Keep Calm and Carry On

by Karen Briscoe
May 6, 2014

“Keep Calm and Carry On” is a popular phrase which has its roots in the United Kingdom right before World War II.  According to Wikipedia, Keep-calm-and-carry-on-scanthe theme was printed as a  motivational poster designed to “raise the morale of the British public in the aftermath of widely predicted mass air attacks on major cities.”

In the last decade the phrase has been commercialized, appearing on coffee mugs, t-shirts, posters and other paraphernalia.  Further it has been featured in innumerable media references and popular culture.  In my profession as a Realtor®, I see numerous applications as a business motto and will share a couple of first hand experiences.

April in Virginia is known for rain showers, which does lead to beautiful May flowers.  However, it can also lead to significant flooding.  Keeping water from penetrating a home is of particular concern in a home with a basement.  The day prior to the final walk through and settlement of a home in which our client was the Purchaser, there was a significant rain in the area.  Of primary concern to the Purchaser was to verify that no water had entered the basement.  The bad news is that yes there had been water in the basement.  It appeared the culprit was the gutter system in one area was not sufficient to handle the water flow coming off the roofline at that juncture.  This is where the motto “Keep Calm and Carry On” is critical.  It is the professional Realtor® that can stay “cool under pressure” until all parties can come to a resolution.

Another situation that happened recently was a delay in settlement because a Purchaser’s permanent mortgage loan was not completely approved and the lender needed a few more days to finalize everything.  A delay in settlement on the one sale caused a domino effect.  The Seller of that home needed to close on that date so that they could go buy their next home.  This scenario required this Realtor® to “Keep Calm and Carry On”.  In this situation the creative solution was that the Purchaser would place in escrow the entire down payment with the settlement company.  Further the lender would prepare and deliver bridge loan documents to the settlement company so that all parties would have the added assurance that the Purchaser could close on a loan.  By keeping calm and carrying on with creative thinking, it enabled everyone to achieve their objectives.

Representation by a Realtor® with the motto “Keep Calm and Carry On” is added assurance that when something goes wrong, the agent will get one through the challenges and opportunities of buying and selling real estate.  One cannot always predict what can go wrong, but one can select to work with a professional Realtor® with this motto.

Karen Briscoe and Lizzy Conroy are active and experienced Realtors® in the Northern Virginia, Washington DC and suburban Maryland market place and would be delighted to assist whether for home buying or selling.  Please contact via the means most convenient for you:  www.HBCRealtyGroup.com, 703-734-0192, Homes@HBCRealtyGroup.com.

Wikipedia link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Calm_and_Carry_On

Karen Briscoe is Principal of the Huckaby Briscoe Conroy Group (HBC) and author of "Real Estate Success in 5 Minutes a Day". She is an Associate Broker in Virginia, a Certified Luxury Home Market Specialist, and a member of the Women’s Council of Realtors. Karen began her real estate career developing residential lots with the Trammel Crow Company in Dallas, and in commercial real estate with The Staubach Company in the Washington, DC Metro area. Karen has a Masters Degree from Southern Methodist University and her BA from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri – her hometown.
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