I recently blogged about a nice buyer I was working with. She's "older" and is moving
here from a nearby state to be close to her grown son. She was in town this past weekend and ready to go find her new home.
This would be our second time out looking for houses.
The first go around was typical. We looked at right around 10 homes that day. We saw some nice homes, some duds and one that she really liked. The one she liked was a bit out of her price range, but we thought we might take a stab at it to see if we could get her the house. We made a cash offer that was a bit low, but not unreasonable. We asked for NO closing costs and only the refrigerator. Not a bad offer.
Unfortunately, the sellers were not in a negotiating mood. Their counter offer was only $500 off the original asking price. Ouch! When that happens you know you have sellers who either have time on their hands or who believe that their home is worth precisely what they are asking or who do not understand today's market. You kind of scratch your head a bit over that kind of deal, but you also have to remember that our housing market is tied for the 6th strongest market in the nation. Some of our sellers are willing to hold out for their price, while others are willing to negotiate.
Click here to read about the Tulsa area housing market.
Since we couldn't get the first house she liked, we headed out again. This time we were determined to find the right place at the right price!
After looking at several homes, we headed back to the neighborhood where the first house was. There was another one in the same neighborhood that was vacant that she wanted to see. The price was closer to what we had to work with also.
When we pulled up I thought, "Uh oh. It has maroon colored gutters." Someone had painted them a color that matched the landscaping and color scheme of the house, but still...they were maroon! She didn't say anything though, so maybe she didn't see them.
When we walked in the door we did the things you do. We checked out the bedrooms, looked at the master closet (very important!), walked the kitchen, checked out the backyard and gave it a good going over. I love working with this particular lady because in each house she would go around placing her furniture in her mind and seeing if it would fit and imagining what it might look like. I learned quickly to give her her space and to stay out of the way so she could process the home.
So we looked the home over, she mentally placed her furniture in the rooms, we commented about the beautiful wood floors and some of the other features. "Okay," I'm thinking..."let's go."
But we didn't go. We stayed. And we stayed and we stayed.
Now I've seen this happen before. It's what I call the "Magic" of home buying. It's when your buyer falls in love with the house and transitions from looking to buying. She told me later that when she walked in the door, "it felt like home." YES! I love it when that happens because helping someone find a home that they love is really what selling real estate is all about. There are other aspects, but when the love happens, it is so much fun to watch and be a part of!
This is when I feel like I've done a good job in the home search.
This is also the difference between just selling real estate and thriving in real estate.
This also sets up a great future. When I call to check in on how the house is and how she's doing 6 months from now, I will have the picture of her falling in love with the home as the context for that conversation. That's fun!
There is a happy ending to this story. We went back to the office, made the offer, delivered the offer, got a quick counter and got into contract within about two hours! We have a closing date that fits nicely with her time frame and already had inspections yesterday.
The application here is something that surprised me when I first went into real estate. I thought this business was just about driving people around to find houses. But it really isn't. It's really about the process and, of course, the emotions of finding a home. My job is to research and present potential properties that fit the criteria and then to listen and watch as we open each door. My job is NOT to push a client into a house as quickly as possible in order to earn a paycheck. The difference between these two approaches is not only the fulfillment and satisfaction you get, but also the long term relationship you will develop when you care. The paycheck is just a way to pay the bills!
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