“Do we have to go anywhere after school tonight?”

“Are we having pizza again on Friday?”

“Why do we have to take the trash out every Monday?”

“I don’t want to go to piano on Wednesday!”

If you’re a parent, you probably get similar questions from your children. My children would rather go home after school and do nothing but play Minecraft the rest of the night, but they know that certain days mean certain activities: Monday is trash day, Tuesday is soccer practice, Wednesday is piano, etc. They have come to expect this. They aren’t thrilled about it, they will whine about it, but it is expected.

Which brings me to real estate. Real estate is a world full of the unexpected. Our buyers look to us for guidance on the purchasing process, and the advice we give is based on our experience with a common word (and it’s variations) thrown in to each response. That word is: Usually.

Buyer: “Will the bank ask us for our highest and best offer in multiple offer situations, or will they just take the best offer they get the first time?”

Agent: “USUALLY they ask for your highest and best offer from everyone, but not always.”

Buyer: “If we ask for the moon and the sky in our offer, will the seller reject it or at least counter?”

Agent: “The seller will USUALLY counter with their own needs, but they MAY be mad and reject it.”

Buyer: “Will this house appraise okay or will the value be low or repairs be cited?”

Agent: “I’ve done my research, and I BELIEVE the value is there, and I don’t see any repairs that might be needed, but it really depends on the appraiser.”

As frustrating as those answers might be to a buyer, agents are equally as frustrated. Every time we think we have the situation figured out, we are thrown a curve ball. So we’ve learned to Expect the Unexpected.

My oldest son has Asperger’s. He is pretty laid back and easy going until something in his schedule changes. It knocks him off balance and he has to regroup. So if his teacher forgets to tell him there is an assembly during English class, he gets flustered. He’s twelve now, so over the years he has learned to come back from that shock of the unexpected fairly quickly without letting it ruin his entire day. But it wasn’t always like that. When he was in first grade, he was in an inconsolable state when he had to line up for a field trip as opposed to doing the daily calendar and circle time.

Being able to get knocked down briefly and get back on track quickly is the key to his success now. We can’t control all the unexpected events that come his way, but we can give him the tools to deal with it.

As your Realtor, we can’t predict or control all the curveballs that come at us during your home buying process. We can help prepare you for the ones that might be thrown, but we can’t prevent all of them.

So, the key to your home buying success is how quickly you can rebound from the unexpected. Go into the transaction expecting some bumps, and when they occur do this: Pause. Think. Get up.  Brush it off.

Millions of real estate transactions occur every year, and I can promise you that most have hurdles to overcome. Trust your agent to prevent most of them. And trust your agent to help get you through the unexpected ones. But ultimately, it’s up to you because your attitude will make or break the deal. If you are able to get up and brush yourself off, the deal will get done… usually.  😉