What?  Did I say, "Thankfully, buyers and sellers can be difficult?" 

Bet you thought, "Why should I be thankful for that ! ? ! ?"

Well, let's look at this from a distance for a moment.  If all buyers and sellers were smart, resourceful, educated, logical and cooperative.... why would they need a real estate agent to sell their house?  Or if they did need one, would the agent be as valuable and, in turn, compensated the same?

Okay, let's consider that even if the buyer and seller are all of the above, they may still need consulting about market trends, neighborhoods, contracts, negotiations, staging, etc... MAYBE... Or MAYBE NOT.  And that is why we should be thankful.

You see, in all our efforts in my business ventures, we see the difficult folks as the people that ultimately create the real value for our services and efforts.

I bring this up because I see many posts on AR discussing in dismay or disgust the challenges that buyers and seller create.  What???  Does it create more effort for you to resolve?  Sure.  But this is that golden, wonderful opportunity to bring value to the table... and bringing value is why we all ultimately get paid.

Do difficult folks sometimes makes deals come apart or fail?  Sure!  But if you know when to cut loose from a deal, you can limit your loss.  More importantly, it is these bad behaviors (and real-life horror stories) that lead the smart folks to you and your council.

You see, it is not the time we get paid for, it is the value we bring to that time.  And if this were all as easy as we want our clients to see it is, then what would be our value?  It might be some value, but not what it is when we help folks navigate difficult waters. 

Sometimes we all get smart, informed clients that are easy to work with and that is great.  But it is the challenging situations that allow us to show we are true professionals that can address the tough problems and really bring value to the table to benefit all.  

Do you agree?  Do not disagree?  You can tell me I'm wrong.  Really.