Upcoming free (& non-promotional) Home Buyer Education Classes
Thursday night, May 14 , from 5pm-8pm
Marshall Community Center, conference room
1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)
Saturday, May 16, from 10am-1pm
Marshall Community Center, conference room
1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)
Saturday, May 30, from 12pm-3pm
Vancouver YMCA, conference room
11324 NE 51st Circle, Vancouver WA (corner of SR500 & Gher Road/112th Ave)
…if these dates/times don’t work for you, we have others. Check out the website for more class dates, times, and locations. PLEASE always check the web site www.learningtobuyahome.com ; for any changes regarding the classes!
Remember…with reservation…we will throw in lunch, or dinner! 😀
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Happy Mothers Day!
I am so sorry that I didn’t get this out this last weekend. I had it typed up, but I came down sick. Ugh…I hate being sick, and I am an AWFUL sick person. Seriously, I am a big baby….a big, whiny baby…actually, let me take it one step further and be honest…I am a big, whiny, GRUMPY baby when I am sick!! Luckily (and gratefully), I don’t get sick very often, maybe once a year. It was off and on this week as every time I would start feeling better, I would run around, and yep, get knocked back down by said evil sickness. My goal this week was to get better, and find the person who got me sick so I could make then as miserable as I felt. 🙂 Mean….yeah, maybe but that was my goal! Didn’t I mention I am a grumpy sick person??? Anyhow, I feel much better right now so my vengeful plans are no longer so important.
I hope every mother (and step-mother & single father) is having a wonderful Mothers Day. Also…a very happy mothers day to those fur-mommy’s because I know that not all of our kids walk on two feet. 😉 My oldest daughter moves out with her boyfriend this week, so she is busy packing & planning on where to put things in their apartment. This means that my youngest daughter (5) is busy planning how she is going to paint & decorate her sisters bedroom since she is going to be moving into that bigger bedroom. My youngest child is always trying to figure out how to get her big brother to move out since she has now decided she ‘needs’ a playroom too, and his room would be perfect. 😀 Yes, it is pretty hilarious!! Ok…enough about me!
So some weird things happened this past week that I want to talk about with you. Why? Because I want to see you feelings on these situations… this week I will talk about a client situation I had recently and this week I had some appraisal issues come up that I will talk about this next week… You know I like to teach by example so here we go….
In March, I received multiple offers on one of my listings that was the subject of one of my previous blogs. In this particular case, one offer was stronger in that it was a conventional loan with a large down payment, but it was contingent on the buyers selling their home in Portland first. The second offer was not as strong financially as it was a zero down loan, but it was going to be a quick close and was $1500 more than the other loan. My client (the seller) here chose the second offer because it was a quick close, and with no “I can only buy if I sell my home first” contingency. So what happened? Well, the inspection goes great, the well testing goes great, so does the appraisal, and then the closing date on the contract comes, and goes…. The buyer requests an extension for 2 weeks. My client isn’t too happy, but signs the extension.
As we come up closer to the new closing date, we get yet a demand from the buyers underwriters that they want some items taken care of, and a request for another extension. What happened here? Even if the inspection was good, the well tests were good, the septic was inspected, and the appraisal came back higher than purchase price…the underwriters have final say, and they decided they wanted more things done, and then there was a repair on the septic lid that they wanted too. In the meantime, the buyers sign to buy the home, and my client (the seller) signs to release the home to the new owner. We are just waiting to hear back regarding the time line on the new septic lid…….AND BAM!! The buyers agent sends me a rescission!
I was really surprised, so I called the buyers agent to ask if his clients really wanted to back out since we should be closing in just a few days as the septic lid is being done over the weekend. The buyers agent is a new agent, and now starts backpedaling…. he tells me that he had his clients sign the rescission because the new extension wasn’t signed and the contract expired….that is what he thought he was supposed to do. I am shaking my head here…. I tell the buyers agent that a deal is never dead as long as both parties are still working on it. It is only dead when one party declares it dead by sending over a rescission! Sigh…. the buyers agent wants to rescind the rescission as his clients DO still want to buy the home, and close in a couple of days.
Legally, once I receive a document from the other agent that has been signed by the other party I have to present that to my client. In this case since the buyers agent sent me an extension, and a rescission I have to present both to my seller and provide him with the pros/cons of both options. Ultimately, it is his decision…..
The market in March is different than the market in May. In the winter the market is much more favorable for a buyer, but in the spring it is much more favorable for the seller. If you were the seller, what would you do? He isn’t in any hurry to sell, and the market is much stronger right now. He could sign the extension, and close in a few days, or sign the rescission, and put the home back on the market for more money. What would you do?
My client (the seller) decided to accept the buyers rescission and go back on the market for a higher listing price. When writing a purchase/sale contract, both parties agree to a closing date. When one party needs an extension, the other party can either accept the extension, or decline the extension and back out. When it comes to the extensions, *usually* the seller will sign it, unless it benefits the seller more to not sign it….a lot of it depends on the conditions of the extension, the buyers position, and yes, the sellers particular position too.
In this particular instance, because the buyers agent was new, he made a pretty big blunder. Now, again, the seller doesn’t have to accept the extension, but both parties had already signed, so the chances of the seller not extending for a couple of days was pretty slim. By sending that rescission though…the buyers agent gave my client an easy way out of the contract, and more than that… the paperwork to sign that the deal was dead.
Why didn’t the buyers agent call me before he sent over the rescission? I had just gotten off the phone with the septic specialist, and was getting ready to call him when he (the buyers agent) texted me that he had just sent me the rescission. The answer here really is that he is a new agent, and unfortunately, that was what killed the deal, and lost his buyers the home.
Sadly, getting a real estate license isn’t that difficult, but the real issue is that most agents have no business getting that license. People get a real estate broker license thinking that it is easy, and that they are going to make a lot of money.
Facts: Real estate is not easy! You are assisting people with making a huge life decision that is going to costs thousands of dollars. A real estate broker does not get paid unless keys are exchanged, so that buyers agent? Yeah….no closing = no paycheck for him….or for me. Now, I will help my client to sell that home (in fact, we have another offer on it already), so eventually I will get a paycheck for it, but that could be another 2-3 months from now….and in the meantime I have to pay for the rental of the sign, the marketing materials, and the advertising. The buyers agent though….there is a very good chance he is going to lose those clients since finding acreage at that price right now is almost impossible. Also, those buyers are now out the inspection fee, the appraisal fee, and some other money they put into buying the home as those are non-refundable fees.
No one gives you clients…you need to earn them. Yes, I do get clients from the home buyer classes, but not near as many as people think…maybe only 2-3 a month…the majority of my clients come from referrals. Referrals are king in real estate. Real estate is about relationships, and helping people achieve their dreams. If I do a good job for my clients, my hope is that they will refer me to their friends, family, co-workers, etc….anyone they know who is looking to buy or sell a home.
A lot of people think that real estate agents make their own hours… maybe some of them, but in reality, we work with YOUR schedule. Remember you are the boss here. When do you want to see homes? After work, and on the weekends, right? I work a lot of long hours…nights and Saturdays. As most people know, I try to take Sundays as family day, but yes, sometimes I work Sundays too…if a great home comes on the market, or that is the only time my clients are available.
The facts are that there are about 1200 real estate brokers in Clark County. The average real estate broker only sells about 6-9 homes a year….some sell about 12. These are really hobbyists, new agents, and part-time agents. Only 1 in 10 (I have also heard 12 & 15) will actually ‘make it’. The others will stop after 1-3 years. About 20% of us sell 80% of the homes in Clark County. Now, please, I am not picking on new agents. I actually feel bad for the previous buyers, and their agent. His new agent blunder lost his clients the home, but now he knows that a deal is never dead unless one party calls it dead. The fat lady hadn’t even warmed up on this deal…..he kind of threw her out there unready.
There are a lot of great agents out there, and even some really good new agents that I see too. The new agents that I see that *I think* will make it all have something in common….they have a background in economics, or accounting….or they have a college degree, or they have been working as a team with an experienced agent to ‘learn the ropes’ first.
When involved in a multiple offer situation, the sellers & the sellers agent will look at the entire offer….price, closing costs, closing date, loan type, how much of a down payment there is, the contingencies, and who the buyers agent is. I recently had a buyer win a multiple offer situation where both offers were very similar (within $200 of one another) only because I am an experienced agent that the sellers agent knew of, and the competing offer was written by a new agent. It does happen….
So….I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this….
One last thing you need to remember is that a real estate agent is not a sales person. It is not our job to ‘sell’ you anything. We are assistants, advisers , guidance, and help. You should not feel as if your agent is trying to sell you a home, or anything else, our job should be to help you in getting the home you want. This being said remember that you do not get T-Bone steaks for the price of hamburger…Look ONLY at homes within your budget. ALWAYS ask questions, and expect answers without a lot of lingo. I was always told that if you can’t explain something in a way that the other person can understand clearly, it is because you don’t understand it yourself. 🙂
Information is power, and I hope that I am able to help you. Good luck, and as always…May the odds be ever in your favor out there…. If you are looking for a real estate agent, I would love to be able to help you.
As always….this is just a quick overview…. please remember that your agent, and your lender work for YOU. You drive the bus…we are merely GPS to help you get to your goals. Like the classes, this weekly blog email is to help you with your homebuying adventure. The goal is to be informative and non-promotional. 🙂 We are, however, hoping you will call and want us to help with your adventure.
If you have any questions about this, or something you have heard…or if you would like me to help you with your homebuying adventure, please call, email, text, or facebook me anytime. I am, as always, happy to help!
Thank you again for your business and your referrals!! …and thank you for referring these classes to your friends, family, and co-workers.
. ..disclaimer…if you have already purchased a home, or would no longer like to receive these emails, please let me know and I will be happy to remove you from any further mailings…
Next Week: Appraisals: the good, the bad, and the downright UGLY!
Mortgage vs Rent…How does that work?
Last Week: Multiple offer strategies that may do more harm than good
Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon,
;-D
