Ah, the holiday season. The season of lights. The season of decorations. Celebrations. Religious reflections and joy. Family time. Real estate agents reminding others just how miserable they can be...
We're in a seller's market. A heavy seller's market, and we've been here for a while. How long? Long enough for many listing agents to forget how to be decent human beings. Long enough for many listing agents for forget it's not always like this, and that lenders, and the agents on the other side of the transaction sometimes have really, really good memories.
I have the wonderful fortune of working with some great buyers and agents across many markets, and in nearly every market, one consistent thing that continues to pop up is shortened timelines on accepted contracts. While every state is different, most have timelines for loan approval, appraisal, inspections, and other pieces of the transaction. These timelines are meant to keep things on track toward a timely settlement. But listing agents - do you not realize that during the holidays, pushing for shortened contingency times sets you, and more importantly, your seller, up for additional stress??
We missed a loan contingency yesterday. Not because anything is wrong. Not because there's any delay. But because a contract was accepted the week before Thanksgiving with a 12 day loan contingency. What that meant is that we had 4 and a half days to get the entire mortgage done. Possible? Sure. Likely. Not so much.
My question becomes - what's the point? Are the funds the seller receives at closing going to be worth less if the accepted offer actually gives people time to do their job? And why, on a 21 day close, do you need the loan done in 12 days? The answer is, unequivocally, you don't.
Relax. Take a breath. Give people time to do their jobs. Explain to your seller that reduced contingency times create more stress & headache than they're worth. They (on most transactions) have a huge chunk of the buyer's money in deposit. Enjoy the holidays, and let others do the same. No one's working Thanksgiving (and if you are, stop it, spend time with your family and if you don't have a family go volunteer somewhere or take a walk). I don't know anyone in banking working the day after, either. We work a lot. Our team covers Hawaii to the East Coast, so we're doing lots of hours on lots of days. We're also taking some time off for the holidays. And yes, we'll still have the money on it's way for closing on time (and in most cases, early!). But within a week of the contract being executed? Let us do our job. Leave us alone. Don't threaten us, harass us, or make things more stressful than they need to be.
During the holidays, think things through - people take time off. Title people, appraisers, operations staff at lenders, and yes, believe it or not, other agents! It offers us absolutely no benefit to have a loan in process for even a day more than absolutely necessary. We know time is of the essence. We get it, and we nearly always deliver (our pull through rate is immensely higher than industry average). Patience, grasshopper.
Shortened contingency times offer little benefit when a contract/escrow timeframe is a normal 21-45 day timeline. A 7-12 day contingency does you no good when there's 2 weeks between contingency and closing, but it does add more stress and paperwork along the way. Calm it down a notch for the holiday season. Let your seller know that yes, people take time off. Even if the agent and loan officer don't - there are escrow employees, operations staff, appraisers, and many others we rely on that are out of the office. Relax, enjoy the holidays, and give people time to do their job.
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