Monday, March 12, 2012

The Golden Rule

Hello all,

"The Golden Rule"

Apologies to my Mother, Carol in Germantown and Margaret in Potomac. I will not be talking about "THE GOLDEN RULE" but the one that applies to Real Estate. For the last 5-6 years we have been dealing with many challenges representing our sellers, pricing, price reductions, condition, days on market... it was a price war and a beauty contest. When we finally got a contract in that was acceptable to both parties the real work began, negotiations, appraisal issues, home inspection items... We did everything in our power to keep the deal alive. Convincing a seller that we could not lose the contract was no easy task, because if and when we got another one it would not be as good. Many of us left a lot of money on the table because we gave some of our commissions away to close the deal. We have talked about this a great deal, the market has and is changing right in front of us. We are shifting from a buyers market to a sellers market quickly because of the tremendous lack of inventory. When the time is right we should consider sticking up for our sellers and ourselves more in negotiations. If it takes 90 days to get a contract you might not be there yet, however if you were on for 7 days and got full price it might be time to suggest to your sellers to dig their heels in a bit on the home inspection or other negotiable items.  More then likely you will get another contract in quickly if you have to go back on the market. So the golden rule of real estate is coming back into play, "Whoever has the gold makes the rules". 

Enjoy the coffee,
Joe  

Monday Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"First of all, you must find the right track, so you can start right away and not be held back.  But which track is yours? Well, that all depends on which way it's going, and where it might end."
- Craig Dorfman in "I Knew I Could!"

THINK YOU CAN?
Regardless of your age, you were probably introduced as a child to a wonderful book entitled "The Little Engine That Could."  If you will recall, it was the story of a small red locomotive personality who believed it was possible to pull a very heavy load uphill - a task that was shunned by other larger locomotives.  The little engine huffed and puffed up the hill, all the while repeating the mantra, "I think I can!  I think I can!  I think I can!"
It was a cute story that contained a very powerful message about persistence and the ability to overcome adversity.  Now there's a sequel entitled "I Knew I Could!"  A quick ten-minute read, it clearly outlines our ability to make our own choices in life.  Using illustrations of train tracks and those cute little locomotives, you are easily led to the understanding that we choose the life "tracks" upon which we travel.
The book suggests that before picking one of those tracks, we should determine the direction it might take us, and the destination we might reach by so choosing.  Sounds like real life, doesn't it?  How many times, and in how many ways, must we be taught this lesson?  If we fail to make our choices wisely, we have consciously made the choice to live at the mercy of happenstance - as did Alice in the following excerpt from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland":
"Cheshire-Puss...," said Alice, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.  "I don't much care where -" said Alice.  "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.  "... so long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.  "Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
Life - it's your choice.  Toot! Toot!


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