Let go and move on...

In these tough times it is sometimes very difficult to just let go and move on with life. Agents are pulling out all stops and trying everything that they can think of to save deals. I can't blame them for trying and sometimes the extra effort or new approach might actually turn up something that works. But, other times it amounts to beating a dead horse and it's time to let go and move on. Sometimes, no matter how many suggestions one can make about trying something different for financing or taking a different approach to dealing with an inspection issue; there just isn't any way to save the deal.

Sometimes agents get so involved that they start taking lost deals personally. It's not about them. It's all about the clients involved; and, no matter how hard the two agents work in the middle, if the two clients involved don't agree there is no deal. Now, I understand that sometimes clients need to be counseled and educated and even cajoled a bit to stop over analyzing everything and make a decision. Who hasn't hit that type of client? But the, "we've got to make this work," mentality that sometimes sets in between the agents in a deal can end up doing a disservice to one or both clients. It's the clients who need a win-win out of the deal, not the agents.

The frustrations of the current market have exacerbated the tendency on the part of some agents to view every deal as a "must win at any cost" game. Having to deal with short-sales in particular has increased the agents' "stake" in the game, since so much behind the scenes work is involved that most agents on both sides don't want to see that effort go unrewarded by a closing. It's that win at any cost mentality that can lead to agents taking shortcuts in the process or making marginal ethical decisions, sometimes on behalf of an unsuspecting client.

In these trying times it is all the more important to be able to step back and let things go when that is the best thing to do. Sure there are gong to be disappointed clients, on both sides of the failed deal; however, dealing with a disappointed client is much better than dealing with an angry client who feels that his/her agent led them astray or wasn't acting in their best interests. It's not about us. It's about the clients and meeting their needs. So, when you've given it your best effort but the deal is still going south, remember the words of that classic Beatles song and "Let it be, let it be."