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The Home Buyer Offer that Went No Where
July 14th, 2008 categories: Real Estate Tips, Sacramento, Seller
Real Estate is serious business. Making sure that you have a Realtor who knows the real estate market and how to price homes is essential when buying and selling a house or condo.
Recently, my home buyers wrote an offer on a house for sale in the Sacramento area.
This sale was a “regular sale,” meaning it was not a Short sale nor a Foreclosure, bank owned REO. Just a normal sale as listed in the MLS.
When taking a look at the tax records for this house, it appeared that the listing price was a little under what the seller owed on the house when all of escrow fees would be paid.
However, it is not uncommon to see sellers go to the table (table-meaning go to Title and sign) with the remaining cash owed to the bank in order to save their credit.
It was difficult to talk to the listing agent who did not return phone calls so the home buyer’s offer was sent. In the contract there is a page where the home buyer addresses when they want the seller to answer their offer. By contract, it is important for the seller to respond to the home buyer’s offer in a timely manner.
Otherwise, there is no point in having a contract…you need to abide by the contract and follow it. Time is of the essence.
Unfortunately, this did not occur. The timeline was ignored. Remember, this is not a bank that the home buyer’s offer was being sent to, it was a seller through their agent on a regular home sale.
After many phone calls it became obvious there was a problem. Not only did the agent not return phone calls but when agent did communicate, I was told that the offer had been sent via email and the seller didn’t understand the offer.
No kidding! It is important that the listing agent provide the seller with a net sheet showing all of the fees and the bottom line of what the seller will net in the sale of the house and this should be done in person.
Click the highlighted link to view a sample of a what a Home Seller Net Sheet.
At this point you are probably wondering if the seller was living out of town, no the seller was within a short 10 minute drive.
When I was told that the seller was not very motivated, I asked the “big” question. “Is your seller upside down on this sale?” The answer that I got was shocking. “I don’t know,” said the agent.
It is so important that when you hire someone to sell your house or condo that you make sure that the agent knows how much you owe and any prepayment penalties that might occur once you pay off the loan. If the sale of your house is close to what you owe, are you willing to pay the difference in order to keep your credit standing? If not, then you need to discuss the possibility of a short sale with your agent.
Don’t just put up stupid prices and then change them. Remember, the house has to appraise.
The end of this story is that while all of this was going on, my home buyers found another house and they were accepted before the previous offer ever even responded. It all turned out for the best with a better house for my home buyers.
When we finally did get a response in the form of an email, it was not to accept our offer. When looking at the MLS I noticed that the listing agent increased the price of the house by $5,000.00 from our original offer. Now, why they did not counter…is beyond me.
No counter, no nothing. Certainly, left us scratching our heads. This will be a house that I will follow to see what actually happens in the end. I have a strong feeling that this is house will end up a Short Sale without the seller or the listing agent realizing it.
It is so important to price your house for sale correctly and for the listing agent to return phone calls especially when you have home buyers who are willing and able to buy your house.
When deciding who should list your house, I recommend that as a seller make sure that your agent provides you with a net sheet before listing your house. You need to know if you are upside down on what is owed on your house and be given the opportunity of knowing what the real estate market indicates that your house will sell for before you list your house for sale.
To sum up, here are some key elements to keep in mind when you list your house for sale:
- Provide your agent with balances on your mortgage loan(s)
- Provide your agent with the terms of your mortgage loan(s)
- Have the agent provide you with a net sheet
- Have the agent provide you with a CMA (comparative market analysis)
- Have your agent sit down and explain all offers in detail and provide a net sheet with each offer
- Make sure that you hire an agent that communicates and returns phone calls
Most importantly, hire someone that knows what they are doing. Your house is more than likely the largest asset that you have and you deserve to have good representation.
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And of course if you are interested in buying a home or condo or selling your home or condo, feel free to contact me and lets talk.
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Dress Your Home to Sell-Outside Home Seller Tips
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It is truly amazing how careless some listing agents can be. I always visit town hall BEFORE I take a listing to verify what sellers are telling me. It’s my name on the listing and my name is worth too much to risk it on clumsy listing practices. Thanks for the reminder.
Jessica,
It is so important that as Realtors we are aware of how much each loan has owing along with the terms of the loan in case there are any prepayment penalties.
A full service Realtor knows or at least should know how to provide the best service for his/her clients.
Sounds as though you go the extra mile for your clients.