Time is the Enemy in Real Estate

Or... Rule #1

The guy in the far left of this photo was my boss and mentor. Although I am not a regular golfer, Chuck was scratch. He sometimes got me out to play, including this day around 1996. Chuck meant a great deal to me and to my career. His voice is still in my head, years after his passing. He had strong opinions and lessons learned the hard way. Perhaps the phrase that sticks in my head the most is something I now think of as Rule #1 of real estate. I have had almost 30 years of experience since then, and I have my own strong opinions and rules learned the hard way. 

But let’s talk about Rule #1.  Chuck used to say “Time is the Enemy of the Real Estate Transaction” or some variation on that. He would often elaborate, saying that if you give the universe time, it has a tendency to throw curveballs; curveballs that are not conductive to reaching a successful closing. People become pregnant, or get engaged, divorced, laid-off from their job and the list goes on. We've even had a buyer die while waiting to close! Myriad things can cause reluctance to go through with a big move and therefore back out of their duties in the contract using contingencies, or not.  One of Chuck’s ways to paraphrase this rule was “Time kills all deals”. 

If you are representing a seller, which is more than half of what WE do…  it might be argued that a Broker has an obligation to condense timeframes where ever possible, because doing so is in their clients' interest; like condensing inspection periods or closing timeframes, and all contingencies. 

We cannot stop the universe from throwing curveballs, but we can very often shorten contract timeframes and the time in which buyers are in this precarious pre-move phase. Once they have closed and moved, their life is going to continue to change - life’s one constant - and they will roll with it in a new reality, in a new home.