Don't Watch Us Make The Escrow Sausage
As a middle school student I had the opportunity to visit a slaughterhouse. After touring the hallowed halls (and watching how meat got to my plate), it was a while before I consumed sausage again. Let's examine how buying or selling a home can be similar to a slaughter house.
1) People assume a contract means the end of the process-- Imagine their surprise when they discover that negotiation occurs again after inspections. Ever negotiated the repair costs of a "pop-off valve"? I have, and sadly it took more than one round to reach consensus.
2) Not all lender letters are the same-- I once had a mortgage broker generate a pre-approval letter for a client with bad credit. Why did she do this? The lender felt like she could "fix stuff" during escrow. Wouldn't this have been nice to disclose up front?
3) Termites eat wood and sales contracts-- When told his home had termites, one owner poured diesel fuel all along his home's slab. Oddly enough the buyers selected not to close on a home that came with 20 gallons of diesel fuel.
4) Title issues can tank transactions-- Everyone with ownership equity usually has to sign off on a deal. Even Uncle Eddy with his
5% equity can cause problems. Think people may use this to their advantage?
5) Not so fast, the appraisal has been flagged-- My buyers fell in love with a Garden District home. In the backyard resides an old shed that they are planning to tear down. The appraiser is requiring that the seller scrape and paint the structure. The painting will be done on Tuesday, and the building will be demolished on Friday. Only in America.
After my slaughterhouse trip I swore off sausage. But after a while the sweet smell was too much to resist. In fact I grilled some delightful sausage this week. Real estate is the same way. Part of my job is navigating my clients through the "escrow slaughterhouse". Look at that pretty home, most would agree that the destination is worthy of the journey.
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