Email Elizabethoptimism
Good News is Often on the Tail End of Bad News
White blonde hair is not the same thing as silver hair
There is really no such thing as horribly bad news in the life of a Sacramento Realtor. Although, I could point to the 7 hours I spent at a Land Park hair salon yesterday, trying to process my hair into silver, and it’s still only a white blonde. At one point my hairdresser was ready to boot me out the door with golden blonde locks but instead I canceled my manicure and pedicure next door on Riverside to try one more go around. I made an appointment for silver hair, not golden blonde.
The worst thing is I’ll show up to claim our VIP tickets at the Basilica of Saint Mary’s Block Party this Saturday in Minneapolis with white blonde hair. Probably go visit my brother who is dying from lung cancer and not talking to anybody until now. Eventually, I’ll return to my hairdresser and give it another go for silver. Or, Mother Nature will do it for me in enough time.
Then I received an offer for a troublesome property that the agent did not show and could not verify if the buyer can even qualify. Plus, another sale blew up because the buyers freaked out and, since I am not their buyer’s agent, I can’t try to calm those irrational fears. It’s their ultimate loss.
When a sale blows up, I try to break the news to the sellers as gently as possible, especially if we are not able to talk by phone about it. The last thing a seller needs to see in her email is the subject line that the buyer canceled. The cancellation of a purchase contract can be jarring and disturbing news, delivered unexpectedly. I approach it along the lines of the cat is the roof and can’t come down. Like yesterday I emailed the seller that the Buyer Has Problems. Because they do. Their problem is they aren’t closing because it never occurred to them that buying a 100-year home could present a few a minor issues.
Bad news for them. Good news on the tail end of bad news for some other lucky buyers, though.
The other good news is I am relisting another home that the seller canceled last year and now wants to sell again. She was very apologetic for doubting certain aspects of this transaction; I understand confusion like that and tend to forgive. It’s a nice home in a good community, and should not present any unusual difficulties to sell. All of this just goes to show that when a door closes, a couple more open up. There is no good reason to let any bad news in Sacramento real estate create a negative or adverse situation.
Sacramento Real Estate is Not About Crossing Bridges Twice
A client emailed to say he admires my optimism. As a Sacramento real estate agent, I am pretty much required to be optimistic because if I let every little thing get to me, I’d be a mad woman. Without optimism, I’d be crouching in a corner, knuckles dragging the ground, frizzy hair in my face, licking the asbestos and giggling to myself.
Not only am I an optimist, but I am a problem solver and am paid to anticipate problems before the happen. If a problem slips past me and blows up into a full-blown “situation,” I am responsible for deflating it, managing expectations and resolving issues. Happy endings, that’s what I strive for.
I want my real estate clients to be happy when we go into escrow, during escrow and when escrow closes. I want no doubt in their minds that I did my job to the fullest of my abilities, and that I performed a good, no . . . a GREAT job.
Selling a house is stressful for sellers. First, they worry nobody will buy it. Then they worry buyers won’t pay enough. After that, it’s whether the buyers will really qualify for their loan or if the lender will find some reason to deny it, whether the home will appraise at value, if the buyer’s home inspection will reveal some ugly truth that requires resolution or renegotiation. There are a million things to worry about. Or not.
When clients ask me what can go wrong, thinking they can prepare themselves, my answer is there is no reason to cross a bridge a twice. Especially when one may never cross that bridge at all. There is no reason to bring heartbreak or anxiety into a transaction if it doesn’t belong there.
