An old joke quotes the cabin announcement in a jetliner
“This flight is fully automated, and nothing can go wrong... go wrong... go wrong... go wrong...”
Any social gathering will have a time when the conversation turns to real estate. As quickly as it begins, more than one person will launch with “let me tell you what a goat rope my deal turned out to be!”
Who can say why real estate has such a reputation for testing the sanity of normally calm and rational people?
We think it’s because of the inherently emotional nature of buying and selling homes. A home is more than a commodity: it’s where we live, or will live. We experience our most intimate moments with others in our home. So small matters can become outlandish because we have so much invested in the much larger situation.
It is possible, for instance, to get wrapped around the axle over who will pay a particular closing cost, or repair item. Sure, on the one hand it is $300, enough for a very nice evening on the town for two. But from a different perspective, it’s a $500,000 property: what’s at stake is six one-hundredths of a percent of the price! Or for a seller due to receive $150,000 in proceeds, it’s two-tenths of a percent on way or the other.
Not to minimize matters when things do go wrong. A real estate transaction involves so many players and moving parts that it’s a surprise that more doesn’t go off the rails! The trick is managing trouble when it starts to appear, and better still, anticipating that something might lead to trouble and taking steps to prevent it.
For instance, you are a buyer and you want to give your landlord notice on the first of the upcoming month, two weeks from now, and close at the end of that month. That’s asking for closing in 45 days. And you have kids, dogs and an aquarium. You are asking for what may not be possible: what if the loan takes longer to approve (most do)? The answer is to come up with an alternative that will work for you. If you aren’t ready, can you move in with relatives, or take a hotel room? What about the dog? And the fish!
Or, you are a seller and you put another home under contract with a promise to close with your seller the day after you close with your buyer. This is asking for trouble if you seller might be inflexible. What’s your alternative game plan?
Or, you want to put your home on the market and not wait for the kitchen remodel to be finished. What’s your home going to look like for the next month – or two or three, if your contractor drops the ball? By the time it shows well, it will have been on the market for so long that buyers will be wondering what’s wrong with it.
In 40 combined years of many hundreds of real estate transactions, and over 75 cumulative years living in Anchorage, Bethany and Niel have seen their share of real estate gaffs. We like to think we’ve helped our clients avoid far many more than any have experienced! The reason for our success in this department is “having seen it all” we can put our experience to work for you. We would hope always to let you know when everyone may be approaching thin ice, and stay where it’s safe.