I have a beautiful cottage in the country, minutes from I-75 less that 30 minutes to Tampa (click the photo for the virtual tour or the link above for the details). It has an inground pool, fenced, two pastures,2.65 acres, outbuildings, affordably priced...sounds perfect, right? it happens to be located on a dirt road that is not county maintained, and the folks who live on the road do not have a written maintenance agreement.
So what does that mean? It means that the home does not qualifty for FHA or VA financing. I was inspired to write this after reading Richard Weisser's blog post What constitutes a ready, willing, and able buyer? this morning.
Many metropolitan agents don't know the ins and outs of financing rural properties, and when they call to make an appointment, I ask them the type of financing their buyers are using. "UHHH...." Really? Did I mention this is a short sale? It is our job to navigate our buyers through the process, and it is important to talk to the buyers' lender if you are not familiar with the ins and outs of financing, and the devil is always in the details. When I explain that the dirt road with no maintenance agreement disqualifies the house for federal financing, sometimes they thank me, sometimes they say "But my people specifically requested seeing this home!"
As I commented on Richard's blog, I qualify every buyer when they call on one of my listings. I ask them if they have spoken to a lender, and often get the reply,
"But I really want to see the house first to see if I like it."
"Well, if you are in the market to purchase a home, the first and most important step is to determine your buying power." I reply.
"We won't have any problems getting financing."
"That's great, but the loan program is an important factor on the type of home you buy. The home you are calling about does not qualify for FHA or VA financing. If you don't have a lender, I can give you the name of a great one, no strings attached, you don't have to use her but you need to speak to someone who can get you started on the path to buying your new home." I plug away.
"So we can't see this house?"
And sometimes the conversation ends there. Sometimes I give them the name of the lender and they never call her or me. That was not a buyer, at least not for this house. If I offended them by straight talk, I don't think they were a buyer at all.
To newer agents, not only does the buyer have to qualify, but the property does too.
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