Can You Jinx A Deal?
Silly question isn't it? Or is it?
You list a house. Nothing but excitement in getting the marketing going. Photos are taken just right and then dissected to see what ones will make the cut and the order in which they will show. Sign goes up on the front lawn with a big old smile and a wave to the neighbor passerby's. The just listed postcard is designed and published and mailed to the appropriate people. An ecard also designed with care and sent out. On line ads, videos and the like scrutinized and published. 
The marketing pays off and you get an offer in just days!! Now comes the dilemma. A respected and successful colleague encourages a pending post card. Great idea! Makes sense. Works like crazy for her. The double whammy. Nothing better. The for sale sign goes up and then the pending rider in a matter of days. It says to the public, "wow, they're good!". Great for business.
There is just one problem.
It is that little nagging voice in the left ear that says, there is a lot that has to happen before you can really call this pending. We have home inspections, purchase and sales agreements to sign and of course the mortgage contingency clause has to be met. In other words, we have a long way to go baby before getting to that table.
Can you jinx the transaction by doing this stuff before the deal is really sealed?
Superstitions are silly. But honestly, I can't help myself sometimes. If a black cat crosses my path, I have to turn around and start again. It seems pretty silly to do that but I can tell you that I have had bad things happen to me after crossing a cats path. So, why take the chance again?
I have had deals go south after a pending sign went up. Did the sign have anything to do with the demise of those deals? Of course not, but why push luck? Putting a sold sign up before getting a mortgage commitment? Are you just asking for trouble? A Jinx? Probably not, but what if? How does the general public perceive a pending turning back into a for sale?.
Superstition and professionalism don't go hand and hand, you might say. But wait, aren't there professional ball players that have to wear the same shirt or walk the same route before a game? Don't tell me they aren't good at what they do, because they are. I know for a fact too that there are very successful salespeople (and not real estate sales people either) that have to use the same pen when signing a contract. There are judges that use the same gavel. There are all kinds of pros that have a routine and stick to it.
And, let's be serious. I know of a lot of agents that have "planted" a Saint Joseph in the yard of a seller. In fact the Fatima Shrine right down the street seems to sell a bunch of those home selling saints! (and they are not selling them to me either!)
Okay, so maybe that's prayer not superstition.
But again I ask. Can you jinx a deal??
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Looking to sell your home? Superstitious or not. I will not rest until the deal is completely done!
508-494-9061 Cal@alandcal.com
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