“What is more precious than gold but cannot be bought, earned, or saved?” Time.
If only we had an extra hour in a day, or day in a week, we would be able to tick off all our boxes – right? Not likely. Every gap in our hectic schedules – it would seem – is filled rather quickly by us or others. At work, this can mean additional deals, clients, paperwork, etc., which alongside life can at times be difficult to manage.
It’s all too tempting to try to squeeze an errand in between appointments, but when it comes to real estate deadlines, you can’t afford to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The following is a short anecdote about a dicey situation that wouldn’t have happened were it not for the unfortunate disregard of a hard deadline:
Here we had a RECO Registrant who represented the potential purchasers of a home. Offers had gone back and forth on a property, and the ball was now in the purchasers’ court for a number of days until 8 p.m. one evening – the time by which they had to accept the vendors’ offer. On that final day, the purchasers arrived at the Registrant’s office at 7:30 p.m. to accept the offer, only to find that the Registrant had stepped out to run an errand. The office assistant assured the purchasers that they would return shortly.
The Registrant arrived back at the office mere minutes before the deadline. The purchasers signed the paperwork, the Registrant congratulated them on their purchase, and they left the office excited about their new home. The Registrant got a few more things done around the office, and then faxed the offer back before heading home – after 8 p.m.
In some cases, this wouldn’t have been an issue. Both sides would have a deal, and life would carry on. In this case, however, the vendors refused the offer. Unbeknownst to the Registrant, the sellers knew they could get considerably more from another buyer, so they relied on the timestamp of the fax and considered the sign-back null and void.
The Registrant was later sued by the would-be purchasers in negligence over the missed opportunity of getting a great house at less than market value.
Time is money. In this case, the desire to get a few other things done cost this Registrant’s clients thousands of dollars.
Remember: A deadline is a deadline. Excuses like “I had to get back to the office to send the fax” won’t always work, so if you make a habit of cutting it close to the wire, getting caught is only a matter of time.