Boston real estate is a fascinating arena to work in. Our market is unique in many ways owing to our rich history, and yet more often than not the key to transaction success buying, selling or renting here is a life lesson learned in childhood.
Childhood? Yes, childhood. Keep reading and I'll give you an example of what I mean and in case you've not been following the Boston real estate market, I'll catch you up. We're deep into a housing inventory shortage with many would-be home buyers chasing too few properties for sale. The result of this sales environment is stiff competition and every other subsidiary trickle-down condition that comes with market scarcity.
Anyway back to transaction success for metro Boston real estate, and how a life lesson from childhood can help. Think back to elementary school and to how you learned to work collaboratively on projects and in sports. At my school we routinely worked in small groups and every exercise seemed to start with a teacher selecting captains who in turn chose their teams.
A Life Lesson To Recall
Remember being made a captain in gym class? You were charged with selecting a team from among your friends and classmates:
- Who did you pick?
- Did you choose just your friends, or did you choose a team who you thought could best help you achieve your goal of winning?
- How did that typically work out for you?
I'm sure in the context of these memories you understand the analogy I'm making between being a team captain in gym class as a child to that of being a Boston real estate buyer or seller. Your agent; your attorney; and for you home buyers, your mortgage broker are your core team. It is vitally important that they be chosen with care because the metro Boston real estate market is too competitive to have any weak links in the chain between your goals and transaction success.
Weak Links?
As a veteran real estate professional I have witnessed more than a few deals struggle and worse for want of a strong core team. Market expertise and ability to perform are vital to transaction success so in choosing your team of real estate professionals I'd focus on these qualities. I'd further suggest that team member choices motivated by perceived short term cost savings, dubious familial bonds and quick Internet search results will likely delay your goals when they don't derail them entirely. You're your own team captain. For the sake of your own transaction success I implore you to take the long view and choose well.
Stay Tuned ...
As ever if you have any questions about buying or selling metro Boston real estate, or how to put together a winning team, please reach out to me. Further, stay tuned for future posts on this topic as they relate to the new mortgage disclosure forms due to roll out in August 2015. These new requirements will have significant implications for both home buyers and sellers, as well as the teams of real estate professionals supporting them.
Only real estate professionals who are members of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® may call themselves REALTORS®. All REALTORS® must subscribe to NAR’s strict code of ethics, which is based on honesty, professionalism and the protection of the public.