One of our family’s passions has always been fishing and that has now evolved into fly fishing. My wife and I recently took a trip to Montana for our anniversary (3o years) and had an absolute ball. I know many of the ladies will think “poor woman” but she truly loves to fish. This was her first time fly fishing and of course the learning curve was very steep. We were fishing some of the very same rivers where Brad Pitt filmed “ A River Runs Through it.”
You may be asking yourself how is this possibly going to relate to real estate but the parallels are surprisingly similar to selling real estate.
Dedication: Fly fishing like selling real estate requires a great deal of dedication. This some times requires that you spend money on equipment and the supplies necessary. It also takes many years of experience to become proficient at the sport of selling real estate. It requires you to fish on weekends and sometimes nights and more importantly be available when the fish are available. (We actually took a call from a client while we were fighting a fish)
Patience: My favorite saying is that if I would have wanted to have patients, I would have been a doctor! When it comes to real estate, patience is key. We have been doing it long enough that when the fish wraps itself around a tree (appraiser) or under a rock (underwriter), it is not a new scenario for us. We continue to try to work the situation and find a solution that is equitable for all rather than throwing our hands up in the air and breaking the line.
Skill: It also takes a certain amount of skill to land a fish (especially without hurting them). Admittedly, some fish are easier than others and real estate sales are the same way. We have to be prepared for any level of fish that come our way. We treat the little fish the same as the big fish! You may be thinking, “why should I list my home with someone who considers me to be a fish?” I mean no disrespect! We treat the fish we catch with the utmost care and respect and try to release them unharmed at the end of the fight so that hopefully we can catch them again in a few years when they are bigger!
Tightline (Communication): When you are fly fishing, most of the time you are using barbless hooks. This is so the fish may be released unharmed much the way the Arizona Real Estate Contract has many out clauses for the buyer. We also offer a clause in our listing contracts that provide that you can cancel any time if you are unhappy with our performance. Under these circumstances, it is very important to maintain a tight line between you and your quarry because any slack will result in the fish getting away. The equivalent theory in real estate is to maintain constant and consistent communication with our client to ensure that they don’t make a mistake or run astray because they haven't heard from us.
Presentation: One of the toughest skills to learn as a fly fisherman is presentation. You have to float that fly through the area holding the fish perfectly or you get nothing as a result. Selling homes is much the same. The home has to present perfectly or as close to it as possible for you to get a bite. That being said, there are $1 and $6 flies. If I can catch the same fish on a $1 fly as a $6 fly, then I feel like I am money ahead. The same goes for staging your home for sale. If you can take slightly less for the home and not put in a $10,000 kitchen then you are money ahead. I know I have said it a thousand times but you rarely get your money back on these major renovations. Many, many real estate agents will always recommend the $6 fly because it makes their job easier. I would also say that some of the $6 flies are designed to catch fisherman not fish. The bottom line is whatever is best for your net profit is what I will recommend,
Dangers and Predators: There are bears and eagles that patrol the rivers vigilantly. I must say that I was a little nervous fishing in Montana with nothing more on my hip than a can of 4 year old bear spray that the outfitter “thought” should still be good!
He warned us that we should never be on the river without bells and bear spray! He also warned that should we encounter bear scat we should determine if it was from a black bear or a grizzly! I asked how to tell the difference and he replied, “if its black bear it will look like a cow pie and be full of berry seeds. If its from a griz, it will be full of bells and smell like bear spray!
The real estate world is fraught with dangers and predators. You can have termites and scorpions as well as settlement problems and HOA liens. All of which can rapidly derail your transaction. More importantly, we help you avoid the predators. We are experts at handling the appraisers (black bears, they don’t mean to be a thorn but some times they are) and underwriters (eagles who will pluck your fish right out of the river never to be seen again). In every real estate transaction, you are going to have an encounter with one or both of these, it is our job to make sure it doesn't end badly!
Especially avoid the grizzlies (the investors trying to buy your home at a discount in exchange for the convenience of moving on an easy timeline) . You may not even know you are in trouble until it is too late and you find out you sold your home for a $25,000 discount. The traditional way of selling homes is well vetted and you have representation that legally represents your interest in landing the fish!
If you want us to hook and land your fish for you as well as provide the most professional service available, give us a call at 623.536.8200 or email us at al@algage.com