Don't Give in to the Urge to be Negative

   I am sure that all of you are counseling your clients, both Buyers and Sellers, that real estate can be a frustrating and sometimes an extremely emotional experience.  When your clients are buying or selling property, it’s often the largest single investment they’re ever going to make.  There are times when your Buyers may experience a very real phenomenon known as Buyer’s remorse, and there are occasions when your Sellers really don’t want to sell their property, but are forced to do so because of financial, family or health reasons.

   The more in tune real estate agents are with our client’s needs - the better we can assist them through whatever difficult times they may encounter during the transaction. There will be times when something may arise during the transaction that causes our clients to want to cancel the transaction. We should do everything in our power to help the client work through their difficulty, and proceed on to closing whenever possible. If closing is not possible, remember – legally, your fiduciary duty to your client’s best interests must be your top priority – not your commission.

Something that I’ve seen over and over in this business is that when Buyer and Seller clients let personalities get in the way of what’s important to them, i.e. buying and selling, it is easy for their respective Agents to also let their own emotions get out of control.  The worst thing an Agent can do in this situation is to side with the client and agree that the other side is being “unreasonable, greedy, unethical, etc., etc., etc”.  This strategy will almost always backfire in one way or another. 

   As professionals, we earn our keep by keeping a balance in the transaction and always trying to smooth out the rough spots – not contribute to their escalation.  Sometimes a “let’s look at it from the other side’s standpoint for a minute” might help to calm the situation down and allow the client to concentrate on the aspects of the transaction that are really important. Resist the urge to be negative. Negativity will only make everyone look bad – including you.

   If there’s a problem with a transaction, and the resolution of the client’s situation is beyond our control, we should instruct the client to send a Cancellation Request to the Escrow Company.  This request needs to state in detail the reason(s) prompting the cancellation and stating how the client desires disposition of the Earnest Money Deposit. Upon receipt of the Cancellation Request from the client, the Escrow Company will initiate and forward to all parties (Buyer and Seller and their respective Brokers) formal Escrow Cancellation Instructions to be signed and returned by all parties.  This process, from start to finish, takes time and may, in fact, give the canceling party time to re-think their position and decide not to cancel the transaction after all.

   If the client in a transaction to be cancelled is your Seller, you will most likely immediately reinstate the listing as ‘Active’ in the MLS. You should also add a remark that any new transaction will be “subject to cancellation of the existing escrow”. Until a transaction is officially closed, it’s in the best interest of your Seller clients to continue to actively market all listings in Escrow for back-up offers. If anything happens to the existing escrow, you’ll be the hero to your clients when you have several back-up offers ready to step in to any transaction that cancels. You’re showing that you’re prepared for any contingency, and representing their interests, not just your paycheck.

    There will always be new challenges in the real estate business because you’re dealing with human beings in a stressful situation. If you can assist them through this difficult transaction without resorting to negativity, you’ll earn their trust and loyalty, and, hopefully, they’ll be your clients for life - and that’s the way to have a real estate career that lasts.

I hope you’ve found this information helpful! Until next time – Take Good Care!

Jay J. Spadinger, REALTOR, BIC, ABR
Hawaii State Educator
Rainbow Properties
Akahi Real Estate Network, LLC
www.rainbowproperties.com
www.jayhawaii.com