I have to admit that I have been addicted to the recent Celebrity Traitors series. I like the non-celebrity version and have watched all of the series so far. When chatting to my friend about writing this column, she likened it to being a traitor in that I walk among you, but you don’t know.
I’ve been in group chats where my column has been mentioned and I have had to keep silent. I was once at a dinner when my column was mentioned and again, I kept my silence. I have to be honest, even though I maintain that silence, I think I would make a terrible traitor.
And then I started to think about how what we conveyancers deal with on a day to day basis is like being in the castle with Claudia. And my overriding view is that people make decisions based on emotions, not facts – and we know this all too well.
How many of our buying clients say that they knew they wanted to buy the house as soon as they opened the front door? That decision wasn’t based on what the rest of the house would be like and had no consideration at all as to whether there should be a porch or a loft conversion, or whether they could park a van on the front drive.
Psychologists say that people make a decision to buy based on emotion – hence why I say to my selling clients that the buyer will wait for them to find their next property. In the buyers’ heads, they’ve already moved in and put up their Christmas tree.
Once a buyer psychologically moves into a property, it’s difficult for them to move out – and this is why chains will wait for everyone to be ready. The idea of psychologically moving out again, and taking down that metaphorical Christmas tree, is very difficult. And, conversely, a buyer knows (or think they know) when a property is not the right one for them.
In the castle, the ‘players’ make their decisions as to who is faithful and who is a traitor based on intuition, not facts. They then try to support that decision by implying or even inventing evidence that may not be there. That instant assertion a buyer has that the house is the right one for them is based on emotion, not facts – because if they have a van that won’t fit in the driveway, it may not be the right property for them!
This means that as conveyancers we have to be aware of the reasons buyers and sellers make decisions in the way they do. It’s important to get to know your clients so that you can guide them through the process and help them make the right decision based on both fact and emotion. A tricky job, but we can do it if we spend time on developing a good relationship with the clients – and charge accordingly!
Roll on the next series…
This column is written by a real high street conveyancer who wishes to remain anonymous. Read more in Today’s Conveyancer every week.
