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Think of a bunch of helium balloons. When I order a dozen balloons for my kids’ birthday parties, it’s pretty rare that all 12 make it to the end of the day. Despite the fact that I intertwine the ribbons around my fingers several times, one inevitably slips through my grip & floats away over Ellwood… never to be seen again. And that’s before I even get to my car! I get 11 balloons back to the house, but another 1 or 2 pops as I’m wriggling them through the doorframe. Whenever I’m outside, the wind inevitably picks up & whips them around making soft bopping noises as they bounce off of my head & each other. Another one or two typically escape during the process of tying them in small bunches along our fence.
Although a closing can be a jovial event, I’ve never brought balloons to the closing table. No matter how happy or excited the buyers or sellers are – it’s still a serious event. There’s a stack of documents about 3 inches thick. These papers are saturated with very unsexy words like “fraud” & “taxes” & “affidavit” & “delinquency.” These terms definitely give some gravity to even the most light-hearted of transactions.
These words are the satchel of weights tethered to a bunch of festive balloons. Without them, every balloon would be floating off in various directions without any common grounding. Several balloons would be attached to the same spot with another miles away God knows where.
I value words. I respect contracts. I honor deadlines. These words are the foundation, keeping everyone either in the same place or everyone moving together in the same direction. When everyone is in agreement to be bound to the terms, we are all tied together in the same arrangement.
I’ve never thought of myself as a balloon-wrangler, but it’s actually a pretty darn good analogy for a Realtor!
We have to:
• Get everyone bound to the same weight.
• Make sure our ribbons are tied tightly.
• Keep checking to ensure that none of the balloons have slipped away.
GET EVERYONE BOUND TO THE SAME WEIGHT:
Negotiating a contract is so much more than just coming to terms on a price. In a sales agreement, the price is just ONE line item in FOURTEEN pages of terms. An excellent Realtor is one that can see the full picture: the wants & needs to each party & thinks out of the box to present terms that are mutually beneficial & agreeable. When everyone signs on the dotted line, the ribbons have been tied. We are all now bound to the these terms & cannot float off in our own direction. We’re moving as one unit to closing.
MAKE SURE OUR RIBBONS ARE TIED TIGHTLY:
There are ways, however, that a ribbon can slip away if the verbiage of a contract isn’t clear or specific enough. A loose knot leads to misinterpretation & doesn’t hold all the balloons together.
KEEP CHECKING TO ENSURE THAT NONE OF THE BALLOONS HAVE SLIPPED AWAY:
I haven’t yet encountered another Realtor that works the way I do. As soon as a contract has been signed, I have a chronological timeline that I check daily. If the other party is due to deposit their escrow money, for example, I’m following up with their Realtor. I request proof that the deposit has been received. I know that I should trust that the other agent will do their job & do their job well. However, MY job is to look out for MY client.
Let’s say that the funds aren’t deposited. However, I’m not aware of that because I never asked. Then let’s say that the buyers default on the contract & want to walk away from the house the day before closing. My sellers should receive the hand money, but… there isn’t any. If a balloon slips away without me noticing – who pays the price? My clients. That balloon is long gone, & good luck trying to get it back.
Realtors who succeed in this business are creative negotiators, skilled in the art of precise terminology & persistently ensure that all the agreed-upon terms are being honored by all of the parties involved… AKA: Balloon Wranglers!
