My team does about 100-120 transactions every year, and most of the time we can make a very smooth transaction for the party whom we are representing. Whether we are negotiating the purchase price, an inspection objection, the title, or some appraisal issues, we always come from the perspective of trying to make it into a win-win situation for both parties involved.
We live in a very winner-take-all society
Changing attitudes and morals have fostered an atmosphere of how we are going to beat the other guy, how we are going to win our point, and get the other person to submit or cave in. Nowhere is this more apparent than in today’s Real Estate Industry. As I said at the outset, when we run into this, we try to figure out a way through the impasse and make it into a win-win situation for the buyer and the seller. After many years in the real estate business, we have become very adept at coming up with lots of alternative resolutions, ideas, and ways to structure a deal. For the most part, we can navigate any scenario for the party whom we are representing.
Every once in a while, we run into a situation where one party is so obstinate, pushy, stubborn, and just flat out mean that we can’t broker a deal or get past the obstacle. I had one of those last month. I was representing the seller who was a good friend of mine. His family is so nice, so sweet, and so accommodating. They are a dream client for any real estate agent to represent. The buyer was represented by another agent and was everything I described at the beginning of this paragraph. We tried several times to make it feel like a win-win deal for both the buyer and seller during the inspection objection, but ultimately the buyer decided that it was either “his way or the highway.” The deal fell apart and both parties ended up losing in the end. The seller put the home back on the market while the buyer got back into his agent’s car to start the process all over again. The seller was extremely accommodating, but the buyer was not! He wanted to win at all costs, even if it meant losing the house. He said that it wasn’t about the money, which always sends up a big red flag for me. The minute someone starts a conversation saying that it’s not about the money, you better believe it’s ALL about the money. In the end, the buyer believed that he had the seller over a barrel and wanted to take advantage of him. The seller called his bluff.
I really don’t understand this win-at-all-costs mentality, flexing your muscle and showing everyone how tough you are. I hate that part of our business. I ask you, in 2014, is there no possibility of civility, kindness, and compromise anymore?
Dan Polimino is a Broker/Owner with the Colorado Dream House Team, Keller Williams Realty DTC. Contact Dan at 303-522-1161, dan@coloradodreamhouse.com
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