Disclosure and Knowledge: Deal Killers – Objections -- Deal Breakers!

When showing homes there are certain negatives we cannot overcome.  These are physical limitations that pulling up a listing on the Internet or the MLS cannot really tell you.  Sometimes the listing photos can give us clues that a property is above or below street grade.  As long as it is not a lot that you have to know how to rappel it to pick up the mail or mow the lawn we are still ok!  Sometimes our MLS maps let us know we are near a train or a busy highway, and sometimes it is our hearing that gives us the heads up.  If we are unaware of a major situation and we are with a client sometimes there is no place to hide from our own disappointment.

Other issues that arise that we may not overcome is the proximity to the street, or the fact that the home is under the power lines, or backing to a double yellow line, or that a water tower casts a giant shadow across the back of the home for most of the entire day.  The only thing that is worse that seeing such an obtrusion is not being able to tell your client that zoning is going to place it next door shortly.  It is one thing to sell a home, and quite another not to be able to tell a buyer there are certain zoning issues that are already on the books that may impact a property.  Specifically their property.  This is real estate 101, and it happens all the time. 

So on first glance the property is perfect, and the yard looks so perfect!  But, new construction that develops that beautiful field behind the home you are selling becomes a Wal-Mart, a school or a self storage are real possibilities also.  They have not yet occured, but they are imment threats to the value and future enjoyment of that prooerty.  These future developements of properties immediatly adjacent to the property gnaw at the bundle of rights the buyer assumes they are purchasing.  Mentally they wil encroach on your clients mind if they move forward uninformed.  Did you advise your clients about the probabilities, or remain silent to collect a commission?  Real estate is all about service.  There is a lot of closure in disclosing the facts for clients to make informed decisions.  It is not all about what is visually at the property when we show it or contemplate writing an offer...it is also what may take place with zoning afterwards.  Water towers, shopping centers, schools, road widening, apartment buildings, variances, power lines, easements, and even dams!  How far do you research prior to selling a home?  When I arrive at a property that I know there is a beautiful field in the back yard, the first thing to mention are the potentials the land behind may have. 

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