Here’s an example of how timing can affect your real estate plans.
Today we’re talking about the timing of real estate because it’s not always fun. I had a client call me a few months ago. Things were not going so well with her dad down in Texas, so they were gearing up toward making a great big move. They had a number of belongings in different states: in Utah, in Texas, and around here. They were collecting what they had left behind at different times in their life and getting everything back into the same area. So they were making several trips out of state and trying to put everything together so that it was a smooth process.
Well, we got most of that worked out and put the house on the market. Within 24 hours we got an offer, a great offer, so my clients decided not to wait through the weekend. We let the people who had already seen it know that we were reviewing offers that evening, and there was a flurry: we ended up with six offers on day two—all well over our listing price of $700,000. By the time it was over, we ended up having offers up to $850,000, and we took one for just under that at $830,000.
So the very beginning was a scramble, and then we got to wait. Appraisers in the more rural areas are a little slower right now, so it took a while to find an appraiser who was willing to go into Stanwood and take a look at acreage. So we got a little behind because the lender was having a hard time finding someone to appraise the house, and then once that happened, there were still things that needed to be worked out on the loan. We ended up giving these buyers four extensions… four extensions after that initial hustle and hurry, then we got to sit and wait.
Now, a day or two is not so much of a big issue, but by the time we got to the third and fourth extension moving into two weeks, it started getting a little nerve-racking for the seller about whether this buyer was really able to perform. So along with our fourth extension, we gave some hardball news that said, “Hey, we need you to make sure that this is really going to happen, or you’re going to start losing some earnest money.” Those make for hard conversations. Real estate is in the middle of life, and while no one is looking to take anything unfairly from someone else, if there’s going to be a risk, if we’re going to leave our house off the market and not getting the exposure that it needs to do to get sold, then maybe there’s something we need in return for confidence and assurance that they’re really going to be able to finish the job.
“We want to be fair but also confident that this is really going to come together for everyone.”
That’s what we do as real estate experts: we help our clients look at the situation, look at the market, look at the people involved, and ask, “Okay, where is the risk, where is the benefit? What do we need in order to have assurance and do the right thing?” Because we’re all people trying to get to the same end result, we want to be fair but also confident that this is really going to come together for everyone.
Ultimately, the house did close. The seller got his money, the buyers got the keys to the house, and my sellers are in Texas and taking care of family, which is where they need to be. So the question is of timing, whether it’s “Do we sell right now?” or it’s, “Can my property in this market do what I need it to do for the next step?” That’s the conversation that we get to have. And when we’re in the thick of it, we get to make sure that our client’s needs, as they see them, are taken care of and protected.
So what time is it? It’s time for us to take care of you. Our motto is “Making lives better.” How can we make yours?
Have a beautiful day, stay blessed, stay healthy, and we look forward to talking with you soon when we can help you with your real estate needs.
