I want to tell you about a phenomenal deal that almost fell apart at the 11th hour over eight hundred and fifty dollars.
Not $850 in the original price negotiation. Not $850 missing from a deposit. Eight hundred and fifty dollars to fix a minor item on a property the buyer had secured for thousands of dollars under what other listing agents believed the market would allow.
Other agents actually laughed when I said what we’d be willing to pay (more on that below).
We’d already secured that price and here we were, hours before subject removal, with it all nearly falling apart.
So How Did This Begin?
We’ll never disclose confidential information, so I’ve adjusted some details here, but the story’s valuable for anyone looking to buy a home in this market for a number of reasons.
Here’s how it began. We had toured a good number of comparable properties together, on the upper end of our price range, in fact, beyond range. The buyer wanted to be aggressive with the offer, as many do these days. So, we got to work.
I confidently called the listing agents, explaining, ‘look, we’re going to get one of these for this price. The inventory is high, and someone’s going to say ‘yes’. That’s going to become your new comparable and starting point for your next negotiation, I suggest you work with us.’
That’s when they started laughing at me. I just kept my cool and moved on until we found an agent that understood what I was saying and we negotiated a great deal.
We arrived at home inspection and the inspector turned up an issue, not unusual- that’s their job, I always introduce them as ‘bad news bears’. Inspections find things, the question is never whether something gets found, it’s how we respond to it. The sellers were unwilling to organize the fix themselves. Fair enough. It was an estate sale, the sellers didn’t live in the area, it’s a minor item. We can manage this a number of ways, likely a price adjustment- I had a plumber on the phone within minutes, who ripped over there and gave us an immediate quote.
This wasn’t really about plumbing though, it was about who got involved at this stage.
Who’s At The Table?
With hours left to handle this minor issue and remove subjects, someone entered the conversation who had been at a distance up until that point. Now, I do want to be as charitable as I can be, that person genuinely cared about the buyer’s outcome. What they lacked though was the context.
They didn’t have the understanding of just how under market value the property was secured for. They weren’t able to keep the issue in perspective as they hadn’t heard either the inspector or the plumber speak to it, and the way in which they did- very casually, even nonchalantly, because this is something they see every day.
Their entire perspective was, ‘this could be huge, walk away’ when everything pointed to a $850 fix.
Late in the process is not the time to discover that someone without context has a seat at the table. The people who show up at the 11th hour aren’t trying to cause problems- they’re trying to protect someone they care about; but real estate decisions made without context aren’t protective, they’re disruptive, and can potentially torpedo a transaction that we may not be able to get back to the table.
Often at this stage weeks, months, even years have gone into the process. The buyers know the backstory- what they’re getting, what they paid, and why it makes sense for them. The person coming in late only has the current moment and an unqualified opinion on a high-stakes decision with a ticking clock. That’s not a recipe for good advice, it’s a recipe for anxiety, especially for the buyer.
To be clear, I’m not saying don’t bring people you trust into your decision- what I’m saying is to bring them in early enough that they can be helpful. This is one of the reasons we ask before we even have our initial consultation if there is anyone else involved in the process. We want to meet them, to involve them, and to ensure they have the full context.
By the time you’re hours from removing subjects, there should be no new votes. Part of our job is managing the decision environment around our clients, not just the paperwork and the negotiation.
Whether it’s parents, adult kids, someone else providing a gift toward the downpayment… whoever it is, let’s involve them early and throughout the process.
It All Worked Out In The End
Thankfully a very candid conversation involving both the purchaser and their new confidant led to a reasonable solution, price adjustment and subject removal. The stress caused by this though was significant for the buyer and I really felt for them- it should never have overshadowed what was a win in a challenging season of life.
I honestly shared my opinion that we were losing the forest for the trees. We walked through the process again from beginning to end- how we’d arrived at the moment of this decision. By the end of that conversation he felt he could make a grounded decision instead of a reactive one.
What I Want You To Take From This
The $850 issue wasn’t nothing, I’m not that calloused, even after a decade in the business, but it was also the smallest number in the transaction by a wide margin. Items like that are going to come up in almost every transaction, especially now, when home inspections often lead to addendums papering exactly how deficiencies are going to be addressed.
There are also plenty of opportunities for outside voices to get involved, let’s involve them early and often.
There is a version of this story where the deal falls apart- where an unfamiliar concern, introduced without context and without time, wins, and the buyer walks away. They would have missed out on a great property, and more importantly, they would have missed the timeline for their move and would have had to move multiple times, including a rental. Seriously not ideal.
It didn’t happen here because we took the concern seriously, moved quickly, found a solution- and had a direct conversation about what was actually at stake. That’s what our client needed, not me just telling them what would make them most comfortable in the short term.
If you’re thinking about who you want representing you in a transaction, think about this: what happens on deadline day? Someone who waits to see if the problem resolves itself, or someone who picks up the phone, says the hard thing, and gives you a solution?
Ultimately, we want to fight for you to get the right outcome, whatever is in front of us. And if you’re buying, know that the subject removal deadline is when emotions run highest and context matters most- make sure the people in your corner at that moment have the full picture.
Now… I need a good camomile tea after recounting all that! Reach out if you’ve got any questions about how we can help you meet your real estate goals.
