Are your buyers and sellers hiding out because it's December?
Maybe they just don't want to be bothered with showing their homes or looking at homes when they're busy shopping, baking, and decorating.
But maybe they believe that there's no point in looking right now.
Maybe buyers think there are no good homes to look at.
Maybe sellers think there are no buyers this month.
Because so many people have bought into that idea, it can make things much better for those who choose to move forward.
Here's why: Sellers who will bother with showing right now really are serious. That could mean they'll also be more willing to negotiate with your buyers. Even though there may be fewer homes to see, your buyers probably won't be wasting time viewing homes whose sellers are just “testing the waters.”
In all likelihood, the homes for sale during the holidays will be priced correctly, so you and your buyers won't be wasting time visiting “overpriced turkeys.”
Serious buyers:
At the same time, buyers who are willing to take time out to view homes this month are serious about buying. That means your sellers aren't as likely to have their lives interrupted by “looky-lou's.” People looking now probably really do want a home to live in. They too will probably be more willing to negotiate a win-win transaction. They'll have fewer buyers who are making ridiculously low offers in hopes of finding someone deseperate enough to say yes.
That's good for you as well as your sellers – it really is no fun to write those offers that are merely a waste of time and paper.
Low Interest Rates:
Of course anyone watching the news knows right now is a good time to act because the interest rates are down. That could change at any time.
Faster Closings?
Most years, the slow down in offers should mean that loan processors aren't as over-loaded, so closings should go faster. I don't know if that's true this year, because of the back log of short sales.
And that brings me to something else you should share with your buyers...
Late yesterday I spoke with my son's loan officer. (Because my son works long hours, away from telephones, I'm sometimes his secretary.) He's doing a refinance for the purpose of getting in on the low rates. He's got plenty of equity, good credit, good income – so there should not be a problem. But this is taking too long.
The loan officer told him he could do this in 30 days, and 3 weeks of those have gone by without an approval – the appraisal has not yet been ordered.
Why? Well, it seems the loan officer didn't exactly turn the paperwork in right away. They were moving their office and the phones were off, and he couldn't use his computer, and... several other excuses.
Yesterday after I hung up a thought hit me – Has this person ever done a mortgage loan before? Is he floundering around because he really doesn't know what to do first and next and next?
Or is he one of those guys who jsut spends his time on the phone telling people he's important? We had one like that around here a few years ago. His excuse for not getting things done was his popularity – he just had SO many phone calls to return all the time. I finally pointed out that most of the calls were probably like mine – pushing him to get his loans moving.
So here's a thought to pass on to your buyers: When they choose a mortgage company, they should first find out if the person they're working with has experience. How many loans have they done? What IS their track record for getting loans closed on time?
After the experience we're going through, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be a good idea to get references.
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