I was talking to my friend Sara Weiser about a multiple offer situation that a client and I were recently negotiating. I was absolutely certain we were going to win and couldn’t imagine anybody having a stronger offer than ours. However, when there are twelve offers on a property, no matter how much cash is in the bank, no matter how many contingencies you waive, no matter how much over list price you’re willing to go – there’s always a chance someone is willing to go a bit further. Despite my being so certain of winning, we came in second – which for all intents and purposes is the same as coming in last.
It was painful for me and even more disappointing for the buyers. The property was their dream home. They had imagined living in it forever. I could hear the tears in her voice when I had to let her know that our offer fell just short.
These kinds of losses, especially when I know how hard they are on my clients, can sometimes send me into a downward spiral. This one hit me hard and I knew I had to stop myself from sinking too low. My usual, give it two hours and one beer, was not going to be enough.
I found consolation when Sara shared a story with me. It was back in 2003, a super hot market, and Sara was looking to buy her first home. She lost out on the first six offers that she made. Each miss left her more depressed than the next. However, she was finally able to win the seventh house.
The house she won was in a different neighborhood than the prior six. She said…
“You know, if I had won any of those other six houses my life would not have turned out nearly as good as it did. That first neighborhood didn’t appreciate nearly as fast as the neighborhood where I ended up buying. The extra appreciation gave me enough equity to refinance my house and buy my current business. This changed the entire trajectory of my life and career.”
Ironically, the name of Sara’s business is Good Beginnings. They provide occupational and physical therapy services for children. Sara has since grown her business into two locations with 21 occupational and physical therapists.
I guess the message here is,it’s easy to feel the pain when we lose and even get a bit depressed, but in the end, we never know what the future holds. Sometimes losing is really the start of Good Beginnings that help make Good Things Happen.
And PS… those clients of mine that lost the first house, well it took about 5 weeks for them to win an even better one.
