When I became an agent and was selling my first house, my mentor John Vantress told me, “In every transaction at some point someone freaks out.” People are liable to experience acute anxiety, and some are better emotionally equipped to handle it than others. Lots of Realtors consider themselves part time therapists. Sometimes we even play the role of life coach as we assist in their life transitions. Whatever our clients need, we try to be there for them.
We must be present and available because the process can be stressful, especially for buyers. Consider buyers who have fallen in love with a house and they’ve got to have it . They bid $100,000 over the asking price and still don’t get it. It can be crushing! That’s why we try to temper the expectations of our clients, to blunt the trauma of missing out on ‘The One’. When I show houses to buyers, I like to remind them that, “There will always be another house coming on the market.” While this is true, these days when the next one comes it’s often at a higher price. This really creates a lot of pressure on the buyers because of the possibility of getting ‘priced out of the market’.
To remove pressure from the selling side, I like to emphasize throughout the transaction what a fortunate position the sellers are in if they end up making money. I often work with trustees who inherit homes, some of whom have never lived in the homes. These financial windfalls are tremendous blessings and gifts to bestow upon loved ones!
Divorce sales can be particularly challenging. The number one rule in such sales is to never let buyers know the real reason for the sale. The end of a relationship and dissolving of assets is not a material defect to the house, but it can affect the resale value if people find out. I remember one home I helped a client purchase where the other agent told me the sellers were going through a divorce. When I let my buyers know, they decided to come in with a low offer. When the seller’s countered them, we countered back closer to our original offer, and the sellers accepted. We knew the sellers needed out, the property had been on the market for a while, and they didn’t have any other offers. Whenever a buyer’s agent asks me why the sellers are moving in a divorce sale I tell them, “They’ve decided it’s time to move.”
Sometimes the relocation process can take a long time. I worked on one divorce sale where the spouse stayed in the house an additional two years. It took legal action to get the spouse out. It’s tough because you feel for the one party who is being forced to leave, but you also feel for the other party who needs to get on with their life. Reality can bite and it will leave a mark. I think a little bit of empathy in these situations can go a long way. It helps you bridge the gap between the spouses and get them to agree on moving forward. No, I wasn’t a psych major in college, but I do play one in real estate.