Real Estate: A Look at the Absurdity of Broken Contracts

Contracts have been a way of American Life since we renounced our ties with the British Empire. People know that contracts are just a written form of hand-shaking; the meeting of the minds. It is meant to keep before the public's eyes, the actual agreement, the mind-to-mind acquiesce, that helps all of us keep going forward in the direction we promise to take. But sometimes we get caught with those people that have not the ability, the wherewithal, the intention--to actually carry a contract through to the end.

There are generally two reasons that a person would back out of a contract:

1) the person is basically cowadice and does not believe in her/him self; that s/he can bring the deal to fruition, or

2) the person is basically preditorial, never intending to consummate the deal, but enjoys watching people squirm in situations of anxiety, greed, or ambition. This person just wants to squelch the joy of others, and kill their spirit. They like to watch what happens to another when s/he begins, then is crushed in their tracks.

Under these two general premises, are indicative signs of one or the other. Let's begin with the Coward.
The person that is truly cowardice by nature does not mean to be destructive intentionally, so we can say this person does not act with intent. They create havoc none the less. For example. Some things indicative of a coward:
1) Breaking appointments constantly, at inconveniently expressed moments.
2) Calling multiple times to break an appointment for something that come up at times of personal anxiety over the deal.
3) Having to be "talked down from the ledge" every little while, to keep from "jumping the boat" yet never admitting to their inability to move forward.
4) Having difficulty admitting what is liked, unliked, sought, desired, and frightening.
5) Having difficulty admitting the truth about ANYthing!
6) Changing the subject when it comes to making a committment to go forward.
7) Resorting to childhood tactics such as guilt or distrust to end the contract to which was previously agreed.

Now the Preditor is completely dangerous. They act intentionally, uncaring, and with intent to create situational irony, and drama, and sometimes more. For example:
1) They make appointments, and may even seem anxious for you to get there, but they may never actually "show up." They may, however, be watching YOU show up--hopefully for no other reason than a joke.
2) When you call to find out what happened, they seem uncaring as they explain, "oh, something came up, sorry." They may even make another appointment feeding a host of lies about their ability to carry it through just to hook the Realtor in deeper.
3) They will be forever cryptic in telling the Realtor EVERYTHING about their end of the deal, but expect the Realtor to work as a dog without any sense of security from their end...they like to watch Salespeople sweat!
4) This person may meet you tons of times, but when it comes to actually signing, they may just disappear, and then move on to someone else, never intending to consummate the deal. They will "WALK" without any sense of responsibliity. They will never answer their "set-up" phone or email again; it was a hoax; a bogus set-up to begin with--just for fun--hopefully not for more dangerous pasttimes.

It isn't always easy to be a Realtor. Sometimes it's downright dangerous. THAT is another subject. But one thing is for sure: Realtors need to start treating themSELVES with respect. This means a Realtor needs to assess the potential client in advance. How does a Realtor do this?

One way could be a meeting in contractual dancing. As all Realtors know, and have read as well in the Real Estate Purchase Agreement: "Time is of the Essence." In other words, every movement through a contract is time sensitive. Therefore, a Realtor does not begin the pursuit of a contractual agreement until the Realtor has a "contractual meeting of the minds" with the potential buyer. This could be orchestrated through using the buyer/broker contract.

The buyer/broker contract is argued that it does not hold weight in court but that is because no one has ever been tough enough to call it into its origianl intent and argue it properly. The buyer/broker agreement has one general premise: buyer promises to use broker's services in good faith, thereby using every effort to bring the contractual agreement into fruition with this broker who is acting on buyer's behalf--because buyer is seriously planning to consummate a sale for real property; and buyer agrees that they will be solely represented by the broker for a perios of time, while the broker makes every effort to make that contractual fruition possible within that period of time. The period of time is negotiable.

The reason this is needed is that Buyers need to realize that it is never a Realtor's intention to simply "shop for homes" but not buy....The Broker/Realtor is set up to complete a task. The Broker/Realtor is TRAINED to achieve a goal of Real Estate Purchasing/developing/renting...whatever is the Buyer's need. Broker/Realtors spend much time and money to become who they are; they want to be professional, but they need to work with people of integrity as they need to have integrity themselves. If a buyer does not want to contract with a Realtor, it is obvious the buyer has other hidden agenda, thus the abovementioned scenarios are some food for thought.

Realtors need to start seeing themselves as more valuable and productive professionals. Not only should they actually acquire the utmost skills to be so, but they need to believe in the nobility of their profession. They should not go jumping into someone's car, as was once the case in a more trusting society. Or, they should not have someone jump into their car for the same reason, without there being some kind of "meeting of the minds" between the potential client and the Realtor/Broker (and proper identification). 

As mentioned earlier, being a Realtor is not as easy as some may have believed it was before. Being a Realtor holds many legal responsibilities, and Buyers and Sellers should be cognizant of the potential for those legal responsibilities, in which they may share when contracting with a Realtor and the other Principal persons. The world is a dubious place these days, and whenever someone is seeking to make a place of trust, of comfort, of ownership--especially in land or property--there must be game rules and regulations for a smooth and successful transaction and that means the contract needs to be considered an important aspect for all who claim to be serious about the act of legal ownership issues. The highest responsiblity I can think of is one that was stated by Albert Einstein:

Man (and woman) is here for the sake of other [human being]...Above all, for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow [human], both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself to give in return as much as I have recieved...Einstein

Otherwise, we might as well begin a new trend or think about having a new profession added to our Realtor Associations:

Limo services for looky-loos...Buyers pay by the hour/mileage.