March 15th, 2011 at 11:09 pm
As you know, in today’s market, transactions have become harder and harder to close. In an equity sale, your buyer may have more difficulty getting a loan. In a short sale, on the other hand, the demands of the numerous creditors may make getting approval almost impossible. Because of these difficulties, we are seeing more agents question where the line on appropriate behavior falls. They seem to be asking themselves whether they can move the line a little farther in this market, allowing themselves to be more aggressive in trying to close their deal. The answer to that question is “no”. You must remember that the difficulty of a certain deal has nothing to do with the appropriateness of your behavior. Doing the right thing is the same no matter how difficult the client or the transaction. With that in mind, we have found that agents are forgetting one very important point when dealing with today’s market: YOUR DEAL DOES NOT HAVE TO CLOSE. We know times are tough, and while every commission is important, when you refuse to walk away from a potentially illegal or unethical deal, you are basically condoning the questionable conduct of others and involving yourself in their schemes. Do not lose sight of the fact that even when a deal is cancelled, life will go on and there will be another deal. If the only way to close the deal you are presently working on is to potentially defraud the bank, WALK AWAY. No deal is worth the problems that come with inappropriate and potentially illegal activity. So, understanding how painful this can be to accept, always remember that YOUR DEAL DOES NOT HAVE TO CLOSE. Do not compromise your integrity or license so that the deal can close. The risks do not outweigh the benefits.
As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions you might have.
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