Santa Monica Real Estate, What Buyers & Sellers Need To Know

Santa Monica Real Estate, What Buyers & Sellers Need To Know

Dear Santa Monica Home Buyers and Sellers,

We feel very strongly that if we properly counsel you about your real estate transaction, we will avoid most problems and dispell any false expectations.

First, if you are a home or condo buyer, do not to use or open any new credit after an escrow is opened.  That new credit may negatively affect your chance to get a loan and therefore make your deal harder to close.  This advice was emphasized to me later in the week when a Santa Monica buyer’s agent who had this very problem. After opening an escrow, the buyer then went out and bought a new car.  Of course, that purchase was financed and, when the mortgage lender found out about the car loan, problems arose.  The only way the buyer could qualify for his new mortgage was to pay off the car loan immediately and close out that new credit account.  As a result, he had to borrow $12,000 from family, pay off the car and then close his real estate deal.  So please talk to your real estate agent, and mortgage lender before making any big financial decisions before or during buying a home in Santa Monica.  

Next, if you are a seller,  no matter what the contract says, close of escrow is a “floating” or “flexible” date and often does not occur when scheduled. This understanding prevents a real problem of disappointed expectations, especially if you make plans around it and then get stuck when there is a delay.  Loans are hard to get and take a long time.  Repairs may take longer than expected, or that the buyer could get cold feet and even breach the contract.  Understand this is why the buyer has contingencies, because nothing is definite.  Our intention in counseling Santa Monica home seller's in this way, is to prepare you for all eventualities and so you will not have to deal with the disappointment if something happens.

In short, by counseling our Santa Monica home buyer's and seller's on these two issues, you can take easy steps to avoid problems.

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.