The excitement of house hunting has worn off, you've been working with your buyers for months and after submitting 4 contracts on 4 different houses your buyer's offer is THE ONE the seller agrees to. Sigh of relief and high fives all around? Not just yet!
I always tell my buyers to never fall in love with a house because we all know what happens when you fall in love. There is a little dose of reality to content with that enters between that signed contract and ownership but instead of the in-laws it's the mortgage approval, home inspection and appraisal that could foil the deal.
After the proposal can you afford the marriage. All of my buyers are prequalified which in a few cases surfaced bad credit issues and other concerns which puts house hunting on hold and credit repair into gear. Once they are prequalified they dive right into preapproval. We're in a seller's market and a preapproved can give them an edge in a multiple offer situation, it can also take away any risk that the deal could fall through because the buyers can't qualify for a mortgage or their financial situation could delay mortgage approval beyond what is acceptable to the seller. My last buyers had yet to file their taxes for 2012 (or 2011, 2010....). The word COMMITMENT starts entering the buyer's vocabulary - in all CAPS!
The engagment period. This might just be the longest 10 days of their (and your) lives. This house is true bliss. It has the workshop in the garage he wanted and granite she wanted, she even loves laundry room. What could go wrong? Reality check time! It's the insepction period! Time to decide if this house is happy ever after or misery in the making. Time to get intimate with the plumbing and the wiring and the roof. My buyers walk through the house with the SPDS and make a list of items they want the inspector to be sure to check. If it's an as-is property they just do a walkthrough but still create that list. They see flaws for the first time and some of the glow starts to wane. Next is THE DAY. After the inspection the buyers go through the findings in exhausting detail with the inspector. They are now wondering if they will ever love this house like they used to. Is it time to break it off now or can they make it work? No matter how many homes a buyer has purchased the inspection period is definitely harrowing and an important time as a real estate agent to truly support your client's best interest.
The final blessing. Mortgage - check! Inspection - check! Buyers, please don't start measuring for furniture just yet because the most difficult hurdle still looms - the appraisal. During this period I feel the most helpless as a buyer's agent. I touch base with the listing agent to see how they will support the appraisal, see if I can assist and then I hope and pray. If the home appraises low in most cases the buyers are forced to walk unless they can come up with additional funds or the seller is willing to reduce the price. Neither is common in our current market but low ball appraisals are.
As a buyer's agent the best advise I was given was to never think about the commission until the deal is done. Now is the time to ensure the buyers have the resources they need to make one of the most important decisions they will ever make. It'll also be the final impression your buyers have of you as their real estate agent so make it a positive one.
Comments(24)