Being Negative or Being Honest?

In a recent conversation with a client who wanted to become involved in a transaction that I felt he did not have the wherewithal to close in today's current lending environment the client told me he wanted to stop hearing the negatives. I should focus on the positives. What can be done?

Priding myself in being a solution oriented Realtor, I thought about this. I called several real estate and lending professionals gave them this client's scenario. My first instinct was to refer my client to another agent who might be better able to help him with his purchase. The second group of calls where to lenders to verify that my thoughts on the viability of how he thought he could finance properties. Both the lenders and real estate agents confirmed what I had expressed to my client.

I read a blog this morning about no listing is a bad listing. One of his points was that the agent who says this is because they lost the listing to another agent just has sour grapes. I have lost very few listings to other agents. Of recent, many of the listing appointments I have gone on have decided not to list now because of they financial circumstances do make sense in this current market. We then focused on positioning themselves for the future. The few listings I have lost to other agents have been listed at considerable higher prices than I advised. The other agents either where more willing to take the listing at a price the market could not bear or told the sellers what they wanted to hear.

Whether the news is good or the news is bad, I never like to sound like a "Debbie Downer". I just try and relay my professional opinion and advice in the best way I know how for my clients. Many times it is looking at what they can do either in the short term or long term. It is finding the answers. Unlike in the past where money was flowing from the banks, there is not always immediate gratification.

As a Realtor, our clients hire us not to tell them what they want to hear but for our honest professional opinion. I guess it is all in the delivery but in some cases there are cannots and no solutions available unless the client can come up with the cash. Sometimes that is the only solution.