Tucson Real Estate Blogs » What Does Golf and Selling A Home Have In Common?

Tucson Real Estate & Golf Properties

Douglas Trudeau , Assoc. Broker
Prudential Foothills Real Estate
64 N. Harrison Road, Suite 160
Tucson , AZ 85748
Mobile: 520-954-2209
Contact Me

What Does Golf and Selling A Home Have In Common?

As a golfer I see a lot of similarities between golf and different aspects of life. There are so many good books out there about golf that relates to life. Everything from Zen For Golf to Fairways of Life. Both of which I have read and recommend.

As a Realtor I started looking for how golf and real estate compares. What does selling a home and golf have in common?

Stepping up to the tee unprepared without practicing you have no idea where the ball is going to go. You want it to fly straight down the fairway and not land in a divot. You may even want a slight draw or fade to take a bend in the fairway out of the picture. You hope that the dreaded slice or hook don’t come into play. On some courses you could end up in the next fairway on the other side of the trees, in the desert or in a water hazard. A few practice swings, step up to the ball, breathe in, breathe out, start the back swing, and…

Selling a home without being prepared can have similar results. You want to get lots of buyers in the front door. You want to get offers on the table. You want to sell your home. What if nobody looks at your home? What if you get low offers? What if nobody makes an offer? You call a few agents to interview. Now you are…

You make it through the first hole with a bogey. Not what you pictured for the first hole. Par was your norm on this course, a birdie like three months ago is what you were trying for. Now you’re ready for the second hole. Should you try that driver again? You missed the fairway on the first hole. Maybe the three wood would be better. You look and your playing partners are pulling their drivers out of the bag. Wimp, you think to yourself. Out with the driver again.

Who do you pick to sell your home. The full services broker, a discount broker, or sell it yourself as a FSBO? You want the buyers, but, you don’t want to pay the price. Which one do you choose? Nobody told you what you wanted to hear except one. Who do you believe? One showed you all the statistics for your community, was straight forward about the facts, but, wasn’t telling you what you wanted to hear. The discount agent was straight forward, but, had limited service. Another showed up in jeans. One was really convincing, had a lot of charisma, and was promising you everything you wanted to hear. Who do you choose? You choose charisma.

Double bogey, oh no. Your average is 3 bogies in 18 holes. Your coming up to the third hole and already have your three bogies. Now you’re starting to doubt if you made the right decisions on the first two holes. You sliced the first tee shot and pulled the second. Now what do you do? You decide to be conservative and pull the three wood out of the bag.

The first Realtor wasn’t all he promised. That old saying if it sounds too good to be true it is really applied here. All the fluff and promise was not what you got. You couldn’t even get out of the contract without paying a penalty. The promise to buy your home was not what you saw on the TV commercials. Ninety days wasted. You’ve lost trust, but, you don’t want sell on your own. That discount broker seemed pretty good, so you call her.

Par, yes! You did what you expected for this hole. A birdie would have been nice. You’re just happy you didn’t see another bogey. Your confidence is starting to return, but, there’s a little doubt in the back of your mind. You leave the driver in the bag and keep the three wood working. Par, par, par. Now you’re on a roll. Wait a minute, you normally have at least two birdies by now. What needs to change?

You get buyers in the door, but they are not buying. Your neighbor’s sold their house with that agent that was open and honest with you from the beginning. You know there are buyers out there. How do you get them to your house. The discount broker did everything she said. It just wasn’t enough. You’re not unhappy with her, you just need more. You need to make a move. Third time is a charm they say. So you change Realtors.

Your confidence is back, your getting back into your normal groove. Your ready to make the change. Out comes that 460cc driver that you’ve bombed down the fairway with in the past. You’re ready. Step up, confidence is back, last month you hit 320 yards on this hole. You don’t want to blow it so you relax your swing a little to keep it fluid. What, you can’t believe it, you’ve got to be kidding. You have never hit a 362 yard drive in your life. Wow. This is one for the records. Your next shot and on the green. One putt for eagle. Now we’re talking. Next hole you have a chip to get you on the green for a chance at birdie. Three feet from the hole. You’re ready, you’re over confident. What? How in the world do you miss a three foot putt? Next hole similar situation. Your adrenaline is up, 15 feet from the hole.

You walk away with a Par. Settle down, you can do it. Your game is on line, your ready, play the course. Take what it gives you and keep calm. The 18th hole is coming up. Your drive is right on the money. Your iron is hot. Lying two from your iron, you’re ready for a nice out from the sand. You hear your golf pros words as you step into the trap. You practice in your mind then clear your thoughts. Feet dug into the sand, you are ready. Doubt starts to enter your mind. You step away and go through your routine. You tell yourself out loud, “I know I can do this.” Step up again, dig your feet into the sand. Practice swing above the ball, look up at the green, pick your spot…swing…head down. You look up to see the ball land a little right of the spot you chose. Oh no. It rolls, follows the contour of the green. Will it? Will it? IN THE HOLE. You can’t believe it. This round is behind you. What started out as a disaster ended up a memorable and enjoyable game. Well done.

That third Realtor, who you know you should have listened to from the beginning, is turning out to be more than he promised. He was brutally honest from the beginning. Helped you stage your home. You saw more buyers come through your front door. The first offer you accept responsibility for blowing. You got too greedy. The second offer was hard to make the right decision for. You didn’t like that offer anyway. The third offer you were ready for. You listened to your Realtor, made an informed decision, and created a win-win situation for you and the buyers. HOME SOLD. If only you had prepared a little better from the beginning and not made assumptions. You’re so happy with your Realtor, you are telling everyone about him. If fact, you found a new golf buddy.

Whether you are a golfer or not. I know a really good Realtor who can sell your Tucson home.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 at 6:58 am and is filed under Tucson Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

This week’s top post! Loved it.

September 4th, 2007 // Steve
[…] ‘What Does Golf and Selling A Home Have In Common?’ written by Douglas Trudeau and posted at Tucson Real Estate Blogs was awarded this week’s top post. […]

September 4th, 2007 // Trulia Blog » Carnival of Real Estate
Congrats on the Carnival win Doug!!

September 4th, 2007 // Jay Thompson
Thanks Jay. And Thank you Steve.

September 4th, 2007 // Doug

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