You know the type, every bit of information or update you give this team member, they blow it out of proportion looking for reasons for an issue to go south and cause a disaster.
Listen, I believe in Karma. If you're the type with a vivid imagination and worry about issues that are simply not there, they will somehow develop along the way due to your negative vibe.
The bottom line is team players can negotiate a contract to death and never come up with terms that protect the buyer or seller from every possible scenario.
My broker hubby always says, "We have to remember as agents it's about what our clients want out of the transaction. The seller wants to sell and the buyer wants to buy. Our job is to negotiate and facilitate the goal of a successful transaction that's hopefully in the best interest of both the seller and buyer."
I can't agree more! Several weeks ago I was working on a somewhat challenging transaction. The buyer and seller were not the problem but the other AGENT representing the buyer was.
The agent was extremely diligent protecting his buyers--from what? I'm not sure! As a result, his addenda (and there were plenty of them) were convoluted with lots of legal terms that contradicted themselves. Being a somewhat neutral third party (Transaction Coordinator), I attempted to decipher, but it was simply not clear!
Now I don't claim to be a genius on contract law but I do know a clearly written addendum when I see one! And isn't that what it's about? That all parties, especially the buyer and seller are able to understand the terms?
A half hour plus several questions later, I finally got the intent of the addendum. Unfortunately, by using impressive legal language and lengthy explanations, the agent created a huge potential problem with termite repairs, thus creating more harm than good for his clients!
Now my hubby Steve and I are not in the business of taking prisoners along the way, and this agent was SO difficult to work with, we let the slip go and worked around it so that his clients wouldn't get burned!
My point to this story is that the more you mess around with the terms of any contract and try to cover every conceivable possibility to protect your client, the more you leave your client open to the other 1000's of possibilities you did not consider-not to mention putting the other agent and client on the defensive!
Keep the contract and terms clear. Focus on the things you can control and let the pieces fall in place as you proceed through the contingency and inspection timeframes. Although there are an infinite number of potential scenarios, we must go with the flow of client's wants and needs and address challenges as they arise.
Diana Turnbloom
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I messed up one time and since then I have learned to put things in writing. You can never rely on someone's word. That was a costly experience.