Skip to main content

You Just Signed a 12-Month Lease? Good!

I’m not sure who invented the snooze button on an alarm clock, but I’m willing to bet that 99% of you have whispered a silent prayer of thanks once or twice for the genius of that woman or man.  The snooze button allows us to more gradually transition from a dream state to reality, if you will, and sort of prepares us to take on a new day.  (Wow, that sounded REALLY corny!)  I have a point, I promise.

Any realtor/lender worth her/his weight in goose down comforters is always on the lookout for potential clients whether it’s in line at The Home Depot buying PVC pipe, sitting at a local Starbucks sipping on an overpriced beverage, or attending a local church carnival where the most exciting “ride” is a tall sweaty guy who’s spinning kids around like a helicopter.  They’ll strike up a conversation and somehow find out that the person they just met lives in AN APARTMENT.  Bingo!  But then the new acquaintance utters THAT phrase: “Yeah, I just signed a 12-month lease.”  A good realtor/lender will smile, hand the person her/his card, and say, “Give me a call when you’re ready to move.”  But a great one will say, “Good!  You’re in the PERFECT position for buying a home.”  They are? 

When someone has just signed a 12-month lease, they’re warm and comfy under the covers, and they’re dreaming of living in a home one day – and at this point, it’s not a reality.  If they get too comfortable, though, they wake up halfway through month 11 to a notice from their landlord/apartment manager that it’s time to renew their lease – it’s a metaphorical alarm clock with no snooze button and no gentle transition. 

That first meeting between the great realtor/lender and the person who’s renting is like the alarm clock going off and being able to hit the snooze button.  Just before hitting snooze, the realtor/lender plants the seed in the renter’s mind that buying a home is THE next step – nothing more, and the renter returns to blissful slumber and dreaming of being a homeowner.  Three months later, the alarm goes off again in the form of the realtor/lender saying it’s time to look at the renter’s credit so there’s sufficient time to do any repair or scrubbing – and it’s time to hit the metaphorical snooze again.  At the six-month mark, the alarm goes off, and it’s time to start a casual internet search to determine what types of homes and areas the buyer likes and what it will take to qualify for them – hit the snooze bar again.  Nine months into the lease, the alarm sounds, and it’s time to start looking at homes because credit has been repaired and the buyer has a good idea of what she/he wants and knows what she/he is qualified to purchase.  When the 12-month lease is up, the buyer wakes up to the reality of being a homeowner.

So, if I start seeing an increase of photos on Pinterest of PVC pipes, Starbucks cups, and tall sweaty guys, I’ll know this little missive’s message hit home.  Meanwhile, I’m going to see a doctor to find out if there’s any way for me to be less corny.  Pray for me. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Age-Old Concept Reaping Future Rewards

W hy are social media like Facebook and Instagram so darn popular among real estate and mortgage folks?   Hint: the top reason might be an endless supply of memes, cat videos, and the chance to be snarky, but the other reason runs a VERY CLOSE second.   Give up?   Answer:   They’re free – and they really help even the playing field by enabling a one-person shop look and market like an organization who employs an army of wordsmiths and graphic artists. This new century is glorious, right?   With that in mind, let me re-introduce you to a centuries-old concept that is equally glorious – and can help IMPROVE the playing field for you, regardless of the size of your team: karma.   On the subject of “free”, I’m not suggesting that you work for free, but when you freely give of yourself and your knowledge, you’ll see a greater payoff, I promise! Recently, an agent came to us with a question: she has a client who is looking to sell his condo.   It...
Post a Comment
Read more

KNOWING is Half the . . . Problem

If you’ve learned one thing from reading these columns, it’s this: I don’t read a ton of books by or about the French philosopher Descartes or spend large amounts of money traveling the world to view the Masters’ paintings in far-flung museums – my entertainment and sources of knowledge run to the more . . . mundane, if you will.   Well, I’m not about to disappoint.   In the movie Men in Black , the two main characters J & K (played by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, respectively) have recently met and K is trying to recruit J to join the clandestine government agency that monitors aliens on planet Earth.   Agent K has just shown J a lot of things that are hard to believe/explain and urges J to keep them secret.   At this point, J interrupts him, and this piece of dialogue ensues: J: Why the big secret?   People are smart.   They can handle it.   K: A person is smart.   People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Power of Doubt

We find ourselves in that weird week between Christmas and New Year’s – that week that feels a bit like the Twilight Zone where no one’s sure what’s real and what isn’t.   Because of that, most people tend to focus on one of two things: eating as much as possible or setting goals for the upcoming year.   The former is squarely focused on the present – how much can I stuff into my gaping maw at this very moment before I pass out and/or puke – while the latter is focused on the future.    Last week, before the Twilight Zone kicked into full gear, I read a short article that resonated with me, and I think it’ll prick up your metaphorical ears, too.   The author of the article is a gentleman who professionally trains Olympic athletes, and he highlights the talents of a particular athlete from the Philippines who is training to be a marathon runner.   He points out that this runner is not a professional athlete, nor does she receive any type of financ...
Post a Comment
Read more