OK, I don't want any surprises when I sell my DC house!

There is one major rule in real estate: when you are selling a house, there will be surprises! 

  • Your buyers can surprise you any number of ways.  They can change their minds, fail to qualify for the loan or get hit by a bus the week before settlement.
  • Your house can betray you.  At least one major system could flunk the inspection and have to be replaced.  At least one appliance (usually the disposal or dishwasher) will drop dead during your buyer's walk-thru.
  • Other unpredictable things can happen.  If there is a mouse (not the kind that moves a computer curser) within miles of your home, it will find it's way in at some point before settlement, and perhaps start a family. 
  • The title attorney may find that a previous owner's fourth husband still has some sort of quirky ownership interest in your house

And there could be about another couple of hundred things that none of us have ever even thought about before that could jump in and mess up the sale of your house. 

And things could seem to be out of control - and annoying enough to make you crazy.

But remember.  It won't be anybody's fault, but it will be something that I'll have to deal with.  A big part of my job is to solve problems, or minimizing the consequences of the ones that won't go away entirely. 

There is almost no such thing as a real estate transaction that has no issues or challenges.  When you hire an agent to represent you in the sale of your home, just make sure she has the experience, expertise and know how to make sure they don't stand in the way of your reaching the settlement table.

 

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This post has been included in District of Columbia Real Estate News District of Columbia County, DC Real Estate News Washington, DC Real Estate News
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36 Comments on OK, I Don't Want Any Surprises!

20 Most Recent Comments Displayed Show All

SEP
26
1,516,497 Points 112 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master

You are well qualified to deal with any surprises a Washington DC home owner or home owner to be may encounter in the buy or sell process.
10:43am • #17
1,028,848 Points 238 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Pat- I think this is what sets the true professional apart from the others in the field.  If you can work with a truly experienced Realtor who knows how to handle the bumps in the road, it's worth the commission!
11:05am • #18
702,618 Points 55 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Congratulations on the feature, this is a topic that cause chest pains. There are so many things out of the agents control that we can not forsee, but the ones we can should seem seemless to the buyer and seller. Alot of issues are actually small,  and can be easily taken care of that I can just do it without alarming the buyer or seller.
11:29am • #19
378,775 Points 5 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Pat, 

Real Estate Surprises happen every day in Buckhead - some are less furry!A big part of what we are essentially paid to do is "Handle the surprises and remove those hurdles to closing".  It's a never ending surprise each day in this business.  My biggest surprise so far was the Mama Racoon and babies in a home we property manage.  After this rats and mice look tame:-)

All the best, Michelle
11:34am • #20
858,990 Points 174 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

There is always something in a deal.  Right now I have a hostile tenant in a property that closes in 2 weeks - ugh!
11:59am • #21
299,908 Points 7 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

Hi Pat, great post and so true. Being prepared is great, but you can't stop Murphy's law.         
12:18pm • #22
243,126 Points 22 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master
So true! There are always surprises! We just found out yesterday on one of my short sales that the ex-wife, still on the mortgage and title, decided to remarry, quit her job, and withdraw her entire 401K out and "hide" it in her new husband's account. Oh yeah, and she closed all accounts with her name on them 45 days ago. Oh boy.
12:39pm • #23
213,379 Points 2 Featured Posts

Oh, I have had the dead mouse surprise more than once.  What have those exterminators got against mice?!
1:21pm • #24
498,619 Points 22 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

SO very true!  The scariest surprise of all is the transaction that gets all the way to closing without hitches - because you just know something is waiting to jump up and bite at the very last minute!
2:29pm • #25
1,124,818 Points 90 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Yes! One of my sellers got a horrible surprise this week, but it is out of our control. 4 days before closing his buyer's fiance was diagnosed with a brain tumor. You are never home free until the very end.
4:15pm • #26
801,299 Points 20 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

So true. We handle the things that come un-noticed and un-noticed by the seller or buyer.
4:46pm • #27
1,152,301 Points 86 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Pat, even when we think we have it done something can pip up and we're the cool heads that make it look common and get it resolved. Then head to the nearest Pub to relax
7:23pm • #28
584,863 Points 46 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Patricia, Your opening line "There is one major rule in real estate: when you are selling a house, there will be surprises! " says it all doesn't it.  It seems there is always something that keeps our profession challenging and interesting.  If it were easy to navigagte all the drama anyone could do it and there would be a lot more FSBO's or AFSBO's...that's Attempted FSBO's.

7:33pm • #29

So true. We can never know what surprises will come to us. I also don't want this kinds of surprises but we must know how deal with it if it comes our way.
7:36pm • #30
758,657 Points 105 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Pat, I worked with a couple a few years back. They were financially well-off. I was sure there wouldn't be a hiccup. Then I find out they hadn't filed a tax return in two years and the lender was requiring that be filed. It was touch and go but we got it done. Things just come up that we can't anticipate.
8:21pm • #31
1,155,202 Points 29 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Pat this is a post we can all related to.  A real estate transaction always have challenges but it is all in the way the process is manage, yes somethings can be minimized others just have to be dealt with even if uncomfortable.

I am sure we all have a ton of stories.
9:41pm • #32
1,348,414 Points 41 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Pat - It's so important to make buyers and sellers aware of the pitfalls that can happen in a transaction ahead of time.  It just seems to make it easier.
11:04pm • #33
SEP
27
649,012 Points 70 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Very good points Pat.  As a buyer's or seller's agent, we need to educate them and let them know that sometimes things come up, but we will guide them through it.  Congrats on the feature!  
4:34am • #34
836,582 Points 69 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

After a while and piling up so many years in this business, I just want to know what the obstacle is so I can reel it in
6:32am • #35
760,924 Points 69 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

I love this, Pat.  I don't think there is a deal that goes through without a glitch.  But with the right agent, like you, it will all be handled efficiently and successfully.
5:26pm • #36

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Patricia Kennedy

Washington, DC

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Evers & Company Realtors

Address: 4400 Jenifer Street NW, Washington, DC , 20015

Office Phone: (202) 364-1700

Cell Phone: (202) 549-5167

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Pat Kennedy -- author of The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate -- gives you a look at life on the streets as a real estate broker in our nation's capital. And her blog is peppered with great advice combined with humor!


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