Laughter and tears – it’s all there…

Real estate is an interesting field to be in, due to the range of emotions that are involved in the business transactions. There is a line in the God Father movies that goes “It’s nothing personal, it’s just business.” Well, in real estate it’s hard to consistently take that approach or as someone recently advised me – “don’t cry with your clients.” It’s hard not too.

Real estate transactions generally occur because other things in life have already occurred. The happy transactions may take place because a young couple (maybe married or maybe just engaged) has finally saved up enough to buy their first house. What an exciting day for them when they finally close on it. Other transactions may take place because someone finally got that big promotion that they’d worked so hard for and can now finally afford that bigger house (that one is rare right now in Michigan). Still other happy house buyers may be moving into the area from out of state for job-related reasons and they’re all excited about their new home. Those are all fun to be a part of as a Realtor.

These days, I also have a number of clients are in that life-stage where retiring and downsizing are their goals. That can be a mixed emotions transaction environment, since they have to let go of the old family home (maybe for less than they had envisioned), before they can move on. I have a discussion with them about the fact that the memories of it as a home will never go away; but, that they must now view it as a house - a product to be sold. It's always hard, if not impossible to get them to paint over the marks on the kitchen doorway where they preserved the growth spurts of various children. The new owners may have to be the ones to do that. Still, most are ready to move on to a new stage of lkife, so those end up happy, too.

Then there’s the flip-side of the happy transaction coin, which all-to-often is driving real estate transaction these days. Someone got laid off when their plant closed and now they have to sell to move to a new state to find work. Someone got divorced and now the family home must be sold as a part of the settlement. Someone lost a loved one and now can’t afford to stay in the family home. These are all sad reasons for transactions and ones that quite often involve lots of tearful sessions as the reality of the situation sets in and we have to discuss what they can get into today’s market. I hate to have to tell them that in addition to the pain that they are already in, I can’t even get what they owe on the place; but, that is the reality of the market today for many.

So, how successful am I at taking the approach of “it’s nothing personal, it’s just business?” Not very. I laugh and have a great time with the clients who are making happy purchases and I am saddened and commiserate with the ones who are facing the hardship of foreclosure or taking a big loss on the family home. My job then it to try, as best that I can, to get them out from under the burden of that house with as little loss as possible. If it is a short sale, the goal is to get the sellers out without any deficiency judgments against them for any unpaid balances.

As the professional in the meetings that I have with them, I try to maintain composure and a professional approach, in order to bring some stability into an otherwise very emotional atmosphere. I try to make sure that they understand the position that they are in and what their options are (if any). Then, I try to make sure that they only make decisions once they understand everything and have gotten past any temporary emotional issues. It’s just never a good idea to be signing anything while one is crying about it.

One of reasons that I try to maintain a balance in my practice of real estate is so that I don’t get overloaded myself with only the grief-filled transactions. This past weekend I spent Saturday and Sunday showing foreclosed houses to buyer couples – one of them a young engaged couple and one a couple looking for that perfect retirement home. So, I got a breath of the happy side of the business. I’ll have to return to the sad-side soon enough, but for that short period, it was nice to have Mr. Happy in control again.