It’s not a stretch to understand that the term “high touch” can have a
double meaning when it comes to real estate. Attorneys, accountants,
escrow people, title folks, architects, pest control people, home
inspectors, insurance agents, surveyors, contractors, electricians,
plumbers, home warranty insurers, engineers, property managers, 1031
exchange accommodators, estate planners, wastewater engineers and even
environmental engineers and land use planners get involved. Buying or
selling a home has been likened to an airplane flight. Even the best
pilots can’t guarantee a smooth ride.
Market shifts and swings
change the rules of the game almost daily. Even the rules about when
and if termite inspections are required by the lender change
frequently. A few months ago, termite inspections were negotiable.
Prior to that, they were absolutely required.
Interestingly,
mortgage companies are not a party to the contract, yet they routinely
dictate terms of a negotiable contract. Expect lenders (not the loan
officers) to independently re-verify jobs, income, credit and even
buyer identity at the last minute. The days of buyer cash credits,
buyer rebates and most hold-backs have disappeared. Ever heard the
adage that “buyer’s are liars”. Some say they have cash but don’t. Some
have it and spend it; some say they are selling property to get their
down payment but forget that their pending divorce will delay
everything indefinitely. Buyers change jobs or buy a new car right
before closing. Some forget about child support liens or judgments that
need be cleared.
Sellers are sometimes no better. They
conveniently forget to tell their agent that they aren’t the sole owner
of the property they want to sell. Of course, permit problems are never
good news. Inspection companies sometimes report problems inaccurately.
Faulty “findings” could cause the buyer to re-think the entire
purchase. No house is perfect, not even a new one.
Appraisals have become a huge problem as fall-out from mortgage fraud and the perhaps mis-guided
Home Valuation Code of Conduct
has caused appraisers to become overly conservative. Short value
usually means no transaction. Sellers (and their agents) who fail to
adjust pricing to the current market probably start a chain of events
that dooms a sale before it begins.
As unbelievable as it
seems, Realtors® still forget to pre-qualify their buyers (both
economically and mentally). Some agents allow timelines to slip away
putting the entire transaction in jeopardy. Surveys discover
set-back and encroachment issues, termite companies discover
un-disclosed termite damage, attorneys make errors on conveyance
documents, insurance rates can be so high that the buyer can’t qualify
even if they are otherwise approved for their loan. Even the cable guy
who isn’t able to provide broadband service can spoil a sale. I could
go on for days.
Agents have to be problem solvers. Buyers and
Sellers must have absolute confidence in their agent’s ability to do
so! Trust me, sometimes the idea of limiting the problems in a
transaction to 50 can seem like a real blessing!