You can spend weeks evaluating every square inch of a property and going over every word of the contract, but no matter how careful you are, something unexpected can come out of nowhere. How you react when this happens will go a long way in deciding if the people involved in the deal will want to work with you again. Even if this problem was not your fault and you did everything you were supposed to, you still need to keep a level head and try to find a solution to the problem. When issues arise, you can either help solve the problem or, by your actions, make them worse.
The biggest mistake most new investors make is thinking that their work is done when their offer is accepted. However, little do they know, things are just getting started at this point. They call it the closing process because getting your deal to closing really is a process. You have multiple people involved in the transaction and many ways for it to go wrong. Sellers, attorneys, realtors, lenders and appraisers are just a few areas where issues can come from. It is highly unlikely you will not run into any problems along the way. Instead of finger pointing and getting mad when problems happen, be the first one to start working on the solution.
How you react to problems is what you will be remembered for during the transaction. It all starts with listening. Attorneys will remember how you talked to them if there is an issue with title. Realtors will store how you reacted when you told them the bank counter offered. Down the line, everyone associated with the deal will remember how they are dealt with, spoken to and treated in times of crisis. It is no secret that people will appreciate you lending a hand when you might not have to. If you can make one extra phone call or get an expedited signature, you will earn valuable points with everyone in the deal. This can lead to future deals or future contacts that can change your business.
It can be easy to point fingers or allocate blame when issues come up. This doesn’t accomplish much of anything, other than giving you a reputation you don’t want to have. By trying to save yourself and throwing someone else in the deal under the bus, you look worse than the person who may have messed up. Work on tackling the problem by facing it head on. It doesn’t matter who was at fault, it just matters how you are going to fix it. If you have ideas, don’t be afraid to pass them along to someone in the deal. Most issues become bigger ones by doing nothing or by ignoring them and hoping they go away. Nobody likes to give bad news to others, but the sooner you do the sooner you can get to work on finding a solution.
The real estate business is much more about figuring out problems than evaluating properties. With the lending guidelines ever changing and the housing market up and down, there is no such thing as an easy deal anymore. Even the easy ones will have at least one moment where things can get unraveled quickly. It is at these times when you will either strengthen your existing relationships or lead people away from you by how you handle these react.
