Skip to main content

Real Estate's Healthy Engine

A friend of mine works for a major car manufacturer in his capacity as a mechanic and technician – he’s been with the same company for over 20 years, so it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about how engines work, right?  Whenever I have a problem with my car that extends beyond needing new tires or an oil change, I always reach out to him to see if he can give me an idea of what’s going on and how much it’s going to cost to fix it. 

In the times he’s kindly come over to look at one of my ailing vehicles, I’ve learned a couple of things.  One is you don’t need nearly as many “things” to change your spark plugs as the folks at the auto parts store try to sell you.  The other little morsel of wisdom is in order for a car to start and run, it needs three things: air, spark, and fuel.  For an internal combustion engine, if you take one of these three things away, you don’t get the controlled explosion that makes the heart of your engine pump.  (Side note: this is not to be confused with Earth, Wind, and Fire – the band whose music you need as a vital part of a play list to make the heart of your party pump.)

As if you didn’t see this coming from a mile away, I’m now going to equate this to a successful real estate transaction – one that lives and breathes.  The air, spark, and fuel in a successful real estate transaction is, respectively, an agent, a buyer, and a mortgage person – if you take one of these three things away, you just have a couple of people trying to make pleasant but possibly awkward conversation. 

The agent supplies the oxygen – the vitality, if you will – with her/his knowledge, expertise, attention to detail, and zealous representation of the buyer’s best interests.  The buyer provides the spark – the excitement and drive – to acquire that first investment, a home in which to start a family, a vacation property or second home, or a home after relocation.  And the lender, of course, provides the right type of fuel and the correct amount to get everyone to that final destination.

There are specific things that each party MUST do that the other two parties can’t, of course.  In most instances, this is understood and doesn’t need to be discussed.  However, would it be a bad idea to get all three parties in one room before a property is previewed or a prequalification occurs to discuss the expectations everyone has of one another and have all three agree to live up to their parts?  If this were to occur (assuming everyone did, in fact, live up to what they promised to do), we would have smoother, shorter, and more seamless closings.  Why?  One word: accountability.  When someone is accountable (buyer included), they pay better attention.

Let’s return to our car analogy:  whether it’s a Mercedes-Benz S 560 (a luxury home) or a Fiat 500c (a one-bedroom condo), you still need air, spark, and fuel – you can’t substitute even one of those things, and each one has to do its part equally well, or all you have is a hunk of materials that no one wants to buy or own.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saving Money is Music to Your Ears (Posted January 9, 2017)

For all the “old” people out there, you’ll instantly know the name Daryl Hall.   For those of you who are still on your original set of adult teeth (perhaps because you got your braces off fairly recently), Daryl Hall is a musician (the blonde half of the duo Hall & Oates – the one who DIDN’T have a mustache that looked like it was straight out of an ’ 80s adult film) with a number of albums (albums a re these big, black 12-inch vinyl “platters” that look like a pregnant CD) that have been certified as gold/platinum and hit songs to his credit, some of which he recorded himself and some he wrote for others.   Going back to 2007, he started a show on the internet called Live from Daryl’s House ; in 2011, he took it to cable where it currently airs.   The concept is relatively simple: he has musicians from all genres and eras come to his house to jam with him and his band.   In between songs, they talk about music and memories, and they usually end up eatin...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Naked Truth About Home Buying

It’s highly likely I’ve already written about this, but I’ll try to make it entertaining at least.   There’s a guy who works in ou r office who suffers from kidney stones – and from what he’s described, “suffers” might even be a little too tame a word for it.   As an aside, though, when you ask him how painful the experience is, he gets an odd smile and says, “It’s the most intense pain I’ve ever experienced, but it’s hard to describe.   I’ve heard a lot of people compare it to the pain a woman experiences while giving birth.   To that, I must say, those people are big, fat liars!   I’ve been in the presence of a woman giving birth, twice, and her pain has to be 100 times worse.   They’re passing the equivalent of a Buick.   I’m passing a pumpkin seed.”   He’s always been a colorful fellow. He’s had this wonderful condition for over a decade now, and the stones make their appearance about every 18 months or so.   Up until recently, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The (Missed) Shot Heard 'Round the World (Posted April 11, 2016)

At last year’s ACC Tournament semifinal (basketball) game between Notre Dame and Duke, the halftime entertainment included giving someone an all-expense-paid trip to the game with the chance to take a half-court shot for $1 million.   Scott Park was the lucky winner, and he and his wife made the trip from Virginia Beach to attend the game and for Scott to take the shot.   When the time came, he took the ball in both hands, eyed the basket, ran to the half-court line, and launched the ball into the air with everything he had.   And it sailed . . . t o about the foul line.   Almost immediately, this seemingly epic failure of a grown man to throw an air-filled leather ball just over 45 feet was turned into vines and videos that littered the Internet.   Comments were immediately flowing like “can you believe how bad that shot was” and “why did that dude even try”.   With the virtual anonymity of the Internet, people can be brutal! What these anonym...
Post a Comment
Read more