Of course, the penguin, being naturally adaptable, resilient and nurturing, heard the bleats of the goat and, having an innate propensity toward wanting to assist anyone in need, specifically with the special skills this penguin had in the stable selling arena, volunteered her services to the goat. “Let me sell your stable Goat,” she said. “As a Realtor with expertise in unique properties, I’d be delighted to assist you in marketing it effectively and securing the best possible price in the least amount of time.”

Goat, in turn, agreed. His stable had been comfortable, but he had since moved on to greener pastures. Meantime, he had allowed a cauldron of bats to occupy the property, but they had since moved out, leaving the stable in a condition that would be less than acceptable to a full price buyer. Despite this, Goat, being somewhat defensive and stubborn in his ways, as most domestic goats are, refused to accept the advice of the wise and experienced penguin and insisted on a list price which was much higher than market value for the condition. Penguin warned Goat that this would not be the best idea, as the home would sit on the market for a longer period of time with no offers, and as a result, the number of days on the market with no offers would eventually culminate in a need to lower the price, and other animals would certainly ascertain that something was “wrong” with the stable. Unfortunately, however, Goat was used to communicating with horns and head butting and insisted on a high list price anyway.

As predicted, despite professional pictures, proper staging, open houses and zealous marketing on all real estate and social media platforms, an offer was not forthcoming. Goat reluctantly agreed to lower the price. He refused to lower it to the price that was recommended by Penguin; however, he did agree to lower it enough to make a difference. Soon after, a small herd of cattle happened upon the stable and decided it had potential to be a good place to settle in for a few years. Penguin presented their offer to Goat, and since it was right at the current ask price, Goat accepted. However, once the cattle had done their inspections, there were a few significant items in the stable that would not be acceptable unless addressed by either a reduction in ask price or a credit in the form of closing costs so the cattle could do the repairs on their own. Goat refused. Again, Penguin warned Goat of the repercussions of this lack of flexibility in negotiations, but Goat insisted and refused to comply. The cattle decided to withdraw their offer and keep looking elsewhere.

The stable continued to sit empty with no offers. Goat finally agreed to lower the price once again. Ironically, the price it was lowered to was less than what he would have gotten from the cattle had he agreed to their request after inspections. Fortunately, however, after some time, (since the home now had a sort of “stigma” to it, having been on the market for so long), this final price reduction did lead to another offer from a small sounder of swine. Since they didn’t have much sense for the finer things, nor did they much care about the working order of most of the mechanics or plumbing, it was a perfect fit. A few weeks later, Penguin and Goat met at the closing table and the deal was done. Goat ended up pocketing much less than he would have had he listened to Penguin in the first place.

Thus, in true Aesop fashion, there is a moral to this story; in business as in life, being flexible and open to sound counsel can lead to greater success, while stubbornly sticking to one’s own way may lead to missed opportunities and unnecessary delays.

Jen Fischer is an associate broker and Realtor. She can be reached at 801-645-2134 or jen@jen-fischer.com.