5 C's of a Successful Real Estate Deal

By Darren James

Darren James is a highly accomplished real estate professional and the founder of one of Baton Rouge’s premier real estate firms. With over 20 years of experience in selling and marketing real estate.

After 25 years in this business, and a career in law enforcement before that, I’ve found myself breaking every real estate transaction down to the same five things. I call them the five C’s.

The funny part is, they’re the exact same five that make a marriage work. That’s actually one of my dreams for the next four or five years: to write a book you can read one way for real estate, then flip over and read the other way for marriage. You need all five C’s for either one to work.

The first C is communication. In a real estate transaction, nothing works without it. People need to know what’s going on, what the financing terms are, whether everything’s moving along fine with the lender and the title company, and when the inspections are happening. There are many dates and times being juggled throughout the process, and communication keeps it all on track. It’s no different in a marriage. If you and your spouse aren’t talking to each other about what you need and what’s going on, it probably won’t work out. Communication is paramount.

The second C is consideration. You need to consider every party in the transaction. It can’t be one-sided. And it’s the same with a marriage. You have to look out for your spouse, your partner, and the people on the other side.

The third C is compromise. Everybody has to be willing to give a little. When a buyer is looking for a house, I’ll have them separate their want list from their need list. You may not get everything you want, but you can get everything you need. Maybe you compromise on the pool you really wanted in the backyard and add it down the road. Compromise matters in a transaction, and it matters in a marriage, too.

The fourth C is cash. A lot of marriages that fail or end in divorce come down to financial reasons, financial struggles. It’s the same in real estate. A lot of deals fall through because the buyer can’t qualify for financing or doesn’t have the cash needed to close. The money piece is real, and you can’t pretend it isn’t.

The fifth C, and the most important one, is Christ. This is the man upstairs, because everything happens within His plan. We may not know why a real estate transaction fell out. We may not know why something is happening in our life, or in our marriage. But the man upstairs absolutely knows why it’s happening. Personally, this one carries all the others.

So there they are: communication, consideration, compromise, cash, and Christ. I’m looking forward to getting that book out someday and explaining it all in more detail, but the heart of it is simple.

Whether you’re trying to make a transaction work or make a marriage work, you need all five C’s with you on the journey.

I hope this helped you today, and you found some value in it. If you need anything, real estate-related or not, please reach out. I’d genuinely love to be a resource to you in whatever you need in life. Call or text me at 225-335-7666, email me at darren@agent225.com, or visit Darren James: Best Real Estate Agent in Greater Baton Rouge.