: I've seen them all. All types from the talkative to the quiet. I've seen some go on and on about seeing an ant on the sidewalk and how important it is for the new home owner to exterminate and start cutting down trees. It's an ant.... I've also seen some who are highly educated in a certain field let's say electrical, and proceed to talk and talk about the electrical system and what could be done and what was done even if the entire system is fine. There's nothing wrong with being knowledgeable and knowing what you're talking about, but when it cuts into the rest of the inspection or if it's not relevant recommendations, it can scare a home buyer to shreds and lead to panic for no other reason than bragging about what they used to do for a living twenty years ago. Leave the ego at the door and do what you're paid for. Having a home inspection is a crucial part of buying or selling a home. Pick one you feel comfortable with and have a good feeling about. When on the phone with them, ask lots of questions!
Loan Officers: are often times a Realtors worst nightmare. Some may tell a potential home buyer anything they want to hear in order to get the loan. "Ah, you're great! Go find the home of your dreams!" When they haven't done a thorough enough examination of the person's finances or credit. It usually comes to light toward the end of the contract near closing when the loan officer says, "oops." They knew there was a problem earlier but ego wouldn't dare allow them to cowl down and confess they made an error. They cross their fingers and hope for a last minute miracle. When you're shopping around out there in the world of mortgages, please be careful. Make sure they've looked at all of your information properly and know every bit of your finances before giving you the enthusiastic green light. I work with the best of the best so it's easy for me to be happy with loan officers I work with and trust what they tell me. It took years of trial and error for me to find these industry geniuses. Many buyers don't know the difference and make mistakes when choosing one. Use your Realtor's recommendation as they have built a trusting business relationship with those they work with and continue to shop around on your own. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
posted by Cleveland Real Estate at
5/20/2008
2 Comments:
Definitely, as a buyer as well as a seller it HURTS.
Sound and Sage advise. Our ego's and concept of what is best for the client should be left at home.
David Pylyp
Toronto
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