Recently my husband and I went to see the award winning movie „The Blind Side“ starring Sandra Bullock. The movie is based on the extraordinary true story chronicled in the New York Times bestseller book with the same title by Michael Lewis. The story is about football, but as a Realtor I immediately saw parallels to the buying and selling of real estate.
In football, the blind side for a quarterback is where they can’t see whoever may be coming to block them when they look over their shoulder. It didn’t become a common phrase in football until Lawrence Taylor altered the environment and forced opposing coaches and players to adapt. Specifically Lawrence Taylor altered Joe Thiesmann’s life on November 18, 1985 when he came out of nowhere and ended his football career. As Taylor said afterwards when imagining himself in a quarterback’s skin he had knocked from a game: „We all have fears. We all have fears.“
So how does this apply to real estate? The buying and selling of a home is statistically the largest financial transaction that most people enter into. Wouldn’t you want someone blocking your „blind side“? Perhaps you have fears about this process. That’s where the experience of a trusted Realtor comes in Think of your real estate agent as a coach.
There are so many steps to the process, I will list but a few: understanding comparables and establishing value for the property; determining terms for an offer and negotiating the contract; obtaining Homeowner’s Association documents, delivery per jurisdictional law and review; following up on the purchaser securing property insurance and the Earnest Money deposit; working with the Settlement Company on necessary documents such as obtaining the survey and title information from them and resolving any issues.
Coordinating inspections (home, radon, well, septic, wood-destroying pest, mold, etc.) and negotiating the outcome between the parties; working with the appraiser on the market value of the property; following up with the lender on securing the financing and providing required documentation; preparing paperwork for warranties; working with all parties to prepare the property for walk through and settlement according to the contract; completing the process by preparing parties for the closing and actually the consummation of settlement.
Outlined above are the majority of the standard steps in the process of purchasing and selling real estate, but there are thousands of other issues that can crop up, literally hit you in your blind side! That’s where, in my opinion and experience, you REALLY need a seasoned Realtor to navigate the process.
After Taylor altered the football scene, the second highest paid position on a team became the tackle that protects the quarterback’s blind side. That position became the insurance policy for the quarterback. All lenders require borrower’s to obtain property insurance for homes with a mortgage, and there is a reason why. It is to protect the asset. In the purchase and sale of a home in my view the best insurance someone can obtain is to follow the guidance of an experienced Realtor.
Whom do you want to assist you with the purchase of your largest asset? Whom do you want to work with on the marketing and sale of your largest asset? I recommend an accomplished Realtor who has experience in the complexities of the process and can protect your front side and your „blind side“!