Real Estate Talk: Time is precious

In real estate, many people will not exchange their time for money

By Joseph Marovitch

Previously published in WestmountMag.ca

In the process of selling a property, sellers often wonder why potential buyers do not buy their house after several visits. From the potential buyer or the broker, the seller is told what are issues stopping the buyer from buying the house. Over many visits the seller starts to hear the same objections such as this room is too small, the garage is too narrow, the backyard is not big enough for a pool, the house is under a flight path or too close to traffic.

It is the objective of the broker to overcome these objections with verbal solutions and it is the desire of the seller to do the same. Many sellers do have solutions for every objection and at times cannot understand why the buyer will not accept the solution and just make an offer.

The reason buyers do not always accept the seller’s solutions is that time is precious. Each moment we use, or not, is gone forever. Moments of time are not refundable, exchangeable, tradable or negotiable in any way. Therefore the time we have to use is precious. We want to enjoy and revel in every moment we are afforded. In regard to residential real estate, time is exciting. Purchasing a new home is exciting and going out to choose bathrooms and kitchens is supposed to be fun. In the process of buying a house, the buyers want to enjoy the experience of creating the new home to their taste by choosing the colours, perhaps redesigning the kitchen or the bathroom, and maybe do a little landscaping. Sometimes buyers take pleasure in gutting the entire property and starting from scratch.

Know that if your property requires more work than other homes that are for sale in the same area, it will take time.

If a buyer has to take the time to renovate and update a property before enjoying it, it is not necessarily pleasant. And, as mentioned above, time is both precious and has an intrinsic value, so many people will not exchange their time for money. Money can be regained, but time cannot.

When buyers who are prepared to trade time for money do so, they charge a premium. If it costs $1 to repair a foundation or replace windows or flooring, the buyer will ask $2 or more to compensate for precious time. If the property for sale requires more than a simple renovation of the kitchen or bathroom and if the seller is not ready to do the renovation before the sale, he will have to offer a rebate to the buyer of his house to allow the buyer to do the work.

Since it is often difficult to find a buyer willing to do more work than expected on a property, be aware that if your property requires more work than other homes for sale in the same area, it will take time.

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