Love 'N Real Estate
You may be asking yourself, what has love got to do with Real Estate. Sure, people ‘love’ houses, so to speak. Especially when it’s their home. Well, technically it’s the Bank’s home and they’re simply renting it from the Bank. But that’s an entirely different story.
Anyway, when it comes to loving a home, it’s not exactly in the literal sense. Although that euphoric feeling of purchasing, as well as moving in to your new pad, certainly resembles the warm ‘n fuzzies of a fantabulous personal relationship.
On my walk this morning I was struck by all the ways the two situations are so closely intertwined. Being a former R.E. Agent, I can’t help but notice when a home in the ‘hood comes on the market. Almost as soon as that For Sale sign is planted, I’m online checking out the listing.
I always like to stay up to date with what’s trending. No, not like Kim and Kloe Kartrashian kinda trending. Like R.E. market kind of trending.
And as time passes, I’ll continue to keep a casual eye peeled for the outcome. One such house was a bit of an oddity. It’s only 10 years old, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, great condition. All the ingredients of a home that would only remain on the market a short time before it sold.
Yet, that wasn’t the case for this home. It languished on the market for at least a year and a half. Far too long for a home of this caliber.
Unfortunately, as often happens, even though the market has been getting stronger, this home happened to be priced much too high right from the start. There are usually two reasons for this. Either the seller purchased the home at a ‘high’ in the market and refused to take the ‘hit’. Right off the bat, anyway.
Or else the Listing Agent has filled the sellers head with dreams of a super high selling price or other 'extras', simply to get the listing. Either way, quite often what ends up happening is the listing price goes down as each listing ends and as each previous Agent is replaced by a new and improved (tongue firmly planted in cheek) Agent.
Of course, the seller refuses to lower the price while the original Agent has it listed, despite the best of suggestions. But eventually they will drop the price once the listing ends and reality sets in a bit more.
I say all this because as I walked by the house this morning, low and behold, what was in the driveway but a giant U-Haul truck. Yep, the new owners, smiling ear to ear, were moving in. The “SOLD” sign had gone up about a month ago. And of course, the selling price wasn’t anything near the same as the original listing price.
That's no big surprise, happens all the time. But what that says to me is that the seller was ready to sell at the exact same time the buyer was ready to buy. Prior to that, it wasn’t going to happen. The seller either wasn’t ready or the buyer simply didn’t exist. At least not is the sellers world, anyway.
However, through whatever circumstances, the timing was finally right, an agreement was reached, everything came together as it should and the deal was consummated. The buyer couldn't have cared less how long that home sat on the market.
All that mattered to him was that the home was for sale at the same time he was prepared to buy a home. That home. And judging by the looks on the faces of all the people around the U-Haul truck, spirits were high.
And this reminded me of the path most personal relationships take. You can want to be with a particular someone all you want, but if they have no desire to be your better half, then it simply isn’t going to happen.
If they, for whatever reason, aren’t in the market for a relationship, even if it's simply not with you, then you can wish, hope and dream all you want, but it’s still going to be a no go. Could be for a myriad of reasons, or something as simple as the timing just isn’t right. Regardless of what you’re ‘selling’, if the buyer isn’t even looking at what’s on the market, then no amount of ‘staging’ is gonna do the trick.
All the door knocking, fancy flyers and endless advertising isn’t going to have any effect whatsoever.
But does that mean you give up, drop your price or even worse, remove yourself from the market for good? Oh hell no. What it means is that you continue to improve, to make any necessary upgrades and improvements, all aimed at becoming a better you.
Because you never know what the future holds. Someday your better half may finally be in the market for some new ‘digs’. A change of address. A new view. And when that happens, you'll want to be on top of your game, lookin’ and feelin’ your best.
After all, you only get one chance to make a great first impression.
If you can relate to the relationship between love and real estate, I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts in the comment section below. And if you know of someone that might be able to relate to this post, I'd appreciate your sharing it with them.