What Do The Chinese New Year And Real Estate Have In Common?

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Happy Chinese New Year!

Whether you celebrate it or not, take the well wishes. Who can’t use more good luck?

Especially if you are going to be buying or selling real estate this year…

When it comes to a real estate purchase or sale, luck is good to have!

But, you shouldn’t rely on it…

Dancing Dragons Aren’t Lucky

You ever see those Chinese dancing dragons bobbing up and down, and weaving around so gracefully?

The first thing I think about when I hear Chinese New Year are those dancing dragons…

…and strings of tied-together firecrackers going off all around them.

As if dancing gracefully under that dragon costume isn’t hard enough, right? They’re lucky nobody gets burned or hurt!

Why would anyone throw lit firecrackers so close to them?

Because tradition…

Because festivities…

All part of the fun, I guess.

But how do they not get burned? Or at least get so startled that they mess up the dance, bump into each other, and fall into a crumpled mess?

You have to give those dancers a lot of credit. Sure, you could say there is luck involved.

But it probably boils down to a whole lot of practice, during the entire year. There’s no way that they just crawl under the costume and wing it during New Year celebrations.

They rehearse.

Welcome To Our Dance

When you are buying or selling real estate, it’s like slipping under a dragon costume with us, and becoming part of our dance.

There’s going to be other people under there as well — everyone involved in getting the sale done — the buyers, the sellers, mortgage representatives, inspectors, an appraiser, maybe an attorney or two, just to name a few. And of course, us…the real estate agents.

Ideally, and with any luck, it’s going to be a graceful dance from beginning to end.

Everybody bobs up when they should, everyone ducks down when they should…goes right when they should, and goes left when they should.

Nobody is stopping in the middle of it all, causing everyone else to bump into each other and fall into a crumpled heap.

But there will be firecrackers thrown all around you. It will be startling. Scary even. And that could cause you to stop in your tracks. Or turn the wrong way. Or forget to bob up or down when you’re supposed to.

The firecrackers could be as simple as delays in the process. Or it could be as scary as a huge inspection issue nobody expected. Maybe it is an appraisal issue. Perhaps the buyer is hesitating. Or the seller is second guessing moving.

All of these things, and many more, could go wrong. Every deal is one wrong turn, one wrong move, or one startled person away from becoming a crumpled mess.

Because not everyone is at the dress rehearsal…

When you’re buying or selling, it is a once-in-a-while event. Most people don’t buy houses every year, let alone every day, of every week, of the year.

Real estate professionals do…

But, obviously, you’re a necessary part of the dragon, and the dance…

Without you, there is no dance.

The Firecrackers Are “Normal”

We get that it is a bit crazy. And a bit scary for you at times.

But we know that most of the time, it is just noise that won’t actually hurt you.

Real estate professionals don’t love the “firecrackers” either. But we get used to them. We know they are part of the festivities.

Because we dance daily.

And we know that we all need to just keep our cool, do our part, and cope with the firecrackers.

With Practice Comes Luck… And Other Fortunes

I forgot, I also think about fortune cookies when I think about Chinese New Year.

And when I think about fortune cookies, I think about this fortune I got one time. I can’t remember the exact words, but it was something along the lines of…

“With practice, good luck comes…hire someone who practices.”

Totally tongue in cheek. But I liked it.

So, I guess what I’m getting at, is this…

If you are buying or selling real estate this year, I don’t wish you luck.

I wish you practice.

Specifically, I wish you hire someone who practices…

And I wish you follow their lead, and their advice… as you do the dragon dance with them. Don’t freak out about the firecrackers. Don’t stop mid-dance. Don’t forget to do your part. Remember to bob up and down when you should.

That, not luck, will bring you great fortune in real estate.