In my quest to read more books this year, I ran across a cute one in my office I read some time ago. You probably have too. Spencer Johnson, M.D. wrote it… Who Moved My Cheese? I picked it up and read it again. It doesn’t take long. The author uses four imaginary characters to describe how we act or react to change. Two are mice, Sniff and Scurry. Two are “littlepeople,” beings as small as mice but look and act a lot like people, Hem and Haw. All four are intended to represent us and how we deal with changes in our lives.
The setting is a maze, with cheese to be found here and there with an occasional stockpile. They find one of the mother-loads and all goes well for a while. If something is changing in your life, if something is about to change, or even if you feel change isn’t something you’ll be dealing with any time soon, you might want to read this book.
In real estate, our cheese moves with the real estate cycle. Technology moves it too. The abundance or shortage of inventory affects value over time. Negotiation strategy and timing issues once you’re interested in a property or have a buyer interested in yours can change rather quickly. Distressed property sales factor in the mix. Interest rates too. You may or may not be kept current about these changes since a lot depends on where or what you’re source of information is.
IF you miraculously had a way to always be in the know, what would work out best for you and the circumstances of your sale or purchase? As a seller, would you sniff out changes in the market and effectively position your sale? Would you scurry about playing catch up, adapting to changes later than you should affecting the bottom line of your deal? Maybe you have future plans of living in a larger house or a different location, but you’re still resisting the change in our real estate values so you plan on waiting it out until it someone puts it back like Hem.
As a buyer, are you stuck in the summer of 2008 still thinking you can pretty much offer anything and that seller should jump all over your offer? Are you aware of the dwindling amount of homes for sale in our area causing change to offer strategies? Do you wait and think things through and then scurry to make your offer only to find out, so did 15 other buyers? I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t think, nor should you take action without having had enough time to think with clarity. You absolutely should… this is a major sale or purchase.
What I AM suggesting is this: Do your thinking and planning first. Have a strategy in place. Know what you’re going to do ahead of time so the decisions can be timely and on track with your plans.
Your strategy should include an in depth discussion of your options with a good loan officer and a good Realtor to start with. They know where the better cheese is or at the very least which corridor of the maze has the most potential. Knowing your options and moving forward with a strategy you’ve discussed and understand with someone you trust will keep the stress levels down, help you visualize the big change you imagined when you started out and help maximize your bottom line once the deal is closed.
Want to get started? Whether buying or selling, if you are positive thinking, we’re the team you want. We’ll get along great. We love to help with these big changes. Give us a call.
“Enjoy Change – Savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese.”