Real Estate Investing

Over at Shak & Jill, I mentioned that sometimes Realtors turn down listings.  There are a number of reasons agents say no including bad price, no motivation to sell, and sometimes plain old meanness (on the part of the seller).  But I began thinking about buyers I’ve stopped working with as well, and the reasons why.

1. Does not have the ability to buy.  We always want to find buyers who are ready, willing, and able.  Without that trifecta of goodness all coming together, buying does not happen.  Usually it’s the “able” part that’s the deal breaker.  You can’t have a recent bankruptcy and foreclosure and expect you can walk right into a new home because you now have a “clean” record.  It doesn’t work that way, especially now that mortgage companies are finally stricter about who they lend to.
2. I don’t like working with you if I have to pull the car over for you to throw up since you drank too much the night before.  Yes it happened.  Ultimately, I didn’t fire the buyer and he ended up being a pretty good guy, but he sure got close that day to losing his Realtor.  He was so remorseful and humiliated that I found it in my heart to help him find a home.
3. If you think you’re going to buy a $150,000 home for $60,000, then I’d probably ask to refer you to another agent who specializes in cheap skates.
4. Lookie-Loo.  Sometimes people just want to get in a car and drive and drive and drive all day.  They make me want to drive off a cliff.  Seriously, this goes back to Number One… the “Ready” part of ready, willing, and able.
5. Can’t make a decision.  It’s rare that I break out the ol’ standby - the 80-10-10 Rule - but sometimes it’s necessary.  If you get to the point that you look at dozens of homes without a single offer being written, you need to be reminded that if you LOVE 80% of the home, don’t like 10% but can live with it, hate 10% of it but you can change it, then this house is right for you.  Yes sometimes there is a perfect house, but if it’s perfect someone else already lives there.
6. Unrealistic expectations of craftmanship on inexpensive home.  If you’re buying a home for $150,000, don’t expect a jacuzzi in the bathroom with raining showerheads, tile flown in from Italy, and hand-sewn carpet.
7. The complainer who is never happy.  No sirree, I don’t like people who thrive on criticism rather than focusing on the positive.  While you do want to notice if there are problems in the home so you can be in a good negotiating position, you can be honest with your Realtor and say sometimes that you love it.  We are there to serve YOUR best interests, so don’t go showing your hand to the other agent.  We are there to work with you, for you, on your behalf.

Happy house-hunting!