The Devil's In The Details! Or, What I Learned At Parris Island

As the helicopter mother of one son I planned his graduation in detail...the young men in crisp school blazers, dappled sunlight under the towering oaks of the lawn,  the muted voices of the families as they waited for the ceremonies to begin. Alas, this was not to be. Number one son decided he wanted to experience public school and the subsequent graduation looked and sounded nothing like I had anticipated. After one year of university number one son decided he didn't know what he wanted from life and promptly joined the U.S. Marine Corp. Weeks later as I sat on the cold hard bleachers of the parade ground at Parris Island, S.C., anxiously scanning the rows of impeccably groomed young men for our number one son...it hit me.  This was a graduation, I was sitting in the sun with the families of other Parris Island recruits. There was music, uniforms, speeches.....this was what I had planned!  And the lesson here?  Be careful what you pray for and be VERY, VERY, specific!  What does this little story have to do with real estate, you ask?  Everything, I answer.  We connect with our buyer/seller, the most wonderful home is found, the offer is made and accepted, the inspections are done and the closing is scheduled. Happy people leave the closing with checks and keys in hand, ready to move on to the next chapter of their lives. Then reality hits. The stainless steel refrigerator is not in the house, nor is the lovely mirror which was in the powder room...and the dining room light fixture is definitely NOT the one they vividly remember! Oh, the specifics of writing offers and counseling our clients. There are blank spaces in the offer to purchase papers for a reason.  Ask for the refrigerator (at no additional value) in writing; if you represent the seller and they plan to replace the light fixture or remove a valued mirror put it in writing and have all parties agree/acknowledge the change. Do not assume the sellers will patch the holes left in the walls from the removal of pictures and plates. Do the carpets need to be stretched? Then ASK for that in writing and inspect it before the closing.  Be tediously specific! We get what we expect when we inspect what we get. As I post this offering, number one son is somewhere in Afghanistan and you can be assured that my prayers are VERY, VERY specific and that he will be carefully inspected when he returns.