Balancing Advocacy and Prudence: Knowing When to Dial Back for the Sake of Your Client

It’s important to advocate aggressively for your client, but sometimes you have to know when it’s time to let up.

Problem: With our help, our clients found a terrific 1940s era colonial — solidly built and in good condition— in a town south of Boston. Several days after the initial open house, we crafted an offer for $6,500 below asking price. A below-asking offer might seem ill-advised so early in the game, especially in a sizzling market. But when I learned that the sellers had already bought a new home, I knew that for them, time was of the essence. My clients, first-time home buyers, would be willing to close ASAP. I used the timing issue as leverage and we were successful: our offer was accepted.

Unfortunately, the inspection revealed about $7,500 worth of problems, so we asked the sellers to take about half of that off our offered price. At 9 p.m. Friday evening, on my way to NH for some quick R & R, I received an email from the seller’s agent telling me the deal was off. They would go ahead with another open house on Sunday.

Solution: Lucky for our clients, even when I’m “on vacation,” I’m keeping tabs on business. I quickly assessed the situation, decided that our original offer was still a very good deal for my clients, and then made a compelling case to them as to why.

Result. They agreed and at the 11th hour I salvaged the deal: all parties were thrilled. My clients moved in six weeks later and are happy as can be.