I was recently working with a client moving from Europe and looking for a home in the League City area. (He was mainly interested in newer neighborhoods like Westover Park, Mar Bella, and Magnolia Creek.) We went to see a newly constructed home and were looking around the kitchen, when my buyer asked, “Do these cabinets stay?” He was referring to the built in kitchen cabinets, and for a minute I was taken aback by his questions. When I told him “Of course,” he then went on to tell me that many homeowners in Europe take their kitchen cabinets with them when they leave, and the buyer has to bring his own or buy new ones.
I had never even considered the possibility that kitchen cabinets would not be fixtures that are sold along with the home, but then again, I’ve never sold a home in Europe. This experience taught me several valuable lessons. First, I always need to keep an open mind…things that I have taken for granted as being true (like cabinets being included with a new home), might not always be true. People who get stuck in traditional ways of thinking often have a tendency to overlook things that are out of the ordinary. Top real estate professionals should never overlook things…even those that are not typical.
I also realized that it is always important to remember that our clients—especially first-time home buyers—do not have the same base of knowledge as we do. Experts in any field often forget that their clients may know nothing about the field. When a client asks a question that seems like it has an obvious answer, it is always important to patiently answer his or her question without seeming arrogant.
The final lesson relates to dealing with clients who are moving from other countries. While I often spend extra time with first-time homebuyers, I now realize that the same attention needs to be given to homeowners who have only purchased homes in other countries where standards and procedures may be much different. By listening to your clients carefully, you can highlight the differences between the system in your area and the one they are used to, and you might learn something along the way too.
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Important lessons that can used with every client. Even clients that have bought and sold before may need to be brought up to spped. Present procedure, contracts etc may be different from when they bought and sold last.
Viva la Difference,
It's one of the reasons I love this business. Never a dull moment.
Keep in mind, the how and why we do this here is not the same as in the rest of the world. If your buyer came from England, the listing commission for the home he sold would probably have been 11/2% to 2%. The 11/2% for an exclusive right to sell and 2% for non-exclusive. On top of that he would find a buyers agent a novelty. In most Cases buyers find their own homes. And the listing agent writes up the deal. At least that was the case when I left the old country 15 years ago.
Samuel... very good point!
Malcolm... very interesting. Thanks for the added insight. What was the old country for you?
I can understand why that question seemed so odd. But I suppose things change from state to state, much less from country to country. Buyers from the north, for example, are accustomed to different types of home construction than here in the south.
Your blog makes a good point. It's a common occurrence for professionals in many fields to lack patience when clients have questions that they assume everyone should know. I once suffered an arrogant travel agent because I didn't know enough about Jakarta to suit her. I explained to her that the reason for my contacting her was exactly that, and that she should celebrate that fact instead of belittling a client who can certainly hang up the phone and call someone else. Needless to say, there was an instant change of tone.
I trust your client was pleased to know it wouldn't be necessary to bring his own cabinets!
Kate -- Who doesn't know everything about Jakarta??? Just kidding!! Great point! That's exactly the kind of reaction you don't want. I was about 6 when my family moved to Houston... I wonder what the reaction of our Realtor was when we couldn't find the basement!! For those of you from other areas, there are no basements in Houston!
Brian, I hail from the North of England. North Yorkshire, but had a home base in London for 20 years while I traveled the world. That was before I came here to Olympia Washington those 15 years ago.
When in Rome.... ;))
Brian --- funny post for me to read, but from the other point of view ... I used to live in Ireland and when I moved there I was shocked that people were so proud to say, "Oh, and the kitchen cabinets will stay with the house..." or the alternative, "The cabinets aren't being sold with the property .." and I'm thinking are you kiddding me? It's fun to see how others treat these things, isn't it?