So I had an interesting offer come in yesterday.  It was low and that is fine (within workable range), but what was so interesting is that the buyers agent has no idea how the buyer plans to pay. She sent over an incorrect  3rd party financing agreement just in case he decided to go with a loan.  She thinks a family member must be paying because he stated he has 100% financing (a lender want give you 100% on a condo, just 90%).  She also told me he may be borrowing money from a family member, or the family member may be getting the loan.  These are all guesses on her part BECAUSE SHE HAS FAILED TO ASK HIM TO SHOW HER THE MONEY.  When I explained to this nice lady that she should get me a pre-qualification letter she said she just could not ask.  Then she proceeded to tell me that the request would have to come in writing from me since it is bad practice to ask these questions.  She stated that her brokerage just practices TRUST.  Her broker was an ex member of the Texas board of Realtors, I doubt this.  This lady has been an agent for over 10 years and hold a GRI designation.  HELLO.  Whats a girl to say???  TO TOP IT OFF, SHE TOLD ME THE REQUEST TO VERIFY LOAN APPROVAL OR CASH FUNDS WOULD BE AN INSULT AND THE BUYER WOULD POSSIBLY MOVE ON TO A CHEAPER CONDO.  Then I was told this is just how things are done in Galveston since she thought I needed a lesson.  She is a bit older then me so I get these lovely tips from agents who look down on any agent my age.  Apparently being in your 30's just makes you clueless when it comes to real estate.

So we have presented a counter with emphasis on knowing how this young buyer plans to pay my seller.  More to come later.  I am just appalled that an educated agent would not be willing to address the most essential part of the deal.  Furthermore why did she waste her time with him, driving around with gas so high, before knowing that he CAN in fact purchase his home. 

As agents we take chances, but with the economy in this state we need to make sure we address our needs as well as the needs of our clients.  Address your gas bill before you spend your valuable time with a lead that may not be worth your time.  For example I just showed one of my listings to a couple who had a wonderful history (so they said).  I make it practice to be a bit more lenient when showing my listings to people who call on the sign.  I like to meet them once before I start hounding them for financial information (sometimes you just have to take one for the team.)  So we had a wonderful showing and then they told me they were new to the US but had excellent credit and socials.  Come to find our my mortgage representative found out only the husband has a social.  They were still willing to consider an FHA loan for this couple.  After he worked for 2 weeks to get them the FHA approval, we were denied all because they had lied about filing bankruptcy in Canada.   They had been point blank asked if they ever filled bankruptcy.