Agent Talks Client Out of Buying a Home

One of our agents got an interesting email from a client a couple weeks after closing on a home:

“Thanks for all your work on our house purchase – much appreciated!  We are particularly grateful in this case that you kept after us to see the drawbacks of the property on [particular street name] even after we were under contract to buy it because the property we ended up with is perfect for us.”

Here is the story behind the email. The client was working with one of our agents. This couple was looking for a house in the foothills west of Denver with a few acres so they could have a couple horses.

One property caught the client’s attention because it offered a rare combination – lots of acreage that was close to town and offered a short commute to work. The clients were excited and wanted to write an offer right away.

Now traditional wisdom in any sales business is to “strike while the iron is hot”. Write it up. Get’em to sign. Close the deal. Move on down the road.

Our agent had misgivings, however. The property was only 100 yards north of Interstate 70 and had significant traffic noise. Knowing that many people moving to acreage property are looking for peace and quiet, he explained that the property would be hard to resell someday.

There were other significant drawbacks. The agent pointed these out but also acknowledged the positives for the property. While expressing major reservations, he allowed space for the clients to make their own decision. The clients decided to move forward.

When the house was inspected, significant issues were uncovered. Although the seller indicated willingness to address many of them, our agent used the opportunity to again discuss the downsides of the overall transaction. Ultimately, the client felt it best to terminate the deal and continue looking.

With two or three weeks of additional looking, our agent found them another property that had none of the drawbacks of the first property and that they really loved. They closed on it and are living there happily.

What is really fun for us about this story is that this is exactly the culture we are creating intentionally at Colorado Home Realty. We see our job as being more than salespeople – we see ourselves as consultants who help clients make good decisions about their real estate.

In addition, all of our agents are very focused on building a list of satisfied clientele who use them over and over and who refer family and friends to them.

By making sure the client was fully informed about the first deal and helping them wait for the right property, the agent was building a long-term relationship of trust instead of just making a sale.

It is all part of our ongoing effort to innovate and change the real estate industry for the benefit of consumers.