Contracts & Chaos
Contracts & Chaos is the place to hear about what's happening to fellow Realtors like you. That crazy seller, the buyer who left at closing; we talk about it. How to stay relevant and thrive in a down market? We discuss it.
Alyssa & Brenna are Realtors located in the Charlotte and Hickory, NC market who have built their businesses in communities they are transplants in, without buying leads or joining mega teams to make it happen. They've beaten the odds during a pandemic and are here to share their stories, tips and advice on how to survive a down market or start your business from scratch.
Contracts & Chaos
146: The Cost Of Waiting
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"I think we're just going to wait..."
If you've been in real estate for more than five minutes, you've heard those words from buyers, sellers, and maybe you've even said them yourself as an agent.
In this episode, we're talking about the cost of waiting. Not to scare anyone into making a decision, but to have an honest conversation about what happens when we let fear, overthinking, or "perfect timing" keep us stuck.
We're chatting about buyers waiting for rates to drop, sellers waiting for the "right" market, and agents waiting until they have the perfect social media strategy, website, CRM, or confidence before they take action.
Sometimes waiting is absolutely the right move. But sometimes waiting costs more than taking the next step.
Like what you heard? Make sure to follow and review the podcast, and shoot us a message with your thoughts at
contractsandchaos@gmail.com
@YourHomeGirl_CLT
@Real.Life.Brenna
We are live and we are talking about uh the most expensive word in real estate.
SPEAKER_01Yes, wait or later.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01We'll do that later.
SPEAKER_00The cost of waiting is what we're talking about today. Because I think it happens to everyone in this industry. I know that right now people are like, oh, buyers are waiting, right? If you wait, interest rates could go up or house prices could go up. But this applies to everybody in real estate, including us as agents.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, this is not just the the buyer waits for the rates to drop and they don't, or they wait for them to drop and they do, and now they have to come in 40,000 over asking. Like this also applies to have you done your cold calling? Did you follow up with that lead? Um, have you started any marketing yet? Like what's going on? Yeah. Uh and marketing, like, not even just to get business, but to sell it, to like get your list, like, was your market fast? So you were like, oh, like we just posted it and now we're done. But to find out it switched that week and you should have been on top, like that weight can that can mess things up.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01What is just curious, what's like the most expensive thing you've seen, like the most expensive delay you've experienced in real estate?
SPEAKER_00Well, I would have to say that it was a seller of mine many years ago. I say many. I've been in this business for what, six years, almost seven years now. Many, many years ago. Um, was a scholar seven years ago. So a seller of mine, they'd reached out months in advance, right? And it wasn't necessarily their problem. Um, but at that time, the houses there were, we were looking at like 450, 475. And they were redoing the house, and it was a contractor that was like really just they were out of state. The contractor was kind of like focusing on jobs that I guess had people in the house nagging on him a little bit more. You know what I mean? Um, and they were like, well, no big deal, no big deal. Uh, and we don't want to, they didn't end up listing it in May, right? Which is a great time to list. We ended up listing it in November. And I told them when they were ready. At that point, I was like, this is the hardest time to sell. There are still people out there looking, right? But November, we are coming into the holidays. And our price, like houses in that, it's an older neighborhood, so houses in that neighborhood weren't selling as often, but there were three that had sold on that street that summer, and they had taken price decreases and concessions, and we were looking at 425 at that point. So it was a huge difference. And they were like, wow, um, no, we really want to get it on the market. So we put it on the market in November. Crickets, crickets, crickets, crickets, crickets. And then you understand, like, you know, people are doing the holiday thing, and then they start asking, well, it's been on the market for 90 days, right? So they're waiting, or at the point of November, not waiting until January really ended up hurting us at the end of the. I mean, they were fine with it. They're they were business people, they were investors. Like they were just, it's just a line item on their spreadsheet. But I know we could have done more with that house.
unknownI know.
SPEAKER_01I had one similar, she timed it right, but we the one offer we got wanted some repairs done, and she refused. And so they canceled. And then she pulled it, and then she relisted with another local agent, and I was like, Okay, good luck. Because she waited to do repairs, and I don't know if she did them when she closed on this. I'm assuming she would have had to. She closed for less than what that first offer wanted once they had gotten their inspection done. If she had just either taken, like they because they said we'll or we can just lower the price and we'll take it as is. Yep. And she refused. And she ended up closing for a lot less. And I don't know if she did the repairs or if it was as is, but that weight of no, I'll find a better offer. Y'all, one in the hands worth two in the bush sometimes. Like, especially if you're in a repair situation.
SPEAKER_00Or wait to get an offer. I had one recently that previously this house had been listed. I was the third listing agent on this house, and it's needed a roof now for probably the last five years, right? And their original roof quote was, you know, $16,000. Great. They never they didn't want to do it. They wanted to wait. They wanted to wait until they had offered a concession. They want to do this, they want to do that. And when I came to the appointment, I was like, listen to me, roofs are the biggest thing right now, right? And a buyer's not gonna come in at this price and then say, Oh yeah, I'm gonna have to put a $20,000 roof on this place. So they said, Well, we'll do the roof, but we're not gonna do it before we before we list. We'll do it once we get an offer, right? So, but here's what happened: we got an offer. They start doing the roof. But because they didn't replace the roof five years ago, there was so much wood rot over the garage and everything. They ended up rebuilding one of the walls in the garage and they ended up rebuilding, there was like 40 roof trusses that had to be replaced over the garage with the roof. That roof was $41,000 by the time it was done. And it was all because they waited to get it done.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, y'all. Delayed maintenance on houses and cars, not a good idea. Oh shoot, that reminds me. I need to book an oil. Um but it's I mean, it's the truth though. Like, I have I need to paint, touch up the paint on the side of my house, and I need to do it. And I know if I don't, it it's gonna be bad because it's wood siding. So I have one right now.
SPEAKER_00We listed the how the floors were not great. They they bought it as a flip. The flipper used the cheapest, thinnest material. It was chipped, it was little, it's just not great. That was most of the feedback that we got, right? People hated the floors, and I told them that before we listed, we need to get the floors done. And they're in a tight spot, and I understand that. But and I'm the second listing agent on this property, and we pulled it off the market recently to reset it, and I was like, you have to do the floors because another property, like four houses up from them, was completely gutted and remodeled and listed at the same price that we were, right? And I was like, this is not going to work for you. And unfortunately, that house has been since sold $10,000 less than what we were listed at. Brand new refinish. So not only are they now putting money into the floors, we're not gonna get the same money out of it from the immediate comps in the neighborhood, right? No, but had they done the floors before we listed it last year, it it might probably so because that's the other thing.
SPEAKER_01They don't realize people can see the history, they can go back and their agent can see the old photos. How many times have we been like, what's up with this price change? And then you go, oh, yeah. So they can tell. Like they know. What are some let's discuss like mistakes buyers make when they by waiting, like waiting for rates.
SPEAKER_00I have a good one.
SPEAKER_01Y'all stop. Just stop.
SPEAKER_00I have a good story.
SPEAKER_01It's it's not happening anytime soon. And if and and what's gonna happen is houses are still gonna get more expensive, especially in our area. Like we literally just got rated one of the like places with the most people moving to it.
SPEAKER_00Yep, absolutely. It's not gonna get better. No, absolutely not. So I have a story. Um, in 2020, and I might have shared this story before. If I have, I'm sorry, y'all. Just stay with me. Um, I had clients that were pre-approved for like $375, okay, with a 2.8% interest rate. Oh, right? What? Are you kidding me? Um that's nice. But this was uh a situation where he thought that the house prices were too high, which house prices did go up, but your interest rate was real low, right? Um, and they we sh showed property, he made a few lowball, ridiculous offers on things, and then he's like, Well, I'm just gonna wait for the house prices to come down. Well, the house prices did not come down, and the interest rates sure did go up. And when they hit 7.5%, they couldn't they didn't qualify, they didn't qualify anymore, right? They went from looking at a $375,000 house to $150,000 to $175,000. Cause I don't think people realize how big of a jump that was. That was a huge jump. And now like they re-signed a lease. Like, and say this was several years ago. Now they're still leasing. They're still leasing. They could have, they could have had the property with the four acres that we toured that was absolutely every box that they wanted, but it was more money than he wanted to spend, which is fine. But that property has since resold for $45,000 more than it sold for in 2020, right? It it's just you he you missed. You missed it, and that sucks.
SPEAKER_01I think another one that I'm experiencing right now is so many people only get one pre-approval. And a lot of lenders don't walk people through what the cash to close is or what the fees are, no matter how many times they tell them, shop it. Talk to this lender, talk to, especially if you might qualify for like um different programs to get you cash at closing, like shop it. And I I told my client this, I said, You need to look at these, look at this. Like, let's look at new construction, and they were stuck on purchase price. I'm like, you're not looking at like you've got to look at the whole picture with the incentives and the interest rates. Like, you can get a hell of a lot more house usually. So and finally, like, that's her task this week. I we met with some new construction on Saturday, and she was like, Oh my god, I had no idea. And I was like, No idea, what are you talking? But anyway, I said, That's your job this week. I want you to call and talk to all these lenders and see. I mean, we know you're gonna qualify, unless it's like in a reduced income thing. You should still qualify. Yeah. Um so see which because she wants to like pay off some debt and stuff, and I'm like, see who's going to give you the most cash to close. See who's giving you the best closing deals. Like keep as much money in your pocket as possible. I think that's a mistake people make a lot too, is they just they go to their local bank or they go the one lender, one of the three you've sent them, and they don't shop not even just the rate, the fees, the you know, down payment assistance programs, or you know, is new construction, or even some there are some lenders, it doesn't have to be new construction. They have programs to help get people into different areas that gives you money at closing. Yep. And it's forgivable. One of them is a grant program that is forgiven at the closing table. You never have to pay it back. Yeah. And it's like $15,000. I think that's a mistake a lot of buyers make is they don't they don't look at all the options.
SPEAKER_00Um I think one thing, and this is a good line to use for clients is like waiting till they feel ready. And this goes for buyers or sellers, right? But ready isn't a feeling. Ready is a decision, right? Nobody feels ready to have a kid, right? I don't think. I mean, I just assume. I will never know. Nobody feels ready to like there's so many, there's so many things that this can apply to, but ready is a decision. Like I'm ready, right? But if you wait to feel ready, you could you can miss out on some great deals. I have buyers getting great deals right now because it is a buyer's market. I don't care what you see out there. Sellers are, I feel like buyers have more power out there right now than the sellers do.
SPEAKER_01Agreed.
SPEAKER_00And I mean, I've had three this year that have gotten money back at closing, like you were saying, like they didn't bring cash to close, they got a check cut to them at closing, which is phenomenal. And I love that for them. Um, but that's because they're moving, they're making the decision, they are ready, they are doing the things. Um, and that's that's great. We kind of we kind of already talked about the seller.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we talked about sellers, like waiting to make repairs, waiting to declutter. I was thinking about this one. Like, I did an open house a couple weeks ago, and for the most part, the house was pretty well put together, but like the kids' beds weren't made as nicely as I thought they should be. So I went and remade them. And then I told my client, this is how this needs to look for every showing. Because the kids' beds being messy. I know they're kids, I know I get it. But if you have a showing and we're this like it has to be perfect. So if that means you need to run home at your lunch break and tidy up the way beds are made, I want you running home at your lunch break to tidy this up.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Like it makes presentation is so huge, right? It's so huge, especially right now. Um, people getting stuck in, you know, it we say yesterday's market, but 2020 was a long time ago, you guys. Like those that that it's not that seller market anymore. It has swung the other way.
SPEAKER_01I mean, when's the last time we saw that? 22? Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Maybe maybe because 22, guys. Yeah, 22 is when interest rates started going up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up.
SPEAKER_01So, let's let's get off the talk about buyers and sellers. Let's talk about real time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, because I think that there's a lot of uh, I mean, there's a few big ones on this list that I know personally, real estate agents that are just like waiting. And I would name call you out because I know that you listen to this podcast, but I won't. But just know that I'm talking to you. We're talking about waiting to do that video, right? Get because you don't like your face, you don't like your voice, you think it's just weird on video. I'm talking to you. Take the video. This is how this is who you are. Like when you're meeting a seller face to face, you look the way that you look, you talk the way that you talk, however, whatever it is. How you present on video is how you present in real life in most cases, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yo, when I first started video, I literally was doing a series of like, I just finished on the Peloton. Here's my thoughts about what's going on with with real estate. Or it was I was out walking Mabel in 100 degree heat and I'm sweating my butt off, and I just whip out the camera and talk. Like, I love that. Do it. Just do it. Um, yeah, the ones waiting to start social media, I'm just kind of like, just do something on it. Yeah, you might something. Something is better than nothing. Even if you aren't studying the algorithms or tracking which time posts do better. You know what I heard post something.
SPEAKER_00The other day, somebody said that they've already missed social media. And I was like, I don't think that you can miss on social media. You miss if you don't start, right? And I understand that there was a big boom for social media in 2020 when we were all locked at home and everybody was staring at a screen. But there is so much connection that can happen on your social media platforms. And you just saying, oh well, I missed it. Be like you're not gonna go viral tomorrow, is I love you a little bit of a cop out, I think. I think I would agree.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, not everyone's gonna be a Gary V or a Glenda, what's her name?
SPEAKER_00Oh, Glenda Baker.
SPEAKER_01God love her. Glenda Baker.
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01I love her. Um, but you can be your neighborhoods, Glenda Baker. Get in your Facebook group, get in the mom group, you know, and just again, that's that back to we were talking about on the busy episode about connecting. Like that's a way to connect. If you really don't have time to be out because you've got eight kids or a full-time job, excuse me, that's the way to connect locally.
SPEAKER_00Because social media is huge. It's one to many, right? Like you can make one comment, even one comment on somebody's post that's looking for a local babysitter or the best coffee shop with good Wi-Fi, right? If you're putting your name and your face out there, people are seeing that, right?
SPEAKER_01Which is yo, that is how I got my first listing. Someone posted about my friend Amy posted, don't buy from so-and-so, it's all a scam. And I DM'd her and said, girl, what are you doing? Buying a house without me? And she was like, Oh no, that was about a car, but actually, yeah, I do want to sell my townhouse. Can you come over tomorrow? Literally, that was me. I had just started, just started all of it and was making crappy Canva posts on Facebook. But that one DM got me my first deal and my second because she bought and sold. That's amazing. So like do the thing. Yes. And at a minimum, in your about you, it should say what you do for a living. Because then if you're in the other things and people come to your page, they see that. It does I'm not asking you to go all out and be a social media rock star. I'm just saying, at a minimum, have some conversations and put it in your profile as to what you do for for work.
SPEAKER_00Yep.
SPEAKER_01Um, another one, I'm guilty. Calling your database. I hate. I hate it. I know. I have reads in there. I should, I should be calling to say, hey, I saw you clicked on this property.
SPEAKER_00But staying in there, like, what if you like this has happened a couple of times over the years for me that somebody, like, one, I sold them this house, right? And then I saw on Facebook, because we're Facebook friends, that they moved to Georgia. And I was like, oh my god, what what happened? Right? And she's like, well, we just felt bad. I know you've been busy, so we sold with another agent. And I'm like, girl, I wasn't that busy. You know what I mean? But I wasn't following up, I wasn't keeping in touch with those past clients. And and this can be database as far as new leads or past clients. People don't stay in their house. I don't care if they told you this was their forever house. It might not be. It probably won't be. You know what I mean? Like life changes, things change. Don't wait to call your database. You're missing out on deals in there. Um, another thing, like there's agents that, well, I don't really know that much about land, right? So I'm not gonna sell land. Okay, well, if you don't want to sell land, great, but learn about it. If you don't know about expireds, figure it out. Like you're waiting for somebody to hand you the golden keys, but YouTube is free.
SPEAKER_01I was just gonna say, figuring it out doesn't mean you have to hire a coach or spend money. YouTube is free, podcasts are free, um, some Facebook groups are free, you know, or go to your local networking events, the luncheon learns from the lenders. Yep. That, like Brennan and I have said this dozens of times. That's where we cut our teeth. That is where we learned so much in the first two years. I mean, I probably saw Brennan three times a week, our first two years in real estate.
SPEAKER_00I haven't seen her in three years.
SPEAKER_01I don't well, no, I saw you six months ago. I saw you the first week of January. Um okay, we've got to get coffee soon.
SPEAKER_00We see each other every week on the screen, but never, ever, everyone. Every day. But it's crazy.
SPEAKER_01Um but anyway, yeah, like don't feel like that has to cost money. That is my biggest people are like, well, where do I find this? Or I have to get a mentor. Like, one of the things I tell my mentees is I'm not teaching you everything. And I should not be your only resource. If you're not hungry enough to go find it, then you shouldn't be in this industry.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I'm just I'm just gonna say it. If you're not hungry enough to find the free resources to learn how to do this job, then you don't want it enough.
SPEAKER_00Yep.
SPEAKER_01Um, another one is waiting until business slows down. We've touched on this, like we're both slammed right now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm trying to finish CE in the last week that I have to finish CE because I've just not had time to sit in the house.
SPEAKER_01I love the like the educators who post on June 9th, hey, I have a class that ends at midnight tonight.
SPEAKER_00Uh-huh. And they get a whole room.
SPEAKER_01No, I was gonna say, you know, they've got a hundred people in that internet class. No, they do for sure. Um but that's not just like your CE. It's you're prospecting, it's your checking on people. Like, you know, I have found because I have been super busy during the day that the behind the scenes stuff, the I'm scheduling the social media late at night. I'm working on my client updates late at night and scheduling them for the morning so that hey, they're still going out on time, but I'm not I'm because I'm out and doing things, like I've had to transition when I'm doing those things. Um or like yesterday I had a list of things I had to do and I needed quiet and focus. I left my house to do them.
SPEAKER_00Yep.
SPEAKER_01Because I knew like Mabel would want in and out. I knew like I would get distracted with wanting to do, which I just think about it. I need to go switch the laundry, you know, like I knew that would happen. So maybe sometimes that waiting for business to slow down is you just need to restructure your day. Well, because don't wait.
SPEAKER_00And the next segment, like the next little thing that we have to talk about is like delays in inside your business, right? Like waiting it just in the day-to-day items, right? And we're not saying to jump when you get an email, right? But prioritizing the tasks at hand, right? So following would you get a a text and you're from an agent and you're busy. But following up today instead of tomorrow um tomorrow, you know? Um difficult conversations like if your appraisal came in low or you looked at the home inspection report and you don't love it, right? Or your buyer suddenly decided they don't want to buy that house anymore, Alyssa. Like, I know we've had that difficult conversation recently with your clients. Like this can be a price reduction on your listing. This can be that you have to switch lenders. This can be, hey, I don't answer my phone at 10 o'clock at night. You should be having that conversation before you have a client. But that's beside the point. Little things that you just set off till tomorrow. Like you said, scheduling is my best friend, right? Because if I can schedule them while we're we're sitting on the couch, just kind of relaxing before bed, and that stuff all happens in the morning while I'm getting up and getting the kids ready for school or not getting the kids ready for school now or out of school, but like the morning things are happening and I have emails going out and I have text messages that are sending, that's saving me time and my clients are like, wow, she's really on it.
SPEAKER_01And I would rather, even if I'm like working on something late at night, I'm still scheduling it to send in the morning so that people don't see me working late at night and expect, oh, well, I could call her or text her then. Correct. I mean you could, but I'm not gonna answer. So like that's a I feel like that's a double shield for me. Yep. It protects people from knowing, yes, she's still working at 10 30 at night. But it also shows, oh, she's on at first thing in the morning. Yep. Well, I'm sometimes still laying in my bed scrolling TikTok, wondering if I need to go get coffee or if I remember to make cold brew the night before. Like it it it's I think that's a double whammy for agents. Yep. Um what are the ones that no one sees? Like the opportunity costs, like where the money you lost isn't as obvious.
SPEAKER_00For like waiting?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like so like you touched on this, the client who used someone else. Right, right. Because we didn't reach out.
SPEAKER_00Or somebody lets you know that they were getting ready to list or were interested in listing, and you're like, okay, great. And then you never followed up with them, and then so you never scheduled the appointment, and again, they they listed with somebody else, they worked with somebody else because their timeline is moving, right? So if and again, this isn't an urgency pop-tart jump where everybody needs you to jump, but being mindful of the conversations that you're having. If somebody said that they're looking, listen, you better be reaching out to them, right? Like I have a sweet friend, a sweet teacher at the school, actually, from all the PTO stuff, like she's gonna be buying this summer, hopefully. But this has been a six-month conversation, right? Like a six-month follow-up process, and I know she knows other agents. So it's it's one of those situations.
SPEAKER_01Right, or maybe it's the referral you never got because you didn't reach out or you didn't send the email saying, Hey, I have a VIP referral program where the first referral you send me every year gets a 40%, you know, referral fee instead of the 20 or 25. I I know I'm sitting on that project. I have all the stuff on the table behind me, and I just have not had the time to put together the little box to mail to people. How many referrals is that that I possibly missed this year? Because I haven't taken that time. I've been waiting.
SPEAKER_00Don't you hate to think about that? Yeah, you hate to hate to think about it. Okay, so what are I what are you waiting for at the end of the day, right? Like, what is there one thing that you're putting off? Is it video? Is it expired? I for you, is it your VIP referral club, right?
SPEAKER_01It's I it's that and it's calling the people who are new in my database because I've been so weighed down with day like client things lately. I know, I know there's business in there. I need to, I need to sit down and block the time and call people.
SPEAKER_00Yep, absolutely. And say you just answered the why. That's I was gonna say, why? Why aren't you doing it? You're busy, right? You have stuff going. We all have stuff going on. And I think that that's where making that conscious decision, like when are you gonna do it this week, right? Like what and it doesn't have to be today, right? But put time on your calendar, make a conscious decision to say maybe I'm not gonna get all, I don't know how many you're sending, 50 VIP referral boxes done this week, but I'm gonna do 15 of them, right? Right. And this is the other thing, right? Because I'm I'm guilty of this. Like we uh I do calendars, like school calendars, right? And I was a big one the first year that I did. This will be the fourth year that I'm doing them. I think this is the fourth year. Um, the first year I like waited until I had everybody signed up and everything was stamped and everything, and then I tried to do them all at once. Well, that that doesn't necessarily work, right? So if I get 25 signups, I do 25, right? Or have my kids stuff 25 envelopes and then we mail them in. It doesn't all have to be mailed one day. It doesn't have to all be finished at the same time for it to be a success. Your first four VIP referral boxes might be your most successful ones out of 50, out of 100. Same thing with expireds. Like you don't have to do a hundred, or for me for FISBOs, you don't have to call all 80, right? It's just about stop, stop waiting. Stop procrastinating. I know uh my sister told me once she was gonna get me a t-shirt that said I put the pro in procrastination, right?
SPEAKER_01Oh I need that one too. That's not 8080, ADHD, though, because it's so true. It's true. Thrive in the last 30 minutes of getting something done. Yes. My house is always the cleanest when my mom is 45 minutes away. It's not leading the two days leading up knowing she's coming, it's the 45 minutes of me running around the house before she gets here.
SPEAKER_00Yep, yep, yeah. Like I mean, the other the other saying to that though is that procrastination is the bold assumption that you're gonna have another chance to do it, right? So if you can do it now, why are you waiting to do it tomorrow?
SPEAKER_01Yep, yep, yep. On that note, that was a good one, Brenna.
SPEAKER_00Panks. We will talk to y'all next week. Bye guys.