Over the years, I have experienced on numerous occasions, where "procrastinators" indecisiveness has led to an "unhappy conclusion" for all parties concerned. Below is a sampling of what can happen when potential buyers attempt to "micro-manage" the purchase of real estate.
Don't misunderstand the fact that "due diligence" is an important aspect when considering your final decision on whether to make an offer or pass. I will share two examples, the first of which, was a procrastinating buyer, whose "micro-managed" plans were abruptly altered because of his reluctance to "step up to the plate" in a timely fashion.
This customer (a couple) had looked at a well built custom home I have listed and was contemplating making an offer on the property. The property in question is a waterfront property which has a"restricted" level of access to the water. An adjoining lot is listed for sale which if purchased, would allow for full water access.
The home is a two story, open floor plan dwelling, built for casual living and decorated accordingly. A very attractive property and well appointed for entertaining or just a place to retreat for the weekend. My prospective buyers decided to investigate the purchase of the adjoining lot. They requested I ask the listing agent arrange to have the boundaries flagged of this adjoining vacant property so they would know what they were considering as available waterfront. Nothing wrong with this approach, however, circumstances can change and what appears to be heading for a conclusion........might blow up in your face.
The owner's of the adjacent vacant lot indicated to the listing agent they would not be able to have the corners flagged until February of this year when they came up for a visit. My buyer was patiently waiting on this delay before making a formal offer on the lake house I have listed.
I recently sent a follow up email to my potential buyer. He responded to my email by telephone. The conversation went as follows, he calmly described for me, in some detail, that a few days prior, his residence had been destroyed by a fire and he would have to put his plans to purchase the lake property on hold!
Anyone who has been associated with a catastrophic event such as this, knows that you are talking many month's before the insurance company follows through with their obligation. The process of rebuilding is laborious and you are looking well past a year before any real conclusion is visible on the horizon.
Where would my buyer be, had he made an offer on the lake home property and completed a purchase? There are a lot of "if's" here but his "procrastination", with this example, has probably "cost him" in any number of ways. The point here is, trying to "micro-manage" every aspect of a potential purchase of real estate, can often times be counterproductive in the long run.
My second example regarding procrastination.......involves an elderly client who owns a commercial property which has been vacant for approximately four years. During this time, a small roof leak developed. I mentioned to him he needed to have this attended to before something major happened. You guessed it! This two story office building now has a roof which has caved in and water-logged much of the sheet rock on the second floor ceilings and walls. A major clean up and restoration project will be necessary to refurbish this property. Meanwhile, I have had two prospective buyers want to view/inspect the property. The estimate for rebuilding the exterior roof will exceed 22K. Who knows how much the cost will be to redo the interior ceilings/walls and mold removal. Sadly, this is a classic case where procrastination results in a disastrous ending.
In the finality........with each case I have shared here, the buyer and the seller had no "time table" in place to complete their objective. Convincing a buyer or seller that setting a time table is a very important part of the process........can't be understated.
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