Listening
Posted 09-29-2015 at 12:16 PM by Shaner
None of us listen as much as we should. We all have important things to share, to add, but honestly if we listened more, we would accomplish so much more. This has not been so apparent as an event from a couple evenings ago.
To set this up, I have had 3 recent sales fall through due to people not listening to their lenders advise about not buying during the process. I was preparing dinner for a friend/client that was about to close on their home. My other half was getting the table ready when I hear a grumble coming down the road. I look out and see a brand new UTV sitting in front of my house with our friends getting out.
In my mind, I am thinking "here we go again" as it still has the dealer plates on it. I decide to hold my tongue for a few and see what they say. I open the door to greet them and they are all excited to show me their new toy. I check it out with them, and believe me it was a sweet UTV. 4 seater, 1000cc, all the bells and whistles. I ask them how they purchased it, he smiled and proceeded to tell me how they beat the system.
At this point I am just shaking my head. He is telling me since he is only buying the house in his name, not his wife's, they bought it under her and are good. Idaho is a community property state, so while his wife's credit does not apply, her debt does. When he is finished with his story, I try to explain this to him again, he cuts me off and says he knows what he is doing. At this point I am giving up and we go in, enjoy a nice dinner, an evening of laughter and call it a night.
The next morning, I wake up and prepare a document to release the sale and get their earnest money back as I know what is coming. I go about my day of showings and meetings, biding my time till the call comes.
4:53 pm, call from the lender. Their debt to income is way out of wack now and they no longer qualify. I ask if he has informed them, he said he has and at that moment call waiting starts beeping in my ear.*
He is upset, freaking out, and worried about what he is going to do. I don't want to be that guy that says "I told you so" so I am trying to get him to calm down and see what happened. 2 hours of conversations later, he is still upset and there is nothing to do but sign the release and move forward.
Moral of the story, unless it is very special circumstances, you are not smarter than the professionals who help you in life. Nothing hurts more then to be the reason you miss an important step in your life because you didn't listen.
To set this up, I have had 3 recent sales fall through due to people not listening to their lenders advise about not buying during the process. I was preparing dinner for a friend/client that was about to close on their home. My other half was getting the table ready when I hear a grumble coming down the road. I look out and see a brand new UTV sitting in front of my house with our friends getting out.
In my mind, I am thinking "here we go again" as it still has the dealer plates on it. I decide to hold my tongue for a few and see what they say. I open the door to greet them and they are all excited to show me their new toy. I check it out with them, and believe me it was a sweet UTV. 4 seater, 1000cc, all the bells and whistles. I ask them how they purchased it, he smiled and proceeded to tell me how they beat the system.
At this point I am just shaking my head. He is telling me since he is only buying the house in his name, not his wife's, they bought it under her and are good. Idaho is a community property state, so while his wife's credit does not apply, her debt does. When he is finished with his story, I try to explain this to him again, he cuts me off and says he knows what he is doing. At this point I am giving up and we go in, enjoy a nice dinner, an evening of laughter and call it a night.
The next morning, I wake up and prepare a document to release the sale and get their earnest money back as I know what is coming. I go about my day of showings and meetings, biding my time till the call comes.
4:53 pm, call from the lender. Their debt to income is way out of wack now and they no longer qualify. I ask if he has informed them, he said he has and at that moment call waiting starts beeping in my ear.*
He is upset, freaking out, and worried about what he is going to do. I don't want to be that guy that says "I told you so" so I am trying to get him to calm down and see what happened. 2 hours of conversations later, he is still upset and there is nothing to do but sign the release and move forward.
Moral of the story, unless it is very special circumstances, you are not smarter than the professionals who help you in life. Nothing hurts more then to be the reason you miss an important step in your life because you didn't listen.
Total Comments 0
