I've had buyers come and go for various reasons. They have a job change that affects their ability or need to buy a new home. Or interest rates change and cause them to no longer qualify for what they want. But yesterday was a little different.
After working with a great couple in their home search for several months and after making offers on 5 different homes, the buyer called and said they are no longer going to be buying a home. I knew it was just a matter of time before we found the perfect home for them and I was surprised at their call because they were adamant about getting into a new place before interest rates rose too much further.
The buyer advised me that he just got word from his medical insurance company that his monthly rate was going up due to Obamacare changes going into affect January of 2014. In fact, they were not just going up, his payment was doubling. He was devastated because his wife has cancer so they need insurance and they previously had a good rate. He decided to shop around and could find nothing cheaper than the new higher rate he was going to be forced to pay.
Aside from the financial distress my buyers now find themselves in due to the higher rate, they are also depressed because now they cannot realize their dream of owning a home. At least not right now. We decided to stay in touch and to keep each other informed as to what is happening in their financial lives as well as the Real Estate market.
He did seem to have a spark of hope in his last comment when he said, "Well, I hope maybe next November people will wake up and all this will be changed and we'll be back where we were yesterday." Hmm, we'll see!
