Killing Me Softly With His Song
By Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel
Strumming my pain with his fingers,
Singing my life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly with his song,
Telling my whole life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song.
What's That You Say?
Professionals who work in any field for any amount of time often come up with acronyms and words for things that mean little to the general public. Think about real estate for a moment. Nearly every day I go into the MLS to do a CMA on a property and check on the POA/COA docs. Then I might write up a contract and get an EMD so we can get it into escrow so we don't get a complaint filed at DPOR. If I were to say this to a random person on the street they might look at me like I was speaking gibberish.
We can avoid this confusion by explaining the acronyms or using common language. However sometimes even this can get us into trouble. Sometimes we need to use alternative words to avoid confusion or fear in our clients. Part of this is sales, but part of it is psychology to help our clients better understand what is going on, avoding charged works that lead to fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
Vinny, I Got Somethin' For Ya
A while back I had a buyer who was applying for a loan on a purchase of a property. Due to several circumstances the loan this buyer was going to need was going to have to be a non-conforming conventional loan, also known as a portfolio loan, or a private investor loan. To a real estate agent or lender those phrases don't cause concern for us, but to a generic buyer they might bring up strange images that are no where near what is going on.
When the loan officer called my client to tell them the news the loan officer said something like this, "Mr. Buyer, I've been working on your loan and due to this, that, and the other thing I'm going to have to look at changing your loan to a different product. We were originally going for this typical conforming loan program but now we are going to have to look at a private investor loan to get this deal done. Closing costs will be the same but the interest rate may be a little higher, I need to check on this." I almost fell over; not because I didn't understand what was going on, but because of the words this loan officer was using with my first time home buyer who was stretching to get into a home of their own.
I could see the wheels in my client's head turning and envisioning the private investor's "representative," Guido, visiting my client every month with baseball bat in hand to collect his monthly "donation" so they could keep the house, and wanting the payment in cash for, "convenience." A private investor might have to loan me the money to buy this property? Thanks but no thanks started to coarse through their head.
After the Mob Hit
A few minutes later I got a call from my client. They didn't want to go through with the deal, they didn't want to work with me any more, they wanted to put their entire search on hold. I asked what was happening, they explained that the loan was not going to work out and they needed to take a breather. Having heard the previous conversation from the loan officer's side I was able to calm their fears explaining that the lender was really saying the loan they were looking at was likely going to need to be a portfolio loan that stayed with a bank and how that worked. Also, since it would likely be a portfolio loan that their loan would likely not be sold either (back at the beginning of working together they had told me they didn't want their loan sold and were afraid of that).
With the words the loan officer used not only did they nearly kill the deal with his words (which eventually died for other reasons) but they nearly cost me a client. Since I understood the loan process, the issues at hand, and was privy to the other side of the conversation I was able to address the challenges and change the words used to still communicate what was going on in a softer and more easily understood and less charged manner. After I explained this to my buyer they were willing to continue to work with me but wanted to change loan officers at a different company. I gave them another referral and they started working with that new loan officer.
As a 
I work to be one step ahead of my clients and help them understand what to expect while explaining complex terms and processes in easier to understand concepts. If you are looking for homes in Richmond Virginia, homes in Glen Allen Virginia, or homes in Mechanicsville Virginia and all points in between I can help. Check out 
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