Those were the words our broker told us to express to our prospective buyers a few weeks ago in one of our sales meetings. To which I chimed in, "even if they are cancer survivors?" (Not making light of cancer here folks, I was just trying to put his comment into perspective)
That being said, I disagree(d) with my broker wholeheartedly. But I understood where he was coming from. I for one do not like to create a negative environment for my clients. Instead I will try to educate them on the "New Real Estate Market" and the trials, tribulations, and pitfalls of this market, giving them honest expectations so that they won't be disappointed during the process. Although, in this market, disappointment seems to be the norm.
Which leads me to the jist of this post. Which is, the banks have taken all of the joy out of purchasing a home for would be home buyers.
To me, and to most people, buying a home should be a fun, albeit sometimes stressful, experience. When the buyer, especially first time buyers, close on a home it used to be that they were happy. They had achieved the dream of home ownership. The future was theirs to behold. Plans of a happy life in their new home swimming through their heads.
But nowadays the banks have made the process so arduous, so, for lack of better word, unpleasant, that even seasoned homebuyers find the whole experience dreadful.
And that's not how it should be.
Whether a buyer is looking to purchase a short sale, a bank owned home, or even a home from a private seller who may have some equity left in it (a rare find these days), the buyer is going to have to deal with a bank somewhere in the transaction. Unless of course they have cash.
We've all expressed our consternation with short sales, and even with bank owned homes here on Active Rain. But even the loan process for good solid buyers has become a war of attrition with the banks, wearing the borrower down with request after request for the most trivial bits of information (ie. an explanation of an $18 deposit to one borrower's checking account).
Then there's the appraisals. On one side of the coin is the seller bank (if we're speaking of short sales and R.E.O. properties) who wants to recover as much money as possible on the sale of their asset. The other side of course is the buyer's lender who wants to lend as little as possible on the same home. And sometimes the discrepancy between the two sides valuation of the property is so outlandish it's almost laughable. And would be if it were not for the fact that people's lives are being put on hold during the process.
And don't get me started about how appraisers have somehow become inspectors as well, calling out items in their appraisals that are normally the domain of the home inspector and really do not have any affect on the "value" of the home (ie, garage door openers not functioning properly).
It is an extremely challenging market we are in these days. Whether it be as an agent, a buyer, or a seller, it seems the landscape and rules of the game are ever changing. Which makes it difficult for anyone to plan anything, let alone experience what was once the joyous occasion of buying a home.
To learm more about Phoenix, Anthem, or Scottsdale AZ real estate please visit our website at: www.ArizonaPremiereLiving.com
Comments (3)Subscribe to CommentsComment