Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Of course you hope when it is all said and done you make some money out of the sale. But the reality is that has zero bearing on what the value of your house is. It certainly wouldn't be very effective to bump up your asking price/bottom line above market value simply because you need to add more in to cover the commission.
I think everyone here has touched on very good points. To the buyers who object to providing a pre-approval letter, I ask you this-perhaps you might think about the Seller's requests a little different if you were the Seller. Say you were selling your home because you're dream home came on the market a few weeks ago and decided to make an offer on it-and you get it!, and it was contingent upon financing, and you had to sell you home in order to get financing and close. Suppose Seller and Buyer agree on a specific day to close. You have movers lined up, cable company, electric company appointments set up...and deposits paid-suppose your agent changes the status in MLS to Active Contingent in MLS and people stop viewing your home. Did I mention, you've paid deposits to have your kids start their new private school and they've had all of their going away parties...and man, you love your new house...I mean, you love it-it's the house you've always wanted if it ever went up for sell - it's a once in a life time chance for you to own this home - things are moving and you're not looking back. Suppose the agreement on that beautiful new home is Active Kickout Status....if you don't know what that means-that's another thread. Well, somewhere in the beginning of this process, you didn't think it was important to require a pre-approval letter because your buyers looked the part. They dressed in fine clothing, they drove the latest and greatest Lexus and BMW's. Had 4 of each. Every time you saw them, the wife had a different pair of Jimmy Cho's on. Well, closing is quickly approaching....10 days til the big day....and guess what......your buyers weren't ever pre-approved (remember that small detail that is only between them and their accountant?) and now...it's going to take them and additional 20 days to close if all goes as planned. But damn, those Jimmy Cho's are gonna kill your deal, Your dream. Remember that Active Kickout Contract you're in? Well, you have 3 days to on your dream home or else they are going to give it to the next offer just waiting and praying for someone to *********r deal up and maybe leave that little qualification thing up to the buyer and his accountant...and guess what....they move in to your dream home and you're SOL because you couldn't close.....
Now....do you understand why a seller might want to only have serious qualified buyers?
Or well, snap!!! I almost forgot to add the other factor into why YOU as a seller might want only serious and qualified buyers entering into your home while you're not there....you're letting strangers into your home-how do you know they aren't casing your home for valuable or getting the layout of your home so they know where you're little one sleeps at night? Does a pre-approval letter stop this. Oh, absolutely not!!!!! But you know what it does do? It lets you, the seller know that you have serious qualified home buyers in your sweet little home...into your little life.....with your little kids....with your little valuables.
If this doesn't change your mind about why a seller might require buyers viewing their homes to be pre-approved....then nothing will and you would never purchase my home unless you bought it over the internet and drove by and viewed my front yard from the street...also know that if you are buying a home in Texas, and you don't have permission to be on the property, that Texas has very homeowner friendly gun laws. You might want to educate yourself a little more.. Buying a home isn't an accountant issue-it's peoples real lives and livelihood you're dealing with. I leave law to law enforcement but I take care of my home and family and will defend when necessary. Now-I don't want to have to be put in that position...so I would require a simple little pre-approval letter to be the first line of defense.....
I have no confidence in our realtor (but was the only one who'd take the listing--but that's another issue).
Anytime that only one Realtor will even take the listing, something is wrong. Such as: Sellers demanding a price, the Realtors know they will never be able to sell the home for. Sellers trying to put on unreasonable conditions, etc.
Anytime Realtors turn down taking the listing, they are doing it for only one reason. In their estimation, they have little chance to sell the home, and get a return on the time and money they have to spend to market the property. It is an indication that the one Realtor that would list the property, was not one of the best and sharpest in town, as those would be the first one not to list the property.
Kim, nice post and good points but this thread is nearly four years old.
Kim's post is excellent and he describes essentially happened to me (as a seller) a year and a half ago and so many other people as well.
I had two offers on the table, both within two-thousand dollars of each other and I took the one which got to me first (and in my mind, I felt was more likely to follow through with a smooth closing). Well, 48 hours before closing, after I had removed about 90 percent of my stuff from the house, I got a phone call from my agent: the closing was not going to happen.
The underwriters found problems with the loan paperwork (that is, discrepancies which needed to be explained by the buyer). By then, the other couple who had also brought me an offer were long gone. Foolishly, I gave these buyers another thirty days after they pleaded with me for another chance to obtain financing, which they failed to do--I denied another extension and re-listed the house as expenses were quickly accumulating (ie house upkeep, utilities, storage rent, etc.). I certainly learned my lesson and I was LIVID.
I was forced to put everything into storage (five storage bays full, at roughly $350/month combined, not to mention other expenses stemming from all this) and live with my parents until the house actually sold (the second offer came in on my birthday, of all days and closing occurred five weeks later). The irony was the second offer was actually slightly higher than the first two from the original listing--by about four thousand dollars! A failed closing can really mess things up and if I do sell again I certainly will be insisting upon making sure any buyer with an offer is per-qualified.
You should require a pre-approval with your offer but understand that it is not a guarantee that your buyer will receive a loan. You can still have a problem like the one you experienced. Even a loan commitment, which typically comes 3-4 weeks in, still will have certain contingencies which can go wrong.
I didn't read all 19 pages, so maybe someone already said this, but neighbors make some of the best outsourcing. Maybe they have a friend who is looking to buy and would love to have them next door. Maybe they know someone at work who has been lamenting not being able to find a nice place. Agents I know typically like it when the neighbors come to an open house. The more people looking for a buyer for you, the better.
Aaaaaand I didn't realize this was a 4 year old thread.
Kim, nice post and good points but this thread is nearly four years old.
I wonder if the OP ever sold her house? I know every once in a while she was starting a thread asking for advice, but I feel like it's been at least a few months since we've heard from her.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Probability approaches zero
