Why Do Good Real Estate Deals Fall Apart?
There are things every real estate agent is prepared for.
Negotiations. Banks. Notaries. Market mood swings.
The client who, after six months of searching for a studio in Porto, suddenly says:
“Maybe we should just get a house in Alentejo instead.”
Public clerks who send you away at 12:25 because in five minutinhos it’s already time for santo almoço, and doutora Catarina from desk number 6 is off for bacalhau.
But there are forces… even experienced ones can’t handle.
We’re talking about the Holy Trinity of Deal Killers: The Architect, the Lawyer, and the Mother-in-law. Amen.
They always appear at the worst moment
They appear just when the deal is about to take off. They sigh. They pause. And then they say:
— Let’s wait.
— Let’s think about it.
— I’ll have someone check it.
And just like that… everything starts falling apart.
Saint Rita, patron of lost causes — protect us
Every agent should probably say this prayer daily:
“Saint Rita of impossible cases,
patron of endangered deeds,
protect us from architects counting bricks,
from lawyers seeing apocalypse clauses,
and from mothers-in-law who ‘have a feeling’.
Give clients the courage to sign,
and advisors the restraint not to spread panic.
And lead us not into family consultations,
but deliver us from WhatsApp groups.
Amen.”
It’s not the market that kills a deal
Although everyone says it’s location, location, location — experience shows something else matters just as much: limiting unnecessary consultations, choosing a trusted local advisor, and asking THEM about every detail of the property and the transaction.
Remember to make informed decisions with a professional who knows the market — not with a well-meaning but pessimistic “advisor”.
In real estate, the biggest deal breakers aren’t high interest rates or delays in construction.
It’s people who “just want to give advice”.
It’s not the market that kills a deal.
It’s the lawyer, the architect… and the mother-in-law.
The moment everything seems perfect
There’s always that moment in a promising deal when you think: this is it! You mentally go through your checklist: NIF sorted. Bank account opened. Viewings done. The client is in love. The numbers work. The property is perfect.
And then — like in a Greek tragedy — they enter:
The Lawyer.
The Architect.
The Mother-in-law.
Each in their own way.
The Lawyer
They arrive with the energy of someone who just uncovered an international conspiracy.
— Are we sure the developer even exists?
— What if this clause means total legal disaster?
— What if the condo rules ban petunias on the balcony one day?
Two hours later, the client doesn’t want the apartment anymore, distrusts everything, and is considering witness protection.
The Architect
He doesn’t see an apartment. He conducts a full-on investigation.
“This layout is not ergonomic,” he says about a living room everyone would love.
He can ruin a great purchase… and then try to buy in the same building.
Classic.
The Mother-in-law
With the energy of a small unleashed chihuahua, she inspects everything: opens all drawers, peeks beneath the floorboards and pulls on the faucets (they ARE loose, aren’t they?)
She doesn’t ask. She KNOWS.
It’s just all wrong: too dark, too small, stairs too steep and windows too narrow. Too far from the supermarket. And anyway — she saw something better back in 1987.
“They just don’t build like they used to!” No argument beats someone who “just knows”.
Even the agent gives up, hiding behind a pillar, and quietly cries into a houseplant.
And the worst part?
Sometimes… they’re right. The problem isn’t advice itself.
A good deal is one where the whole family says, in unison: “Let’s do it.”
Sometimes, however, especially in a foreign country or when buying your first home, uncertainty makes other people’s fears sound louder than your own decision.
One can only count how many great deals have died — not because of price, not because of financing, not because of the market…
but because of:
“Let’s just show it to a lawyer friend first…”
