Is it worry or just being thorough?

“What’s the use of worrying? It never was worthwhile.” (George Asaf) from the Jack’s Winning Words Blog, of course. Worrying is a lot like applying heat to a pan of water. The heat creates random motion in the water molecules and eventually might even make it boil. Random motion doesn’t really accomplish much and letting things boil over may be destructive. So, worry has little positive going for it.

I will admit to being somewhat a worry-wart. Unfortunately it’s a trait that I apparently passed on to my son, who worries about everything, too. In the real estate business there are certainly enough things to worry about to keep a worrier busy. I try to encourage those that I mentor to worry only enough to make sure that all of the bases are covered.

When I meet new agents I often tell them to go buy a big hand mirror and keep it handy. Then, whenever they hit a situation where something has not happened or has gone wrong in a deal and they are thinking (and maybe saying out loud), “Who was responsible to check on that?” – they can hold up the hand mirror and quickly find the party who should have checked to make sure that things were going right. Sure there are lots of other parties involved in every deal – the other agent, the mortgage person the title company people – but the one person with the responsibility (or fiduciary duty, if you will) to make sure that everything is going OK for the client will be looking back at you from the mirror.

So, is that worry or just taking responsibility? The other folks involved all have critical jobs to do to make the deal happen AND they also have lots of other clients and deals working at the same time. I view my role as one of just keeping tabs on who has done what and what still needs to be down and by whom. I can’t do the work for them, but I can at least try to keep them on track. Do I worry a lot about it? More than I should, I suppose, since there is little that I can do directly; however, it helps me and my client keep track of what’s going on and what things still need to get done.

Lately the biggest worries seem to surround short-sales and foreclosure sales. Will the bank agree to the price and terms that the seller has accepted? Will the place pass inspection and what happens if we find something that needs to be fixed? Who will pay for that? Will the place appraise? When will the underwriter get the file and what additional things might he/she need? Will the buyer do something that disrupts the mortgage process (No, you can’t buy a new car under the cash for clunkers program while your mortgage app is in process)? Will the out-of-state lender understand our Michigan Site Condo category or mess us up with excessive condo rules requirements? Are there any unknown or hidden assessments, liens or encumbrances on the place?

You could worry about all of those things or you could just say that those are things that you have a responsibility to check on or keep track of during the process that takes place between the acceptance and the closing. Or not. I’ve also seen a lot of deals fall through at the closing table because an agent didn’t worry about any of those things and they came back to bite the agent and his/her client at the last minute. Maybe worrying isn’t worthwhile, but being organized and thorough certainly is and that’s what I prefer to think I’m doing with my clients. Do they see and appreciate that? I worry about that sometimes.