Can you think of a business where each transaction is like a new play being performed by a new cast of characters with only the most basic facts known to all? What is known? The asking price and the location of the subject property. There is no playwright and no director. Some of the actors barely know each other and a few of the actors barely know their roles. With nobody knowing the outcome this play is a mystery.

The Cast

The main protagonists are the seller and the buyer. They have not much of a speaking role but leave most of that to their respective handlers. Some of these handlers are known to seek center stage while others would rather hide in the wings. Some have their own script and stick to it, others wing it. Their names can be confusing to the audience and to those whom they promise to represent. The selling agent sells nothing at all but assists the buyer. The listing agent enters the stage usually on a high horse. (“This one won’t last,” is her famous line.)

The Overture

The opening act, called the offer, usually sets the tone. It can be ignored by the receiving party. This means curtains. Everybody goes home and looks to perform in a more promising play.  If there is a response, called the counter offer, the buyer can counter again. The handlers calculate, consult, and sometimes cajole. Act one comes to an end if the two parties agree. If this were an opera we just finished the overture. Now the stage is set and the real play begins.

The Stage Is Set

New characters join the action. Some of them have been cast for the play by one or the other agent. The title officer has already played a minor role off-stage. A good title officer is like a referee in a football game. If he does his routine well and doesn’t feel the need to be noticed he’s doing a good job. Seeking attention and having the tendency to dramatize is another actor's trait. He’s called the inspector. His lines can bring the play to a sudden end. Sometimes he introduces actors with minor roles who make the most of them. Mold and other pests do add to the drama.

If the inspection act ends with both parties’ honor still intact, the play continues. In the meantime, papers have been exchanged by the parties with language not everybody always understood. This is a play with the script being written ad hoc. Original script and alterations are being kept. That’s a good thing. Reproduced in facsimile fashion, the re-writes can become unintelligible. Some of the actors can’t read their own lines.

Some players have bit parts on stage but when they appear they get attention. Such is the role of the appraiser. He usually has had more education for his role than all the other actors combined. He too, can bring the play to an untimely end.

The Final Act

The desired end of the play was written into the original offer. The cast member to bring the play to a rousing finale is the escrow officer. The final act takes place on her turf. The seller and buyer sign “docs.” Funds are being transferred, deeds recorded. The roles of the main protagonists – the buyer and the seller - have come to an end. The other actors are looking for another play on another stage. They join with a new cast of characters in a play without a script and an uncertain outcome.    

© 2006, Gerhard N. Ade