CHECK YOUR EMOTIONS AT THE DOOR - PLEASE

One thing that always rings true is that "You can't take it with you."

Try telling that to someone who's going to sell a house they lived in for twenty years and haven't upgraded anything. Still, family memories and precious moments that occurred in the home make it priceless to the seller. It's not that they think they're taking the building with them when they die, but they feel that they will never have any good memories if they move away. As Realtors, we have the difficult task of explaining and convincing sellers, that the memories are theirs and their family's to keep no matter where they go and that they should look forward to making new memories.

The bad part about all this is that the buyer doesn't really care and that can become a real problem during negotiations. Reality can be tough for the seller and if not presented in a tactful and sympathetic manner, you can rest assured that the first offer presented will be your last chance to even try to negotiate the deal.

Being on the agent on the seller side of this scenario is difficult, but from the buyer agent side these challenges are just as real and difficult when presenting an offer that may be below asking but in line with market values. The seller is in an emotional state, while the buyer just sees dollars and cents, is totally detached and borderline insulting (by the seller's expectation).

It's the duty of the seller's agent to obtain the highest price for the client and to make the process as seamless as possible; but in these cases, the agent is aware that the owner is not in line with the market. When this type of scenario presents itself, it would be in the best interest of the buyers agent to initially present a streamlined market analysis to the buyer in order to compile a proper offer and present that offer with the local analysis to the seller's agent. This will serve to: 1) Justify the offer at hand and 2) assist the sellers agent in making sense of the offer, with a minimal amount of insult to them.

It's important to see the deal from both sides of the table. 

• Motivation (for both buyer and seller) can be anything from moving closer to the kids, downsizing, divorce, retiring out of state, etc. This conversation will give you guidance on how aggressive your buyer can or cannot be. Again, there are always some emotional ties on the seller's side. 

• Length of ownership will tell you just how attached the seller is to the property. A long residency means that they raised their family in the house, celebrated holidays, etc. The longer the stay, the more sympathetic and gentle an approach should be considered when working with the seller (and don't forget to have the buyer's agent provide a CMA with the offer).

Be realistic and treat each other as you would want to be treated. Eventually the deal will happen and everyone wins.

Let's Plant a Tree

Inspiration is found in many forms. It could be a work of art, a successful person you look up to, or even a notable quote. I heard a quote that really made sense to me and felt a need to share.

"The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best  time is NOW"

Looking back at 40 plus years of my adult life and thinking of all the opportunities that have past me by all because I hesitated to "plant a tree" when the time was right, because of fear of the unknown results. In other words, my hesitation cost me opportunities to better myself.

We live in an ever changing world and if you take a look back about 10 years (or even 20), you'll see what I mean. We live in a country that has opportunities all around us, but sometimes we miss the forest looking for the trees. We keep looking for the get rich quick plan, which doesn't really exist. The get rich at a reasonable and projected growth plan does exist, that's why, had you planted your tree 20 years ago and nurtured it properly with good morals, hard work and diligence, it would already be providing an abundance of fruit.

Opportunity is always around, to say the least! Another saying saying is "One Man's Poison is Another Man's Bread". When we were attacked on 9-11 the stock market dropped to an all time low out of fear and confusion. Within a few days, investors were out planting trees in security, airline stocks and more. Needless to say, the smart money that was planted seventeen years ago, has produced quite a bit of fruit for investors today.

The Real Estate Market left some deep scars from 2008. A lot of people lost their homes and fortunes because of banks and lending institutions, over extending loans to people who couldn't repay them. Investors who were able to stay fluid with cash, came out the winners, buying pre-foreclosures, Short sales and Bank Owned Properties, better know as REO's . Unlike the stock market of 9-11, the short sale and REO markets are still offering discounted properties from people who either walked out and dropped off the keys to those who were evicted by the foreclosure process.

We are currently in a real estate market where inventory is low and interest rates are starting to creep upwards. The biggest problem for home buyers is the ability to qualify under the new bank lending rules. Not good for a lot of home buyers that had credit issues from past and current debits (the Poison), but great for real estate investors and Private buyers (who maintained some cash and good credit) who are looking for rental properties to add to their portfolio.

Today, the rental market (the Bread) is still flush with renters and in need of fresh inventory to satisfy the amount of tenants still reeling from the housing downturn, hurricane Sandy and other misfortunes, looking for a good home to start getting their lives back on track.

So, if you see the opportunity to "Plant a Tree" in the real estate market, down the road the tree may just be able to provide some tasty fruit (maybe sooner than 20 years).

Leave a comment or send me an email, I'd love to hear your thoughts. - Dom.