The Art of Saying Nothing: Realtors vs. CPA’s

“This side appears to be brown.”

–What a CPA says, when asked the color of a horse standing in a pasture 50 feet away.

“Buyer no longer interested in property.”

–Buyer’s agent explaining why they canceled a showing.

CPA’s (I used to be) and Realtors (what I’ve been for 16 years) are equally adept at the art of saying nothing.

But, the motivations are different.

CPA’s auditing companies are circumspect because of potential legal liability.

So, if the auditor says that “Accounts Receivables are properly stated,” and 30% later turn out to be uncollectible, they get sued.

But, if they instead say, “Accounts Receivables appear to be properly stated” . . .  they have some wiggle room.

Realtor Motivation(s)

By contrast, Realtors become practiced at the art of saying nothing for a different reason: time management.

So, a busy Realtor who wants to cancel a showing on MLS needs to fill in various required fields, including “why are you canceling?”

The most expeditious answer:  “the Buyer changed their mind” (or some equivalent).

But, it’s also the case that a Buyer’s agent who gives a more candid explanation — “Buyer decided Kitchen looks too dated in online pix” — gives the listing agent an unwanted opening to engage with or even challenge them.

Possible comebacks: “What do you mean, it’s too dated?!? The Seller just put in $50k in updates!”; or, “Yeah, we know it’s dated; the Seller will give a $10k allowance for updates.”

You can’t fault listing agents for trying to overcome Buyer objections.

But, veteran Buyers’ agents have heard it all, and just want to move on to the home(s) that their clients genuinely want to see.

P.S.: How do attorneys (and former attorneys like me) artfully say nothing?

I’ll tell you in an upcoming post . . .

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