The challenge we faced in this transaction was the rough condition of the home. Years of wear and tear with deferred maintenance had the home looking not just outdated but in need of considerable rehabilitation. At that time, it was still a buyers market and as sought after and popular as White Plains is, homes needing work often get lowball offers.
Given the tension and stress already in the house, low offers weren’t looked at with any optimism or a willingness to negotiate. This is where some sensitivity is needed. The clients were already anxious. Low offers compounded the stress and acted as a reminder of the conflict around the projects the sellers never got around to addressing. Still, all offers must be presented, and as unpleasant as it was for me and the clients, we had to field and discuss all bids that came in.
It didn’t help that we had an early accepted offer in the first 2 weeks of being active that fell through after contacts had been signed. We lost 60 on days on that one. It was heartbreaking for them, as they were hoping for a quick knockout punch to get on with their lives.
I can’t stress the importance of empathy in situations like this. As I’ve written before, people going through a divorce are in one of the toughest periods of their lives. The poor feedback seemed like it rubbed the clients’ noses in their regret and distress. It was not easy. All I could do was let them know that we’d get through it.
And we did. The one thing we avoided was a price reduction, and after the first deal died we managed to finally get another offer not too far off asking price that was better than the first contract. The buyer agent on that one was on the ball and the contract process was actually the opposite of the selling efforts. The closing was quite smooth.
In cases like these the best thing you can do for your clients is to hold their hand and listen. I hate seeing people suffer, but reassuring them that this too shall pass and staying in touch helped with the process. I was glad for them when the sale closing wrapped up.
