Don’t let this situation sabotage a transaction

Key Takeaways

• Emotions run high, and confusion and doubts set in near the end of a real estate transaction.
• Listen and empathize with your client’s doubts and fears. Walk them through the steps of abandoning a transaction.
• It’s okay for a client to walk away from a deal if it’s in their best interest — but help them see the benefits of going forward with the deal, too.

I was working with a couple who were purchasing a short sale that took about nine months to process. The home was a great opportunity at far below market value. This couple had to jump through hoops to get through the short sale process, but they exercised extraordinary patience.

And then, at 10 P.M. the night before closing, the wife called and said her husband didn’t want to buy the property anymore. He wanted to give up their earnest money and walk away.

I got him on the phone, and together we talked it out. He had convinced himself that this short sale was a crazy idea and a bad decision. He doubted the value, condition, and location of the house. He didn’t care about the money he would lose. He just wanted to walk away.

I listened.

I empathized with his concerns.

I didn’t try to talk him out of walking away; I just wanted to hear his concerns.

Then I walked him through the process of walking away, if that’s what he was set on doing. I wanted him to know how that decision would impact him. I explained that the odds of finding a similar deal were slim, since the market had changed significantly in the last six months.

I told him a story about a client I had helped recently who was looking for a similar property. Over the course of an hour or more on the phone, I led him to see that this short sale was a fortunate opportunity, and he started to come around.

Because I took the time to talk with him supportively and explain his options, his sense of panic and buyer’s remorse subsided.

That deal would have blown up on many inexperienced agents. It’s okay to walk away, if it’s truly in the client’s best interest. In this case, I knew that if they closed on the house and decided they didn’t want it, we could turn around and sell it, and they wouldn’t lose money.

To this day, that couple thanks me for putting out that fire. Emotions almost got the better of them, and they’re glad that I took the time to help them.

How good are YOU at “putting out fires”?

Real estate agents fail to realize how important this skill is. They often focus on how many people they have in their sphere, how many leads they have in their pipeline, and the broker fees they’ll have to pay as the best means of assuring a good income for the year. In actuality, they need to make sure they are honing their firefighting skills.

Agents who are skilled firefighters bring in more money and need to work with fewer clients. The better they get at coming up with alternative options or workarounds, the more deals they will save. This has a huge impact on an agent’s annual income.