0:01

We don't have to decide right now. Yeah,

0:03

I just gave you the news. What I would

0:05

love is for you to sleep on it and

0:07

we'll revisit it tomorrow. I

0:10

mean, it sounds like maybe she'd gotten burned before.

0:13

I know, but I almost am like, you

0:15

just burned yourself. I

0:17

just thought maybe you could go take

0:20

a look at it. My seller is

0:22

spiraling. Yes, spiraling is such a great

0:24

description, but doesn't it sound like something

0:26

you would do? all spiraling. They are. So

0:31

that light at the end of the

0:33

tunnel, huge dumpster fire. Hi,

0:36

y 'all, welcome to Hustle Humbly. It's Alyssa and

0:38

Katie, and we are two top -producing realtors

0:41

in the Baton Rouge market. We work for

0:43

two different companies where we should be competitors,

0:45

but we have chosen community over competition. The

0:47

goal of our podcast is to encourage you

0:49

to find your own way in business. So

0:51

stop comparing yourself and start embracing your strengths. Hi,

0:55

Alyssa. Hey, Katie. Welcome to episode

0:57

number 297. Everything sucks right now.

0:59

Everything, everything is awful. And you

1:01

know what? We're tired of being

1:03

positive. Did you ever see? I

1:05

don't want to be anymore. Did

1:07

you see the Lego movie and

1:09

they sing this song? Everything is

1:11

awesome. But I just realized you

1:13

could also do everything is awful. awful,

1:16

yeah. Well, you know, we

1:18

feel like we've given y

1:20

'all almost 300 episodes of

1:22

positive. That much positivity. Encouraging,

1:24

practical, and you know what? Maybe

1:26

we just need a minute here. You

1:28

told me to put in large capital

1:30

letters, this would be venting in a

1:32

professional manner. Yeah, I told Katie, maybe

1:35

we just need to do an episode

1:37

on venting in a professional manner, us

1:39

venting, about our problems. We hear about

1:41

your problems all the time in our

1:43

email and our DMs and we're happy

1:45

to hear it. But I think that

1:47

our problems are probably pretty similar

1:49

to their problems. They are, which

1:51

is a good reminder that this

1:53

podcast is only successful because

1:56

we are still in the trenches

1:58

with y 'all. Agree. We are

2:00

not real estate coaches that failed at

2:02

real estate, so decided to become podcast

2:04

host to tell you maybe even succeeded

2:06

in real estate, but then we're like,

2:09

I'm too good for this. Yeah, let's

2:11

forget that. I mean, now I understand.

2:13

Now I understand. Maybe, maybe we

2:15

should save it. I do feel like

2:17

I'm having a little bit of a

2:19

real estate existential crisis. I'm like, do

2:21

buyers actually want to buy houses? Yeah.

2:23

I'm not sold. Yeah. They're

2:25

not sold. Definitely not sold.

2:28

Nobody's getting sold to these

2:30

days. How about I'll start

2:32

with a little story. Cannot

2:34

wait to share the, what's

2:36

the opposite word of inspiration,

2:40

the commiseration leading

2:42

up to this

2:44

episode. Hey, friend,

2:47

hope you're enjoying this episode all

2:49

about loopholes. Some of these stories

2:51

are truly wild. If you don't

2:53

want to end up with a

2:55

buyer looking for a loophole somewhere

2:57

down the road, you need to

2:59

make sure they're sure about the

3:01

purchase during their inspections. One way

3:03

to make sure you do that

3:06

is to use our free email

3:08

template to make sure they're sure.

3:10

This will help keep your buyers

3:12

happy and avoid buyers remorse later.

3:14

To find the free template, just

3:16

head over to hustlehumblypodcast .com, make

3:18

sure. This

3:20

past weekend, I left with

3:22

my happy little self

3:25

on a quick family beach

3:27

trip. A jaunt, if

3:29

you will. I left with

3:31

over 4 million in

3:33

contracts pending. Pending. And I

3:35

came back with like

3:37

2 .2. That's

3:39

half. Pretty much. And I'm

3:42

waiting to see if that number

3:44

is going to get smaller.

3:46

Oh no. While

3:48

I was at the beach,

3:51

and it was so sad,

3:53

like one of them, I

3:55

was the second listing agent,

3:57

and I gave them so

3:59

much homework, I had been

4:02

prepping them for months. And

4:04

they did. They did mostly good. They did

4:06

mostly good. I'd say B plus. Okay. I have to

4:08

be present for every showing so I was extra motivated

4:11

to get this sold. Sold it

4:13

first week under contract. Okay,

4:15

we're under contract. I met

4:18

the buyers. They're legit.

4:20

Everything is great. We go

4:22

through inspections and

4:24

they cancel. And there wasn't

4:26

really a reason. They didn't give

4:28

one. Not really. No, she said,

4:31

Alyssa, I'm just so sorry. Because

4:33

I was telling the agent, like,

4:35

is there anything we can do?

4:37

Anything we can do to keep

4:39

it together. And they just didn't want

4:41

the house anymore? Yeah. And I was

4:44

like, but I don't understand. Is there

4:46

a price reduction that needs to happen?

4:48

What do I need to I told

4:50

the agent? What do I need to

4:52

do to not make this phone call?

4:54

Yeah. And she was like, I'm so

4:56

sorry, like there's just nothing. They're just...

4:58

What was their next, were they going

5:01

to buy another house or that? I

5:03

don't know. She just, they're just like,

5:05

no. The agent wasn't super forthcoming with

5:07

her information. Did they, so they did

5:10

do an inspection? Yeah, and like

5:12

they submitted a repair request

5:14

and we responded and they verbally

5:16

said, oh great, thanks. But then the

5:18

next day I was like, they haven't

5:20

signed it, where is it, where is

5:22

it, where is it? And my sellers

5:24

were looking for something smaller. So I

5:26

thought, you know, I need to make

5:29

sure their house is really solid

5:31

before we go browsing everywhere. Well,

5:33

then I called the agent and

5:35

said, hey, I know y'all were

5:37

good yesterday, just wanted to

5:39

check and see when we'll get

5:41

signatures, because if I make an

5:44

offer, no. And that's when she

5:46

was like, okay, they're actually

5:48

having some. cold feet, some

5:50

doubts, some thoughts, and I said,

5:53

well, please let them know, we're

5:55

ready to move on, and if

5:57

there's anything we need to do.

6:00

will do it throw it out there

6:02

at least ask yeah just just ask

6:04

and I will see what we can

6:06

do to keep the deal together okay

6:08

and no I got I received a

6:10

cancellation because when the repair

6:13

request came the seller was

6:15

willing to do some not all

6:17

yeah well one of the things on

6:19

the list was actually impossible to agree

6:22

to it was very vague and it

6:24

was a big job and it

6:26

didn't make sense there's no way

6:28

we could have agreed to it

6:30

as written. Okay. But verbally, you went

6:33

back and forth. Well, I made, I

6:35

always like to make sure before I

6:37

put anything in writing, like, hey, this

6:39

is where we're at. Are we good?

6:41

Yeah, I think that'd be great. Because

6:43

you only want to write it up

6:46

once, but more importantly, it's because something

6:48

about that paper seems so final that

6:50

buyers think it's either a yes or

6:52

a no. Yes. Like you could say,

6:54

well, I don't really love that, but

6:56

I'll do this. Right. I don't,

6:59

maybe it's not just buyers.

7:01

Do agents also not understand

7:03

that that, I had to explain it

7:05

to my seller just yesterday. Like,

7:07

it's just a point of negotiation.

7:10

It's like we've gone right back

7:12

to the contract. Yes. And we're

7:14

going to get something and you

7:16

can respond and we can go

7:19

back and forth and then we're going

7:21

to put it all in writing.

7:23

Yeah. And so in this situation,

7:25

I'm at the beach stressing about

7:27

this. Because now I know that

7:29

we have a problem. My sellers

7:31

don't know that just yet. It's

7:34

getting pretty late in the evening.

7:36

I'm trying to decide, do I

7:38

sit tight? I asked her to please

7:40

send a message to her buyers

7:42

on our behalf, just saying, let's

7:45

keep the line of communication open.

7:47

Her response is very strange

7:49

to me. It was like,

7:51

I understand your position, but they asked

7:53

for space. to make a decision and

7:56

I'm going to give them that space

7:58

and wait to hear from them. thought,

8:00

so you're not going to pass my

8:02

message? I think. Your fiduciary duty is

8:04

to pass along messages. So I said,

8:07

so you're not going to give them

8:09

my message? And she said, they asked

8:11

for space. She's like reiterating, they asked

8:13

for space, I'm giving them space. And

8:16

I said, I believe if your buyers

8:18

are processing, if they're going to buy

8:20

this house or not, they need to

8:22

have all the information. That's fair. I'm

8:25

giving you new information that your buyers

8:27

don't know that your buyers don't know

8:29

that we may have Additional wiggle room

8:32

if there is something we need to

8:34

do to address their concerns Will you

8:36

please let them know she never let

8:38

them know and then the next morning?

8:41

I Woke up heavy which I haven't

8:43

done in a long time. I'm so

8:45

mad about it, but it goes to

8:47

show even this long in the business

8:50

You still have the transactions every now

8:52

and then that just sort of settle

8:54

in your soul. Yeah So I woke

8:56

up very early at like 630 at

8:59

the beach, you know, and I went

9:01

and I sat on the porch and

9:03

I made a video for my sellers.

9:06

Because I thought, I'm not, I need

9:08

to do something. I have this information

9:10

and just like I wanted her to

9:12

pass the information to her buyers, I

9:15

don't want to blindside my sellers. So

9:17

I sent them a message and I

9:19

said a video and it was like

9:21

eight or nine minutes long. And I

9:24

just said, hey, here's where we are

9:26

right now. I called yesterday to see

9:28

when I should expect signatures on the

9:30

repair response. And I had already told

9:33

my sellers that verbally the agent had

9:35

said, yeah, this is great. Thank you

9:37

so much. I said, now I'm being

9:40

told that they are getting some cold

9:42

feet. I'm not really sure why. I

9:44

did ask for information to be passed

9:46

to the buyers that we would be

9:49

willing to offer more. She doesn't feel

9:51

comfortable relaying that message and I said,

9:53

here's the thing, I have information and

9:55

I don't want to make. my

9:58

next decision by

10:00

myself on your house.

10:03

So here's our options. I said,

10:05

we can sit and wait

10:07

and just see what comes today.

10:11

Or we could just lay all

10:13

our cards out and rewrite our

10:15

due diligence and I can email

10:17

it to them and say, hey,

10:20

buyer's agent, we after much reconsideration,

10:22

my sellers wanted you to

10:24

know they are willing to do

10:26

this. It's in writing. This

10:29

is their highest and best

10:31

that they're willing to do if it will

10:33

get signatures. I said, and then that

10:35

way she would have to present it. And

10:37

I said, you know, or we can

10:39

just wait. I just wanted you to know

10:41

that there's, I don't have a great

10:43

feeling about it. I also

10:46

wish that I knew

10:48

the agent was having conversations

10:50

with them. Because anyway, my

10:52

sellers ultimately decided, let's

10:55

wait it out. I don't want to bet against ourselves.

10:58

Maybe if they come back with a

11:00

no, we can rediscuss it at that point,

11:03

but here's why that doesn't work. And

11:05

I'm this way too as a buyer on a

11:07

personal level. Once I've

11:09

made my decision, it's

11:11

over. Like I have

11:13

emotionally disconnected. I

11:16

have made peace with

11:18

it. My pros and cons

11:20

list cannot be revised.

11:22

It's over. Okay. And

11:24

basically two hours after I sent them that

11:27

message and we had that talk, I

11:29

received a cancellation. And it basically, she wrote

11:31

a little thing that was like, listen,

11:33

I'm so sorry, this didn't work out. When

11:36

my buyers called to tell me they had made

11:38

their decision, I let them know what you had

11:40

said that we can go back and see if

11:42

there's more. But they said that nothing can be

11:44

done at this point. It's just not

11:46

the house for them. It's really not.

11:48

And I'm thinking, it

11:51

was enough, the house for them to write

11:53

the contract, get it under contract and

11:55

pay for an inspection. Yeah, but

11:57

not enough to even... They

12:00

could have said, we want

12:02

10,000 more dollars, and I

12:04

could have thought about it.

12:06

They didn't even try. Which

12:08

is why I wanted to

12:10

catch them before they

12:12

emotionally checked out. I've

12:15

never been more tempted

12:17

in my life after a few

12:19

high noons to message them

12:21

on Facebook. I did not

12:23

do it for the record.

12:25

But gosh, I was so frustrated

12:27

because I... I felt like if

12:30

I could talk to them, we

12:32

could work something out, and maybe

12:34

I couldn't have. You never know

12:37

what's going on on the other

12:39

side. I don't know if they

12:41

were having job issues, job concerns.

12:43

I truly wish that I knew

12:46

how they knew the agents. I

12:48

know. I'm not going to deep

12:50

dive into that more than, but

12:52

I had a situation with

12:55

the cancellation this year on

12:57

my listing. The buyers

12:59

and the agent were family

13:02

Okay, they're related

13:04

they were related and I

13:06

Sometimes felt like

13:08

that familiar relationship was

13:11

Maybe I don't know

13:13

I don't know the agent

13:15

personally like it just

13:17

felt like the reactions

13:19

were more knee jerk than

13:21

normal and when I like

13:24

had a response from my

13:26

seller Like basically an inspection

13:28

happened, they sent a repair

13:30

request. Yeah, so under contract,

13:33

inspection paid for and done,

13:35

sent a repair request. My

13:37

sellers responded with, I was like,

13:39

well, here's what they're willing to do,

13:41

kind of like the back and forth,

13:43

right? And the big stuff, there was

13:46

one big item where the seller was

13:48

like, oh, good news, that's actually already

13:50

been done. We have this receipt from

13:52

the previous seller taking care

13:54

of it. Yeah, all done. Oh, we didn't realize

13:57

that was a like pre-existing

13:59

thing. we even though it's repaired

14:01

we don't want to move forward even

14:03

though it's not a concern anymore and

14:05

so and that happened immediately upon them

14:08

me giving that information and I just

14:10

asked the agent I'm like hey would

14:12

you mind just not she's like I'm

14:14

sitting in cancellation this happened like this

14:16

right so fat and I said hey

14:19

would you mind just not writing up

14:21

the cancellation until tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow? it's

14:23

it's it was on a Sunday I

14:25

feel like yeah it's afternoon it's Sunday

14:27

I like I just I would love

14:30

for the buyer to just sleep on

14:32

it at night because my seller's really

14:34

open to doing whatever makes them comfortable

14:36

I mean we can go back and

14:38

forth on this repair request if there's

14:41

something else that would make them feel

14:43

better but I just hate I said

14:45

to have them send off this this

14:47

cancellation after saying this house was so

14:49

perfect and wonderful for them that's what

14:52

they said I didn't make it up

14:54

yeah because they're like kind of having

14:56

an a quick reaction do you know

14:58

what yeah like hey just sleep on

15:00

it yeah and she's like no no

15:03

here's your we're not we're not gonna

15:05

do that and I was just kind

15:07

of like but why that's I don't

15:09

that's what I'm dying I'm not sure

15:11

I understand yeah like it hurts no

15:14

one for everyone to sleep on it

15:16

It hurts no one. I've had sellers,

15:18

my own sellers, sleep on a repair

15:20

request or like no, no way am

15:22

I going to do that. I'm like,

15:25

you know what, that's okay. We have

15:27

72 hours. I say this all the

15:29

time. We don't have to decide right

15:31

now. We don't have to decide right

15:33

now. We don't have to decide right

15:36

now. I just gave you the news.

15:38

What I would love is for you

15:40

to sleep on it and we'll have

15:42

to put it back on the market.

15:44

It's X amount of dollars. It's not

15:47

it's not as much you know as

15:49

we had even I'm like we plan

15:51

for this in concessions or like yeah.

15:53

So I've many times personally had sellers

15:55

and buyers reconsider after sleeping on it.

15:58

So I'm a big fan of. sleeping

16:00

on it. And take your time. Don't

16:02

rush into the cancellation and also

16:05

don't rush into the offer. I

16:07

honestly, if you're not sure.

16:09

I truly think buyers at this

16:11

point believe it to be so

16:13

black and white that it's like

16:15

it's like they're gonna walk into

16:17

the house and find the one

16:19

as if they're getting married. Right.

16:22

This is the one all of

16:24

the signs are pointing to yes.

16:26

Yes. I shall buy this house

16:28

with no roadblocks at all. Correct.

16:30

Yeah. They're looking for the fireworks.

16:32

It's actually not how most transactions

16:34

go. There's a give, there's take,

16:37

we have to sacrifice things we

16:39

want, like things might not go

16:41

perfectly. I don't understand. Right,

16:43

I know. So I'm really confused. Because

16:45

in both cases, I think they were

16:48

experienced agents who we were dealing with. Yeah.

16:50

We're not new. Right. Like I was, it

16:52

was actually like when I saw, like when

16:55

I saw, you know, I thought, like,

16:57

like, like, like, Yeah. But it's almost

16:59

like, I just don't understand the

17:01

motivation. So like I really couldn't get

17:03

a clear understanding of, oh, well, you

17:05

know, honestly, had they known this was

17:08

a previous repair, they wouldn't have even

17:10

seen the house. And I was like, really?

17:12

So what would you do? And what are

17:14

your thoughts on this? Like before I put

17:16

it in writing, what we were willing to

17:18

do? I called agent and said, and I've,

17:20

this, this was what I wanted to do every

17:22

time, unless we're just agreeing to all.

17:24

But I'll call before and say, hey,

17:26

this is where we're at, this is

17:29

what we're willing to do. Before I

17:31

put this on the document, I wanted

17:33

to make sure your buyers would be

17:35

pleased with this. And they say,

17:37

well, let me call and have a

17:39

conversation with my buyers. And then they

17:42

call me back and say, yes, that's

17:44

great. Please send it. And then they

17:46

sign it the same day and we move

17:48

forward. This is the first time,

17:50

first time ever, ever, that I have

17:53

called a buyer's agent. Yeah, I said she

17:55

was like I mean based on my conversations

17:57

with them. I think they would be

17:59

through Yes, I think that would be

18:01

great write it up and I said,

18:03

but will you have a conversation with

18:06

them before I write it up? No,

18:08

I just I you know I'm not

18:10

gonna do that because that seller could

18:12

just change his mind on what he's

18:14

willing to do and I said It

18:16

sounds like maybe she'd gotten burned before

18:18

I know but I almost some like

18:20

you just burned yourself Look what you

18:22

did while you were trying to avoid

18:24

all we had to do was communicate

18:26

I know you could have even said

18:29

hey, mr. Mrs. Byer. I don't have

18:31

this in writing yet But a sound

18:33

okay there Discussing that this would be

18:35

their response would that be a response

18:37

you were pleased with here's how I

18:39

do do this sometimes I will call

18:41

the agent and say hey, we're reviewing

18:43

your repair request Yes, if my sellers

18:45

are not able to do all of

18:47

these things Which things are the most

18:50

important for your buyer? Is there a

18:52

deal breaker on this list? Right, I

18:54

have done that many times. Yes, and

18:56

then that way they could be like

18:58

well It's this I'm like, okay, cuz

19:00

there's like ten things or there's five

19:02

things and if we do this Maybe

19:04

we're not gonna do this, but I

19:06

also am not gonna send you a

19:08

request that says we're not doing the

19:11

one thing You wanted and then you

19:13

cancel right You

19:15

cannot predict which things buyers

19:17

are gonna be sensitive about

19:20

I just didn't understand the

19:23

harm in having a casual

19:25

conversation With a disclaimer, right?

19:27

This is not in writing

19:29

yet, but they did call

19:31

and this is what they

19:33

asked and This

19:36

is what happened, you know, it's just

19:38

so frustrating. don't love it All right,

19:40

so we've talked about the ever important.

19:42

Please sleep on it Yeah, you're gonna

19:45

institute anything from this chat into your

19:47

business Try and get more people to

19:49

sleep on decisions except for writing an

19:51

offer because sometimes you wait too long

19:53

I know I know if you sleep

19:55

on it, you don't sleep in it

20:00

Right, that's right. But then it's

20:02

hard because, okay, the one that

20:04

you had under contract that canceled

20:07

because of the pre-existing thing that

20:09

was not an issue anymore that

20:11

was repaired. Do you feel like

20:14

they rushed into it? The buyer?

20:16

Yeah. Well, that's a great question. I

20:18

will give you a little background.

20:21

We listed on a Thursday. On

20:23

a Friday, I get a call from the

20:25

agent. Oh my God, I am out of town.

20:27

And my, this is the house for my

20:29

buyer. This is it. Okay. I cannot get

20:32

back until Sunday to show it. Can you

20:34

please let me know if anything happens?

20:36

I'm like, no problem. As of

20:38

right now, no other showings are scheduled, so

20:40

I feel like you're okay. I mean, this

20:43

is not, it wasn't busy at the time.

20:45

Yeah, yeah. Okay. So I'm like, this

20:47

is great news. Very interested buyer.

20:49

They go on Sunday. They see it and

20:51

they immediately write an offer. So these

20:53

people saw it so much that they

20:56

were worried someone else was going to

20:58

buy it. Run out there and see it

21:00

as soon as they possibly can and write

21:02

an offer. Under, no point I think

21:04

these people were half in, but

21:07

they weren't being rushed. It wasn't

21:09

a multiple offer situation. Right. Nobody

21:11

said you had to write an offer today

21:14

on Sunday. Correct. It's just

21:16

hard to understand, you know? Yes,

21:18

so in the meantime my

21:20

sellers had taken care of

21:22

some items at the house

21:24

like over the following few

21:26

weeks. So I did reach because

21:28

they were just sick sick

21:30

about the whole prep thing. I

21:33

mean really like tears. Yes,

21:35

I have never had more tears

21:37

in my life. This year. Like

21:39

a lot of people are in

21:41

all the tears. So many tears.

21:43

So I was like, you know,

21:45

so I, you know, so I go. I

21:47

go. above and beyond. I'm like, I'm going

21:49

to keep reaching out to this agent and

21:51

be like, hey, I don't burn the bridge.

21:53

I'm that rude, even though I'm so upset

21:55

that this happened. I'm just like, here go

21:58

a couple weeks. I'm like, hey, listen. They've

22:00

done this this and this we

22:02

think that your buyers would be

22:05

so happy I just can't believe

22:07

they still don't want this house

22:09

that was so much a great

22:12

fit for them and She was

22:14

like yeah Okay, well they've they've

22:16

moved on to it. They're interested

22:19

in a different property now I'm

22:21

like interested. Did they write an

22:23

offer? Are these people actually gonna

22:26

buy a house? Yeah, what's happening

22:28

or do they just fall in

22:30

love with every house? I don't

22:33

know I don't know but what's

22:35

sad the most sad to me

22:37

is we're pending right away after

22:40

three days and then it was

22:42

off for the time of the

22:44

inspection and now it's back on

22:47

the market and I've had to

22:49

do price changes and you know

22:51

like the house isn't perfect. I

22:54

do think the buyer consultations right

22:56

now for the you know all

22:58

of you representing buyers needs to

23:01

be a little more serious on

23:03

the fact of how important a

23:05

contract is. Yeah. What it yes

23:08

you do have a due diligence

23:10

period where we're going to check

23:12

everything out but can we just

23:15

make sure you're sure yeah before

23:17

we go through this you put

23:19

down inspection money we spend hours

23:22

at the house with inspections like

23:24

the thing is both of my

23:26

cancellations that were due to inspections

23:29

yeah didn't give me any feedback

23:31

on the actual home inspection per

23:33

se. Yeah. Like the second one

23:36

that canceled was equally devastating, good

23:38

friends of mine, and we were

23:40

actually back on the market because

23:43

we needed a new roof. So

23:45

that contract canceled, we got a

23:47

new roof, we're back on the

23:50

market, quickly got another buyer. Great.

23:52

Quickly. Great, sweet, older guy, loves

23:54

the house. has the inspection, agent

23:57

tells me how great the inspection

23:59

went. Sunday, I'm at

24:01

the beach. You're like thinking everything's

24:03

fine. Crying about my other one.

24:05

Like throw a log on that

24:07

fire. And this agent calls me

24:10

and is like, oh, I saw.

24:12

And she is a good agent,

24:14

y'all. Like, it's not her fault.

24:16

And I appreciated her call.

24:18

She was just like, I'm. Just

24:20

really sorry. I had to

24:22

call you because I don't

24:24

send cancellations and my heart

24:27

dropped because I'm like except

24:29

to me right now right now

24:31

And I said And she was like

24:33

but I'm gonna have to send

24:35

you a cancellation and I

24:37

was like why Why? What is wrong

24:40

with the house and she was like

24:42

nothing? She was like the daughter

24:44

came to the home inspection

24:47

and that was it She talked about

24:49

something she didn't like. Yeah, that was more

24:51

of like a floor plan type thing that

24:53

we, there was nothing we could do about

24:56

it. And again, I said, before I make

24:58

this call, can I just give you

25:00

some information that might help? And she

25:02

was like, absolutely, give it all to me.

25:04

Like tell me, I will make the call,

25:06

I will do everything I can to not

25:09

send you a cancellation. At least she tried.

25:11

And you know, that made me feel better.

25:13

She really, really, really tried. And I felt

25:16

like she was empathizing with me. She knows what

25:18

a tough market it is. She's worked with this buyer

25:20

too. Like she's about to have to start over. I'm

25:22

starting over again. And she called me back and she

25:24

was like, I'm just so sorry. There's nothing I can

25:26

do. And I said, you know, the only reason I'm

25:28

at peace with it is because at least you called.

25:30

I know you tried. This other one is going to

25:32

haunt me the rest of the year. Right. Because I'm

25:34

just going to be like, what if, what if, what

25:36

if, which is not helpful. Which is not helpful. Which

25:39

is not helpful. Which is not helpful. Which

25:41

is not helpful. Which is not helpful. Which

25:43

is not helpful. Again, there was just no

25:45

reason and my sweet sellers were like, they

25:47

didn't want to submit a repair request.

25:49

Anything? They didn't even submit a repair

25:52

request. I said, no. And he goes,

25:54

is that allowed? Yeah. I said, unfortunately,

25:56

during their due diligence period, if they

25:59

don't want it. They don't have to

26:01

submit a repair request. They don't have

26:03

to do anything. Is that allowed? And

26:05

I think that's also a reminder

26:07

that all decision makers. So here's where

26:10

the trouble lies. When the buyer

26:12

is looking at houses, they don't always

26:14

bring the decision makers. Right. Or

26:16

people who have high influence. High

26:19

influence. High influence. But then it's

26:21

time for the home inspection. Where

26:23

we have someone that's going to point

26:25

out everything wrong with the house. Right.

26:28

And all these people show up.

26:30

And I like what you have

26:32

said previously. You're like, well, Mr.

26:34

Byers' mom and dad or whoever is

26:36

the high influence, you didn't see all

26:38

the other houses we saw. This one

26:40

is the best one. You haven't been

26:43

on this house hunting journey with us.

26:45

If you would have seen our other

26:47

options before we chose this one, the

26:49

best one, you would understand how

26:52

we landed here today. Yeah. And

26:54

you think this inspection report

26:56

is bad. You should have... even imagine

26:58

what they would have been on the other

27:00

that we could just see from walking through.

27:02

Yeah. So you, first of all, you don't

27:05

know what our other options were. This is

27:07

a great option. Option, right. The other thing

27:09

I want to tell you, mom and dad, is

27:11

this is your kid's budget. Right. Are

27:13

you contributing to helping him get a

27:16

more expensive home? No. Well, this is

27:18

his price range. Yeah. This is what

27:20

he can afford. Yeah. So it's almost

27:22

like, I wish I could just say

27:24

if you're paying or contributing. Will you

27:27

please stay out of it? Because your

27:29

opinion doesn't matter unless you're

27:31

willing to assist the situation.

27:34

Right. Right. It's just such a fine

27:36

line. I also, while we were on calling,

27:38

calling your client, calling, relaying

27:40

messages, I also think sometimes

27:42

if I can be like, hey, sleep

27:44

on it, get back to me.

27:46

I also then wouldn't make the

27:49

call to my seller saying, listen,

27:51

they're saying they're going to cancel.

27:53

Like if I got them to

27:55

agree to sleep on it or

27:57

consider like our response I just

27:59

don't. Don't share that. I think

28:01

I'm very situational. I

28:03

think in your situation, that makes

28:06

sense and you just kind of

28:08

had to read the agent. In

28:10

my situation with this house, when

28:12

I woke up that next morning,

28:15

I thought I need to, because I

28:17

was debating if we had options,

28:19

I knew it was coming. And

28:21

I also, they were going to

28:23

be totally blindsided. I know.

28:25

So that's why I was like, look.

28:27

This is what's going on. We do have

28:30

an option to do this. If I had

28:32

no option to present them, I'm not

28:34

sure what I would have done. You

28:36

needed a choice. But I also do you

28:38

think it would have changed if they

28:40

had chosen, let's rewrite, rewrite the repair

28:43

request? Well, now, of course, I would

28:45

have done that just to see. So

28:47

at least I could say I gave

28:49

it our all. You just don't know.

28:51

I don't like losing when I haven't

28:54

given it given it at all. And

28:56

I wasn't even given the

28:58

opportunity to give it our all.

29:00

Okay. So that is, I think that's

29:02

why this particular one is bothering

29:05

me more than others because

29:07

I just think it could

29:09

have been salvaged actually

29:11

quite easily with some

29:14

communication. Yeah. But you make a

29:16

good point. Like, sometimes it's hard

29:18

to know when to call. How

29:20

much information do you share?

29:22

Yeah, you know, what do they need

29:24

to know? What do you have

29:27

to offer? Right. Because I have,

29:29

just like you and people do,

29:31

oh gosh, sometimes, sometimes, you know,

29:33

when sellers are so anxious, every

29:36

single showing, what happened, what happened,

29:38

what happened? My normal go-to is,

29:40

I don't tell a seller if someone

29:42

said they're thinking of writing an

29:44

offer, and so they write an

29:46

offer, right, right, right. But lately,

29:49

I'll just be like, I'll just be

29:51

like. They're thinking of writing an

29:53

offer. Yeah. Stop asking me. Please. I'm doing

29:55

that. Like, they are telling me that they

29:57

like it and they're thinking about writing an

29:59

offer. And then it's almost like, well,

30:01

then they didn't write the offer, then

30:03

I find out why. I'm like, at

30:05

least I've got more feedback. I don't

30:07

know enough to tell you. Buyers are

30:10

noncommittal. Yes. And the thing is,

30:12

you know, our inventory is pretty

30:14

high. I have never had more calls

30:16

to list houses and so few buyer

30:18

calls these days that it's almost like

30:20

a buyer is like, if I don't

30:22

like your house, I'll just move on

30:24

to the next one. It's like cold

30:26

feet, no problem. There's something else. Yeah,

30:28

there'll be something else. It's fine. One of

30:30

my favorite things we do every month is

30:33

meet up live on Zoom with our

30:35

community members. Yes, those meetings are always

30:37

fun and I love hearing our friends

30:39

in different markets share what is working

30:41

for them. Hustle Humbly Community isn't just

30:43

a monthly live. It also includes a

30:45

private Facebook group where you will find

30:48

us and an awesome group of helpful

30:50

agents. Being able to find those helpful

30:52

and like-minded agents on our referral and

30:54

military referral list is a huge perk.

30:56

If you're not in community, we invite

30:58

you to join us now. You'll get

31:00

the full prospecting templates pack plus access

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a month. Head over to Hustle

31:14

Humbly Podcast.com/membership to sign up. What do

31:16

you think it is? Like from

31:18

a buyer, I'm trying to think

31:20

of my buyers, like my few,

31:22

very few. Well, you know, I

31:24

couldn't say because I had sweet,

31:26

my only new buyers lately showed

31:28

up, found a house, wrote an

31:30

offer the first week we looked.

31:32

They're pleased to punch punch. Delightful.

31:35

The inspection is this week.

31:37

So I guess we'll see. But I

31:39

don't know. And you know,

31:41

it's funny because during

31:44

that negotiation actually, the

31:46

listing agent said something

31:48

about, well, we don't, during

31:50

our negotiation of the offer, you

31:53

know, we don't want to scare

31:55

off the buyer. And I'm like, is

31:57

scare, do you think, do you think?

32:00

Scaring off, air quotes, a buyer

32:02

is a real thing. Especially in

32:04

the context of 2025. No? In

32:06

what way? I don't know. I'm just

32:08

curious if you, like, can

32:10

you scare off a buyer by

32:13

countering the repair request, by countering

32:15

their offer, by like, you know,

32:17

by not just giving them everything

32:20

they want? I think buyers right

32:22

now are easily spooked. So you can.

32:24

Yeah, and they're just like, oh, no,

32:26

thanks. And then they're like, wait, wait,

32:28

can we talk about it? No, no,

32:31

I don't want to talk about it.

32:33

Never mind. No, forget it. I hate

32:35

this else. So buyers are, you can scare

32:37

off a buyer. You can scare off a

32:39

buyer. Yes. So suddenly, it's almost like

32:41

this. It's like it happened overnight,

32:43

but it is a, we are in a

32:46

buyers market. All of a sudden. It's just

32:48

like today. I have, I have deemed it.

32:50

I have deemed it. I have deemed it.

32:52

Batters, Louisiana is in a Buyers

32:54

Market. It's rough out there. Buyers

32:57

are like, I'll do whatever I

32:59

want. I don't want to come

33:01

to your house. You won't give

33:03

me all my clothes and costs?

33:05

Bye. I'll just move on to

33:07

the next one. It's just bizarre.

33:09

I mean, and you know, bless

33:11

all of you, it's been a lot

33:13

of years since I was in a

33:15

Buyers Market. Like a lot. Like

33:18

2009 or 10 might have been

33:20

the last true Buyers market. So

33:22

I wasn't here then. Yeah, it's

33:25

different, right? And as much as

33:27

I love listings and you know I

33:29

do, it is really tough day

33:31

after day and week after week

33:33

to tell the seller, I'm sorry

33:35

they don't like your house. I'm

33:37

sorry they don't want your house.

33:39

I'm sorry no one came to

33:41

see your house. I am, I

33:43

am sorry. I just, it's like I

33:46

have wanted to just say, you

33:48

know what, maybe we're not a

33:50

fit because I don't know. I think it's

33:52

very important, you know, to find that balance

33:54

where you're not taking it personal. I, but

33:56

it's so hard. It is so hard. I've

33:59

had sellers say. some really not kind

34:01

things to me and giving me

34:03

some not nice feedback and also

34:05

made me think like like I'm

34:07

not working yeah and that I can

34:10

they that I can magically convince someone

34:12

to buy a house as if it

34:14

were buying a pack of gum at

34:17

the register at the grocery store right

34:19

I'm like these buyers are not gonna

34:21

just be swayed by me saying

34:23

something no and they come home every

34:26

day and your sign is in the yard

34:28

I know like Damn her like I think

34:30

my picture's then on there. Oh no like

34:32

even just today listen to this text

34:35

I got from a friend from a

34:37

friend from a friend This is for

34:39

my agent friend, okay? Okay. Hey, I'm

34:42

going out of town for just three

34:44

very short days. My seller is freaking

34:46

out because we can't get anybody to

34:49

come see the house. We just did

34:51

another price reduction within the past couple

34:53

weeks and it has a brand new

34:56

roof. We are just at a brand

34:58

new roof. We are just at a

35:00

brand new roof. We are just at

35:02

a brand new roof. We are just at

35:05

a standstill. I'm just need to

35:07

schedule. Doesn't it feel like something you

35:09

would do? They're all spiraling. They are.

35:12

They are hardcore spiraling. I have had

35:14

several sellers in the last couple of

35:16

years that I thought we're going to

35:19

need medical attention. Yeah. Like their hearts

35:21

were in trouble because they were spiraling

35:23

and so anxious. Yeah. And I'm like,

35:25

I am a pretty calm presence with

35:28

my clients. So I'm like... I'm not

35:30

feeding the fire. No. I'm doing my

35:32

best to be like, it's okay. Sometimes

35:35

they're soothing. Sometimes these things take time.

35:37

You know, let me tell you a

35:39

story. I'm like, can I speak over

35:42

some Camimel tea? I'm like, I don't

35:44

know what to do, but they are

35:46

literally spiraling. And there's nothing you

35:48

can do except practice. I used

35:51

the example earlier of like my

35:53

kids when they're driving me

35:55

nuts and they're having their

35:57

moments and they're having their

35:59

moments. it's not time yet. I

36:01

hear you, I said no, I hear

36:03

you, it's not time yet. That is

36:06

actually the posture I'm taking with my

36:08

client. It's like I do hear you,

36:10

I know it's frustrating, I wish I

36:13

could change it. I do hear you,

36:15

I know it's frustrating, I wish I

36:17

could change it. I do hear you,

36:19

I know it's frustrating, I don't know

36:22

why they didn't submit a repair request.

36:24

So I think it's kind of making

36:26

me a better parent. I'm sure it

36:29

is. Because I'm implementing it more all

36:31

day, every day, instead of just with

36:33

them. But I got through this part

36:35

of parenting. I don't want to go

36:38

back to it. Oh, you don't. It's

36:40

terrible. I definitely don't. But what advice

36:42

did you give to your friend? Be

36:45

a text. I said, I will certainly

36:47

go look at it and try to

36:49

give you some feedback. You want to

36:51

go look at one of mine? I

36:54

mean right I have a list I

36:56

have plenty of spiraling sellers as well

36:58

that's my new hashtag spiraling sellers spiraling

37:01

sellers get catch this beautiful four-bedroom two-bath

37:03

hashtag spiraling sellers I had a listing

37:05

last end of last year the heaven

37:07

on the market a long time okay

37:10

in a really cute neighborhood where it's

37:12

not super cookie cutter but this specific

37:14

floor plan was built a few times

37:17

okay well me and one other or

37:19

on the market and we are identical

37:21

floor plan, identical price. It goes pending.

37:23

I know this. The other one. I

37:26

know this because I have alerts set

37:28

up to notify me. I also know

37:30

that it wasn't anybody that saw ours

37:33

because we hadn't had a showing. So

37:35

my heart dropped. 30 seconds later, my

37:37

phone is ringing and it's my cellar.

37:39

They knew they saw. I guess she

37:42

has the alerts too. Oh no. She

37:44

is crying. And she's sniffling and nodding

37:46

and nodding and saying, I'm so sorry,

37:48

I'm so emotional, I just saw it

37:51

and called you and I wanted to

37:53

be like, I see that. Yeah. Yeah.

37:55

Yeah. There's no holding

37:58

back here and

38:00

I was like, she

38:02

was like, can you please find out why?

38:04

Can you please find out why? And

38:07

I could hear the desperation in her

38:09

voice. She was like, they must

38:11

not have even looked at ours. And

38:13

so I checked to see who

38:15

the listing agent was. And it was

38:17

someone that I knew -ish, a kind

38:19

person. I called a kind person.

38:22

I said, hey, I am calling

38:24

on behalf of my sellers. We're, future

38:26

it's over. She's like, I know. I

38:28

used yours as a comp when pricing because we've

38:30

been on the market for months. Did they price

38:32

below you? Did they price below you? Same, same.

38:34

Okay. She was like, I'll tell you, here's

38:36

some information for you. I said, because no

38:39

offense, but our bathroom is prettier than yours.

38:41

Your house is in better. Yeah. And she's

38:43

like, okay, here's what it is. The

38:45

person buying my

38:47

listing needs all the

38:50

guest parking that's in this location

38:52

of the neighborhood. Cause

38:54

it is like a smaller alleyway type neighborhood.

38:56

She was like, they even told me that

38:58

they didn't look at the other one because

39:00

it doesn't needed the parking. Yeah. Like if

39:02

it's the same house, but this one

39:04

has guest parking and that's something you need.

39:06

She was like, it's a, it is an

39:08

older couple that's downsizing, which is who this

39:10

house is made for, but they still

39:12

have kids that come visit and they need

39:15

place for cars. Which has been

39:17

their only hesitation with buying in this neighborhood. But

39:19

with my - It solved their problem.

39:21

She said my very specific. She did.

39:24

It was. And so she said

39:26

my listing, being right next to the

39:28

lucky little bee. It was stupid

39:30

for her. happy for you. I am

39:32

so glad that worked out. Yeah.

39:34

Good for you. So, but I called

39:36

my seller rack. I said, okay,

39:39

I have information and you know, and I

39:41

could just hear her taking deep breaths. She was still

39:43

crying. And I was like, that's what it is.

39:45

That's why they didn't even come look at ours. It's

39:47

not It's - Cause she said, I don't think they're

39:49

seeing ours online. I don't think they see it.

39:51

I said, I confirmed. They knew we were there. They

39:53

know we're for sale. We just

39:55

didn't have this situation with

39:57

the parking that they need. I

40:00

said, any time we've had a showing

40:02

on our house, I'm sure they've looked

40:04

at that one too. Not in this

40:06

situation, because that buyer very much

40:08

knew what they needed. Yeah.

40:10

But I just was devastated

40:12

for her. You know, I just thought, but

40:15

I have to, you know, we say you

40:17

have to care about them, but you cannot

40:19

carry their stress, the weight of the

40:21

world on your shoulders. We're gonna,

40:23

what's his name, Atlas? You know,

40:25

carrying the world on his shoulders?

40:27

For sure. We had a previous

40:30

episode. How to, it's about taking the

40:32

emotions out of real estate. Yeah. I

40:34

don't remember the episode number. That's a

40:36

good one. But it's the one I

40:38

think where you do the roller coaster

40:41

analogy. Yeah. Where it's like, you know,

40:43

we're operating the roller coaster. They're on

40:45

the roller coaster. Right. They get on.

40:47

things are up, things are down, you're

40:49

not supposed to be going on the

40:51

roller coaster with them. Right, right. You

40:54

would be dizzy, you would be sick,

40:56

you never make it. You know, like

40:58

you're off, you're not on the ride. So

41:00

that's true. However, when they break in

41:03

on your vacation or while you're... you

41:05

know, doing whatever fun thing you're

41:07

doing, or just while you're in

41:09

the middle of your workday and

41:12

they're just spiraling, it's kind of

41:14

hard. It is hard. Because even

41:16

if I don't want to take

41:19

on that emotion, I still have

41:21

to address the message. Yeah. I can't

41:23

just ignore it. I hear you. So

41:25

I'm like, I don't really know if I'm

41:27

taking on the emotion so much

41:30

as I'm just like, wow, this is

41:32

getting a little bit hard. So when

41:34

the abundance comes the agents that

41:36

are writing all of these cancellations

41:38

are you know the good will the

41:40

good will remain you think we know

41:43

I love your I love your perspective

41:45

I love your positivity I'm trying truly

41:47

do this is not a very positive

41:49

episode I just thought I would give

41:51

you a little sprinkle you think the

41:53

bad agents will go away I would if I

41:55

wasn't making any money and couldn't support

41:57

my family I would not be here

42:00

I might not be here. Episode 48. Goodback.

42:02

Episode 48. A long time ago. Taking emotions

42:04

out of real estate. Okay. You also need

42:06

episode number. We very recently did 292. How

42:08

to keep deals from falling apart. Those are

42:10

your practical tips. We're not doing that again

42:12

today. Yeah. Today we are just being negative.

42:14

expired about expireds and withdraws. Yeah, when you're

42:17

listing expired. So like when you don't get

42:19

paid is actually the name of the episode.

42:21

Which we're experiencing a good bit at this

42:23

time. It's like I don't, it's not just

42:25

that I'm worried about getting paid at this

42:27

point. I'm just like I don't want you

42:29

to cry. I know. I don't, that's not...

42:31

Well my seller actually that's a good point

42:34

my seller on the phone actually he was

42:36

he wasn't meaning it the way it sounded

42:38

but he was like oh trust me because

42:40

I said I want this done as much

42:42

as you do and he was like oh

42:44

trust me I know you want to get

42:46

paid and I just went I mean I

42:48

am doing this as a job as a

42:51

job but that's not what I meant yeah

42:53

I said I've been very blessed in my

42:55

business and I'm not struggling financially for this

42:57

next paycheck for this next paycheck But emotionally,

42:59

right in it with you, I mean, I

43:01

want this sold. Did he, did he understand?

43:03

He was like, that was very nice. You

43:06

know what, I don't need, you know what,

43:08

I don't need you. I don't need you.

43:10

It just helps won't sell. I'll be gone

43:12

as quick as a buyer. Yeah, I don't

43:14

need you. Like, forget it. Nobody wants this

43:16

house. You're mean to me? I'll leave. Yeah,

43:18

I will refer you out. I have no.

43:20

I have no problem. I have. I have.

43:23

I have. I have. I have. I have.

43:25

I have. I have. I have. I have.

43:27

I have. I have. I have. I have.

43:29

I have. I have. I have. I have.

43:31

I have. I have. I have. I have.

43:33

I have. I have. I have. I have.

43:35

I have. I have. I have. I have.

43:37

I have. I have. I have. I have.

43:40

I have a good time about like the

43:42

coffee store. Before I left for the beach,

43:44

the week before was like a glorious glimpse

43:46

of real estate heaven. I got all these

43:48

houses under contract, two of which were now

43:50

canceled. But at the time, when I was

43:52

packing my bag, I thought everything is good.

43:55

My pending list is so long. I have

43:57

several. transactions in the

43:59

work. So many people

44:01

getting their house ready. It

44:05

literally all fell apart. I had a

44:08

third that is falling apart. It

44:10

hasn't officially been canceled. mid disintegration?

44:12

Yeah, it's not a residential.

44:14

It's like a package of condos.

44:16

It's a big transaction though.

44:18

And the bank is not liking

44:20

certain ratios on

44:22

things. So

44:25

that one, I anticipate a cancellation

44:27

later this week. I hope I'm

44:29

wrong. But I come back

44:31

and bring my kids to school

44:33

this morning, ready to be a firefighter today.

44:35

I'm just going to be putting out

44:37

all these fires, talking to all these people. I'm

44:40

grumpy. I'm very grumpy this morning.

44:42

Okay, right. I drop the

44:44

kids off. I order my coffee

44:46

on my app. I go to my

44:48

coffee shop and prepare to just do

44:51

these difficult things. I'm going to have my

44:53

coffee and just take this day head

44:56

on. So I go and I go to

44:58

the mobile order pickup and I see

45:00

this cup right here and I'm like, well,

45:02

that's not me. That's not my name.

45:04

YouTube good news. Yeah, YouTube can see it.

45:06

Cup is here. Cup here. Cup is

45:08

here, okay? Cup is right there. I see

45:10

it and I'm like, my name's not

45:12

Smee. Smee. I don't know what it says.

45:14

Smee, yeah. Smee. So I just said,

45:17

it Emily? I thought maybe Emily or... It's

45:19

an I in Smee's and an M. Yeah,

45:22

I couldn't quite figure it out. Smee.

45:24

So I'm like either way, not mine.

45:26

My name looks nothing like the name

45:28

on cup. No, not at all. So

45:30

I proceed to sit down. And

45:34

watch everyone come and go and get their

45:36

coffee. Yeah. Getting more angry. You're like,

45:38

I just want my coffee. I just want

45:40

my coffee. pre -ordered. I pre -ordered. I'm

45:42

efficient like that. And where is Smee? When

45:46

I'm efficient and you're not, nothing will

45:48

make me more mad. No. Because

45:50

I did what I'm supposed to do.

45:52

I fully expect you ordered to

45:54

do. So I go up with

45:57

like an angry face. And

45:59

I'm like... Hey, I ordered my coffee

46:01

like forever ago and it's

46:04

still not here. So do you

46:06

know when it'll be ready? Here's

46:08

my coffee. And then she like

46:11

pulls the sleeve down and turns

46:13

it and it's like shows

46:15

me the printed label that

46:18

clearly says Alyssa very small.

46:20

You too. Do you see this? It

46:22

does. It does. And I'm like,

46:24

well then now it's cold. May

46:26

I add? Yeah. And I'm like, what

46:28

is this? Well, that's not my

46:31

name. And she was like,

46:33

oh, we wrote smile on

46:35

your cop. And I'm just

46:37

like, smile, mind your own business.

46:40

I don't want to smile.

46:42

I wanted my copy. I

46:45

wanted it hot. I wanted it

46:47

with the whipped cream still on

46:49

it. Did they remake it? Did

46:51

they remake it? No. You just

46:53

took Smee's cup and were like,

46:55

I was like, were you so

46:58

embarrassed? Were you so embarrassed? No,

47:00

I was angry. I was too

47:02

mad. You were like, this sweet

47:04

smile notice on my cup made

47:06

me more angry than I was.

47:08

More angry. And I think she

47:11

realized like, sorry. Sorry. But it's

47:13

like ironic now, but I'm like

47:15

decafinated at this point. Watching all

47:17

these people enjoy their coffee. Where's my

47:19

coffee? It's just like, it just says

47:22

smile. Did you look around to see

47:24

if other people said smile or did

47:26

they specifically make you the message? They're

47:28

like, listen, you don't look happy. I

47:30

know. Well, they would have had to

47:33

write because it was when I before

47:35

you were there. Yeah, when I walked

47:37

in, that cup was there. My order

47:39

was ready. The irony. I know. It

47:42

was like the universe. It was like

47:44

smile. Smile. And it made me think

47:46

of like when you're mad. And

47:48

someone's like, are you mad?

47:50

And you're like, or when they're

47:52

like, calm down. You're like, I

47:55

am calm. Yes, nothing works better

47:57

than telling a person who's worked

47:59

up. I think we're

48:01

going to keep that cup forever.

48:03

Okay, let's talk about a few

48:06

of the crazy cancellation stats we

48:08

got. Yeah. Okay. Tell me what

48:10

you said about the local title

48:13

company, what they told you. Okay,

48:15

so one of the title companies

48:17

that does a huge chunk of

48:19

our business here said they're seeing

48:22

about a one-third cancellation. One in

48:24

three. One in three of the

48:26

contracts come in, do not make

48:28

it out of due diligence. Okay.

48:31

So she was like, because of

48:33

that, you know, she's like, we're

48:35

struggling too. Right, because there's less

48:37

transactions. There's less transactions. And so

48:40

we don't even want to order

48:42

an abstract. Basically, they're like, we

48:44

can't work for free. These things

48:47

aren't even going to close. Correct.

48:49

And every time they order an

48:51

abstract, that costs money. Yeah. Whether

48:53

or not it goes to clothes.

48:56

I think this would be a

48:58

good time to remember our etiquette.

49:00

Nobody tells us when a file

49:02

cancels. Yeah, they need to know.

49:05

Also, I'm not sure, yes, I

49:07

do think you should pick a

49:09

title company in the beginning. Yeah.

49:12

But save the file. Yeah, it

49:14

doesn't have to go right away.

49:16

No, really? No. Oh, that's tough.

49:18

Or send it and say, feel

49:21

free to hold off and check

49:23

back with me once, you know.

49:25

It looks like this inspection may

49:27

be hard. Yes. You know, this

49:30

fire is very unsure. Whatever. Okay,

49:32

Redfin said one in seven homes

49:34

canceled. Did it, do you remember,

49:36

was it 2024, last month? That

49:39

was January 2025. January. And that

49:41

was the national average, which they

49:43

said is significantly, like one in

49:46

seven is much more, many more

49:48

cancellations than what they're used to

49:50

seeing. Yeah, well, the one I

49:52

found in January 2025, more than

49:55

41,000 home purchase agreements fell through

49:57

representing 14.3% of all contracts signed

49:59

that month. This marks an increase

50:01

from 13.4% a year earlier, so

50:04

the previous January, and the highest

50:06

cancellation rate for this time of

50:08

year since 2017. 2017. What happened

50:10

in 2017? Well, I don't know. It's

50:13

just like that's what the rate

50:15

because in then this then the

50:17

period of time where inventory I

50:19

guess was low enough and there

50:21

was multiple offers. Maybe it's just

50:23

like we're less likely to cancel

50:25

if there's nothing else for us

50:27

to buy. You know, we're like, we're gonna

50:29

make this work. Now people are like,

50:31

meh. I don't want it. Who cares?

50:34

I changed my mind. Yeah, you know

50:36

what. I had a bad dream. I

50:38

had a bad dream. Yeah, I had

50:40

a bad dream. Give us the stats

50:42

on these cities though. Well, it's at

50:44

the top two cities that were experiencing

50:46

the highest level of cancellations. The top

50:48

one was Atlanta at 19.8%, which I

50:50

thought was interesting. And then second place

50:52

was 18% cancellation rate in Orlando, but

50:55

they did go on to elaborate that

50:57

a lot of Florida is struggling because

50:59

of natural disasters, insurance, HOA

51:01

fees, and increase in inventory.

51:03

So that makes sense. They're

51:05

like kind of historically high

51:07

inventory. Yes. Due to the

51:09

other things on that list.

51:11

Right. I'm not sure what's

51:13

going on in Atlanta, but

51:15

it sounds like Georgia, Atlanta

51:17

are experiencing the highest rate

51:19

of cancellations right now. Okay.

51:21

And then it said 37

51:23

out of 50 of the

51:25

largest metros saw a big

51:27

rise in home purchase cancellations.

51:29

37 out of 50. That's almost

51:31

all of them. That's also, these

51:33

are good stats for you to...

51:35

Good bad stats. Good bad stats.

51:37

that maybe it doesn't help

51:39

but your seller but it does

51:41

help them to understand it's not

51:44

you this is what's going on

51:46

it's just market data like

51:48

everything else right so you have to

51:50

share like hey I know this is

51:52

hard but it is a little bit

51:54

more frequent right now or or why

51:56

don't we use this as fuel yeah

51:59

hey mr. Mrs. Seller, your roof

52:01

is 20 years old. These are

52:03

the reasons why I've had cancellations.

52:05

The cancellation rate is at this

52:07

right now. It is historically high

52:09

or just trending up. We're gonna

52:12

have to be prepared, buyers are

52:14

not willing to work through these

52:16

things. I think that's also an

52:18

excellent point because right now, sellers

52:20

need to understand the... The buyer

52:22

behavior right now, yeah, and the

52:24

more you can address before you

52:27

list I know if you know

52:29

your roof is shot replace your

52:31

roof if you know the carpet

52:33

is gross do it before you

52:35

list Right, I think they're just

52:37

really holding out on hope that

52:39

a buyer who doesn't care about

52:42

anything is just going to come

52:44

along. Yeah, and that's just not

52:46

realistic. And in a market that

52:48

is so tough on sellers right

52:50

now, your home really must be

52:52

in the best condition. Shiny. The

52:54

best. Shiny. And at a time

52:56

when they need to be on

52:59

their A gain, they don't want

53:01

to do it. And they don't

53:03

want to listen. No. Like, hey,

53:05

the roof is, this is what's

53:07

going on. I actually told Katie

53:09

before this episode when we went

53:11

on our little walk. I said,

53:14

I'm almost feeling like, you know,

53:16

before this. One of my favorite

53:18

parts was giving sellers homework, not

53:20

only because it's fun to see

53:22

the transformation, but because they enjoyed

53:24

having guidance. Lately, it seems as

53:26

those sellers are like, well, I

53:29

don't want to do any of

53:31

that. Like, well, now we need,

53:33

now is the time we really

53:35

need it. Yeah, more than ever.

53:37

It's going to have to come

53:39

to a point, though, where you're

53:41

like, I'm sorry, I won't be

53:43

able to take your listing. I

53:46

know. I cannot be sure that

53:48

this will sell and I can't

53:50

work for free. Yeah. And that's

53:52

what I would be doing. Yeah,

53:54

like last year I had one

53:56

where I was, I could not

53:58

have been. more clear on my

54:01

listing appointment and this is one that

54:03

made me think maybe I need to

54:05

get them to sign something that says

54:07

my agent advised me of this

54:09

I have been advised and chosen to remain

54:12

as is or whatever right like due to

54:14

the age of my roof Yeah, whatever it

54:16

may be. I have been given proper notice

54:18

that the age of my roof may become

54:20

an issue during the course of this transaction.

54:22

So or the the cigarette smoke may become

54:25

an issue in the course of the train.

54:27

Like it's almost like so that when they

54:29

say why isn't my house selling I'll be

54:31

like you signed you sign this? Do you

54:33

remember when I told you that this is

54:35

what needed to happen to sell your house

54:38

and you didn't want to do any of

54:40

them? Yeah. This is why. It really

54:42

made me want to to do that.

54:44

aren't understanding the importance of addressing these

54:46

things because once a buyer has made

54:48

a decision they are not coming back.

54:50

Like when a buyer says the carpet's

54:52

gross and you replace the carpet and

54:54

the seller's like can you call those

54:56

people back who said the carpet was

54:58

gross and see if they want the

55:00

house I've been like they don't want

55:02

to come back they don't remember they

55:04

don't remember it fondly. And they, yeah,

55:06

their memory of your house is tainted.

55:08

And they're just saying, man, we'll

55:10

keep going. Yeah, we don't really

55:12

need this house. Yeah, we don't

55:14

really need this house. Have you

55:16

had many fall through with financing?

55:18

Like, how's that going? Okay, so

55:21

when I went back to look

55:23

at my canceled. Yeah. I had the

55:25

one this year that was

55:27

during the inspection. The last

55:29

previous cancellation to that. was

55:31

in 2022. So it's been

55:33

three whole years since you

55:35

had a cancellation. Pretty happy

55:37

about that. Amazing. But three

55:40

years ago, the cancellation was

55:42

because you all are going to love

55:44

this. The buyer, my listing, the

55:46

buyer, had a house they were selling

55:48

in another market. It was

55:50

under contract. So they

55:52

decided, well, I'm going to close

55:54

soon, I won't pay my mortgage.

55:56

Then their deal fell through. And I

55:59

guess either they did or didn't pay

56:01

the mortgage but it was already it

56:03

was already 30 days late and in

56:05

case you don't know once you have

56:08

one late mortgage payment you have to

56:10

with most lenders it has to be

56:12

a year since your last late payment

56:15

before you could be approved for a

56:17

loan so guess what they had this

56:19

late payment they their loan their current

56:21

loan was now no longer approved cancel

56:24

like there's literally have a 12-month clean

56:26

no late payment history nothing me or

56:28

my seller could do to get them

56:30

to buy the house. I mean, a

56:33

side of owner financing, like, they weren't

56:35

getting a loan anymore. They were not

56:37

getting a loan anymore. Didn't meet the

56:40

requirements? No way to fix it. So

56:42

that was the 2021 and then I

56:44

had one in 2020 and I had

56:46

one in 2021 that was during inspection.

56:49

I couldn't remember why it's been a

56:51

minute. But I don't typically have a

56:53

lot of cancellations because when we... We

56:56

work through it. Yeah. You work through

56:58

it. I feel very much the same

57:00

way. Like, even when I was searching

57:02

for cancellations for this episode, I couldn't

57:05

really find any that were... And you

57:07

have told stories on the podcast before,

57:09

so obviously in the last five years

57:12

about getting a cancellation and you calling

57:14

the agent and me like, no. We're

57:16

not doing this. We're going to figure

57:18

this out and then you do. Or

57:21

no. And they're like, well, whatever. And

57:23

you said, I remember when you're like,

57:25

do you mind if I talked to

57:28

the buyer? And they were like, sure,

57:30

go for it. Yeah. And it worked.

57:32

And you saved it. So a good

57:34

agent can save a deal. I did

57:37

ask this other agent if she wouldn't

57:39

talk to her buyers if I could.

57:41

She said, no. This one. Yeah. Yeah.

57:44

And then she started acting like I

57:46

was being crazy. Like, Elissa, we can't

57:48

force this. And I'll be like, yeah,

57:50

I just want to try harder. I

57:53

know, I'm not trying to force them.

57:55

I said, I think it was, I

57:57

think it was because I mess, I

58:00

mess. her back a few times, like,

58:02

so you're not going to

58:04

talk to them? I just

58:06

want to clarify, you're not

58:09

going to pass on our

58:11

message. She was like, maybe

58:13

she took that hard. Right.

58:16

Yeah, I did. I took

58:18

it very hard. I think

58:20

maybe she took it hard too.

58:23

Like, what are you saying? I'm

58:25

not doing my job? Correct. market

58:27

is mercury and retrograde vibes like

58:29

y'all get it together yeah i

58:32

don't i don't understand okay any

58:34

other things you need to complain

58:36

about because this will be your

58:39

big moment of complaining on the

58:41

show i just don't know i

58:43

i do love my sellers i

58:46

don't love when they cry i

58:48

prefer they not do that because

58:50

i feel really bad for them

58:52

and i want nothing more and

58:55

i will eventually tear up

58:57

Yeah, like I am gonna

58:59

also cry. Like if you

59:01

just keep crying, I am

59:03

gonna be like feeling real

59:05

bad for you. Yeah. But extreme

59:08

emotions are not required

59:10

to sell and buy a home.

59:13

So I know that we

59:15

joke about being like

59:17

a therapist or a

59:19

psychologist or whatever as

59:21

a realtor. And that's

59:23

obviously true. But also I'm

59:25

not technically trained for this.

59:28

Yeah. So I I really

59:30

I need I need there to be

59:32

like a therapist who comes along

59:34

with the transaction to like talk

59:36

you off the ledge when you're

59:38

spiraling. What am I supposed to

59:41

tell the seller that's spiraling?

59:43

Yeah. I'm asking. I hear you. That's what

59:45

I say. I have no. No, I say

59:47

I hear you and I wish more than

59:49

anything that I could force this. I'll say

59:51

that. I wish I could force this. I

59:54

wish I could make those people. By this

59:56

house. By this house right now. But it

59:58

doesn't fix the problem. I wish

1:00:00

I could, I wish I could make them.

1:00:02

I don't love it, I'm not loving

1:00:04

it. Are you looking for something? I was

1:00:06

just gonna read some like funny quotes. Oh

1:00:08

please. Maybe to help us. Did you find

1:00:10

a funny quote? Yeah, I found a few.

1:00:12

Great, I can't wait. A

1:00:15

perfect metaphor for my business right now would

1:00:18

be someone trying to stand up in a

1:00:20

hammock. Absolutely.

1:00:26

What a visual, what a visual.

1:00:28

Even a dumpster fire warms

1:00:31

up something. Be the heat. Be

1:00:33

the heat. Be the heat.

1:00:35

So that light at the end

1:00:37

of the tunnel, huge dumpster

1:00:39

fire. Right.

1:00:42

It's like, there's just - I had a book

1:00:44

once with quotes in it. The name of

1:00:46

the book was, the light at the end

1:00:49

of the tunnel is an oncoming train. There

1:00:53

it is. I don't remember what

1:00:55

the subject matter was, but it's

1:00:57

just such a funny thing to

1:00:59

think. When I was sitting at

1:01:01

the beach a few high noons

1:01:03

in, sulking and pouting about myself,

1:01:05

trying to decide if it was

1:01:07

unethical to message a buyer on

1:01:09

Facebook, which I didn't do, but

1:01:11

this one makes me think of,

1:01:14

I took the high road and

1:01:16

I didn't do it. It

1:01:18

says, whoever established the high road and how

1:01:20

high it should be, should be fired. how

1:01:24

I felt. I want permission to do this.

1:01:26

Why do I have to do everything myself?

1:01:28

Yeah, I'm like, I'm not taking your money.

1:01:30

I just want to pass along a message

1:01:32

that you wouldn't. Yeah. Right,

1:01:36

but like, why not just,

1:01:38

there's more. I'm just telling

1:01:40

you right now, my intuition

1:01:42

says there's more to that

1:01:44

relationship. Oh yeah, something's going

1:01:46

on. Something has to be

1:01:48

going on that you would

1:01:51

just not call. Hey, just

1:01:53

so you know, sellers said

1:01:55

they'll give you more. Okay,

1:01:57

bye. It's pretty short. Right.

1:01:59

I mean, oh geez. Oh

1:02:01

no. Well... in there guys. We are we

1:02:03

are doing this every day with you and that is

1:02:06

why I think this podcast is successful. I mean and

1:02:08

look my poor seller who's like so we had it

1:02:10

under contract and it got canceled they had

1:02:12

already put another house in our contract

1:02:14

which are closing one soon and I'm

1:02:16

like we had a long close so

1:02:18

we should have been able to and

1:02:20

we did get under contract and get

1:02:23

their house selling close to the same

1:02:25

time. Yeah. And then they had no showings

1:02:27

for a while at Crickets. I'm like,

1:02:29

oh my gosh, this is the worst.

1:02:31

The worst. And now we've had some

1:02:33

showings, but just no offers. And so,

1:02:35

you know, she's pretty frantic. And

1:02:37

like, for instance, today, we

1:02:39

get a showing request for like

1:02:41

in the afternoon. She's like, oh,

1:02:43

okay. Immediately she's approving all showings,

1:02:45

because she's like, we've got to

1:02:47

sell this thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1:02:50

She approved the showing and then

1:02:52

like minutes later is texting me. I

1:02:54

something happened at work I cannot actually go and

1:02:56

get the dog can you see if they'll come

1:02:58

a little bit later I don't want to lose

1:03:00

the showing I'm gonna blame myself if the house

1:03:02

like this is a lot of pressure for you

1:03:05

but I'm like okay no problem let me talk

1:03:07

to him and I'm like the agent's like well

1:03:09

no unfortunately we can't come later if

1:03:11

we don't come today at that time

1:03:14

we can't come back until it was

1:03:16

like a date two weeks from now

1:03:18

and I was like are you serious

1:03:20

right now. So I tell the seller

1:03:22

and she's like, I'll figure it out,

1:03:24

I'll figure it out. And like she

1:03:26

goes over and like deals

1:03:28

with the dog like midday

1:03:30

of her middle of her

1:03:32

work day. Because she's... I'll be

1:03:35

honest, I showed a house to a

1:03:37

buyer the other day. It was

1:03:39

a unique house. I may have

1:03:41

to show it to you. Oh, I

1:03:43

brought Tanner to it. And I was

1:03:45

sort of tempted for it by myself. Ended

1:03:48

up no. But do you know why? Because

1:03:50

I'm like, I don't want to be a

1:03:52

seller in this market right now. Of your

1:03:54

house. If I was going to move right

1:03:56

now and buy it, because this house that

1:03:58

I'm talking about was like. heck of

1:04:00

a deal really cool like had some

1:04:03

neat things I could see I could

1:04:05

see the vision I can't I can't

1:04:07

and I thought yeah that'd be great

1:04:10

but then I have to be a

1:04:12

seller and I'm in the trenches of

1:04:14

sellers right now and I don't want

1:04:17

to do that I don't think I

1:04:19

can do it I don't think I

1:04:21

could emotionally handle it right now so

1:04:24

I think we also may need to

1:04:26

remember to give our sellers some grace

1:04:28

I am for the grace. What is

1:04:31

something we can do? Like to even

1:04:33

randomly do something kind? Send them drugs?

1:04:35

I know. Like take this, go night

1:04:38

night. Yeah, you, I don't. I don't

1:04:40

know. Give them a free coupon to

1:04:42

therapy? I'm not sure. I know, it's

1:04:45

beyond coffee, I guess. You could,

1:04:47

a stimulant, probably not wise. Yeah,

1:04:49

they need decaf. They need to relax.

1:04:51

Oh, that's a good point. Okay. Maybe

1:04:53

some more that came a meal tea.

1:04:56

Yeah. I don't know. Since some came

1:04:58

a meal tea in the mail. I

1:05:00

don't have a practical answer. All I

1:05:03

can do is take their calls.

1:05:05

Yeah. And it responded their text.

1:05:07

I work on making sure every buyer

1:05:09

has, or buyer's agent has all the

1:05:11

information they need. Like I'm doing my

1:05:14

job at the best I can. Yeah,

1:05:16

for sure. I guess the worst thing

1:05:18

you could do would be like

1:05:20

just pretending it's not happening and

1:05:22

then like ghost them. If you're not

1:05:25

communicating with your sellers right now, they're

1:05:27

going to fire you and they will

1:05:29

bash your name. Yeah, no one wants.

1:05:32

Because even the good responsive one right

1:05:34

now agents are agents. hard it's so

1:05:36

hard i'm lucky enough to know

1:05:38

i'm doing everything i can yeah

1:05:40

and i've been through this market before

1:05:43

not exactly the same market but a

1:05:45

hard market yeah and i remember the

1:05:47

tears from those clients yeah so like

1:05:50

i don't i don't this isn't an

1:05:52

easy job and i think the last

1:05:54

couple of years maybe we're giving

1:05:56

some people some false ideas about

1:05:59

it being an easy job And it's

1:06:01

actually not easy. No. Well, that

1:06:03

was really uplifting and positive.

1:06:05

I think we're gonna just

1:06:07

end now. I know. Well,

1:06:09

thank you all for listening.

1:06:11

Whoever's toast is today. Yeah,

1:06:13

what a downer. Sorry. Bring

1:06:16

us back up. Lift us

1:06:18

up. Yeah, let's end with

1:06:20

a positive encouraging. Happy toast.

1:06:22

Okay, great. Bye, guys. Bye.

1:06:24

My name is Patty Chesney,

1:06:26

and I'm from Austin, Texas,

1:06:28

and I would like to

1:06:30

toast Katie Biggis She's also

1:06:32

from Austin, and she's with Jamie

1:06:34

Goodwin and she was one of the

1:06:37

first people I met when I got

1:06:39

into real estate She was just so

1:06:41

encouraging and every time I talk to

1:06:43

her she just sparks joy and just

1:06:46

one of those people you just can't

1:06:48

get enough of so cheers to Katie

1:06:51

Thank you so much for tuning

1:06:53

in to the Hustle Humbly Podcast.

1:06:55

If you enjoy this episode, please

1:06:58

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1:07:00

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1:07:03

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1:07:05

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1:07:07

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1:07:10

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1:07:12

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1:07:15

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1:07:17

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