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Winning the Cat Box Wars is Like Closing a Difficult Short Sale
Getting my cats to switch over to the Breeze litter box system is sort of like getting a short sale — with all of its moving and opposing parts — to close escrow. It becomes a matter sometimes of who will be last person standing at the OK Corral — who has the most staying power. Who will emerge the victor — will it be the 3 cats who have always used litter and are not exactly known for changing their preferences? Or, will it be me, the caretaker, who has to put up with a few extremely stinky cat boxes?
The way the Breeze switchover works is you have to stop cleaning the cats’ existing litter boxes and wait for your cats’ cleanliness instincts to kick in. The idea is when they no longer have a clean cat box, they will embrace the Breeze litter box. When that happens, you can remove the stinky old cat box and they should continue to use the new Breeze litter box. So, who has the most stamina? Me or the cats?
I understand stamina and perseverance. I am a real estate agent in Sacramento with extensive experience in closing short sales. Further, I have sold more than $65 million in short sales, according to the January 2014 Trendgraphix report, which is more than other real estate agent over a 7-county area. When I say that not every short sale is a slam dunk, thank you, ma’am, you better believe it.
A short sale is closing next week that had been denied 3 or 4 times — I can’t recall. I’ve been working on it for more than a year. The buyer has been waiting all of this time, very patiently. When the nearly impossible happened and we received the short sale approval letter from the first lender, we still had a battle to settle with the second, which involved more negotiation with the first lender. In the end, both lenders finally agreed to close. Each gave a little bit to make it work.
But bottom line, the agents and the buyers and the sellers all clung to the hope it would close. We didn’t lie down in the street and moan: Oh, shoot me now and put me out of my misery. And that’s why I think I will win the cat box wars. Plus, I found evidence of usage this morning, which is cause to celebrate. Oh, how a little poop excites a weary warrior!
Rain in Sacramento and Short Sale Woe
An unusual thing is happening in Sacramento today. It is raining. There is a Delta breeze in the morning, which is usually reserved for late afternoons and early evenings. The temperature is 65 degrees at 9 AM; it’s cold. I kind of like it. It’s a bit like short sale woe.
I miss the romanticism of thunderstorms and afternoon summer rain. We don’t get that kind of weather in Sacramento; it’s not like the Midwest. There is always some tradeoff in life. If you want to live in Sacramento where it’s sunny all of the time, well, you put up with the fact that it just doesn’t rain often in the summer.
Some things you just accept because there isn’t much you can do about it. Like starting a short sale over. Yes, that kind of short sale woe. I know agents who will throw in the towel when the short sale lender says no. But I don’t give up. Because I know that the no answer means I most likely need to repackage the short sale in the manner that will cause the lender to say yes.
I’ve had my share of temporary declines, but a rejection doesn’t mean no short sale; it’s not short sale woe for me. It is very, very rare for this Sacramento real estate agent to completely lose a short sale because a bank would not grant approval — I can count on one hand the number of times it has happened. Most of the time, a short sale is lost not due to bank rejection but because the seller gives up. The seller just can’t go on. I understand that sentiment, too. I would never try to force a seller to continue in a short sale when the seller has run out of steam. But if you want to get to closing, I’m your agent.
I plan to enjoy the rain today. Even though it makes my hair frizz. Maybe, if I’m really lucky, I’ll spot a rainbow!
