Good organization—having one’s ducks in a row—is critical for getting a deal successfully to the closing table. Also, being able to adapt when the ducks fly.
Andrew Goble and Eric Szerlag were asked to list an acre of commercial vacant land right at the start of the global pandemic. They thought that in itself would be their biggest challenge. With so much economic uncertainty, who was going to invest in land for future development?
Turns out it wasn’t it wasn’t difficult at all. Within days of listing, Andrew was talking with an interested investor. Soon after, they put the property under contract. After a period of due diligence, everyone agreed to a virtual signing—a common pandemic protocol. The ducks were nicely lined up.
In a virtual signing, communication is key. Days before the signing, the seller went silent. Andrew and Eric got no answer to their repeated emails, phone calls, and texts.
With the deal about to fall apart, the brokers scrambled, calling anyone who might be a link to the seller. Finally, they connected to the seller’s daughter, who connected to her father, who was on vacation and had lost his phone in a swimming pool!
Young and tech-savvy, Andrew and Eric put DocuSign, Scannable, and other apps to work to get necessary information to and from phone-less seller. They got the ducks lined back up and successfully closed the deal on time—the only sale of commercial vacant land over the last 12 months in Farmington Hills.
In commercial real estate, you need a broker who can plan and organize for the expected—and adapt for the unexpected. Because you never know when the ducks will fly.
