Quite a while ago, I began working with a young couple who wanted to buy their first home. They initially contacted me about one property which did not qualify for financing. In other words, that property could only be sold to a cash buyer.
My clients were certainly not in a position to become cash buyers. I did refer them to a couple of mortgage specialists so that they could get pre-approved for a mortgage and know exactly how much they could afford. Once they had that information, we sat down to discuss their must haves in a home, in other words, how many bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. they needed. We identified the locations they were most interested in, and then began the search.
Early on, we saw a great Fannie Mae owned condominium. They loved it. I sent an email to the listing agent indicating that we were preparing an offer, and then submitted the offer. We received no reply at all. A few days later I discovered that the property was scheduled for absolute auction. Disappointed, my clients and I moved on. We looked at many, many houses, many of which were nothing like their listing details. Most frustrating for all of us was that prior to each showing, I sent the listing agents emails asking if the properties were eligible for the specific types of financing for which my clients qualified. In almost every case, I received a reply of yes from the other agents. We would view the properties, research the comparables, and begin to prepare an offer only to then be told by the listing agent that they were very sorry, but the property did not qualify for any financing and required a CASH BUYER. One in particular, the agent acknowledged that his sellers had told him if he did not have any showings in that time period, they were withdrawing their home from the market, so he neglected to mention to me that the property's well was only 10 feet from their septic system. Blech!
It was very frustrating, but my clients hung in there through the process. In the middle of it, our buyer's agency contract expired, I switched real estate agencies, and we had to begin all of the paperwork again. I fully expected my buyers to choose to work with someone else. "No way!" they said, "We like working with you!" So we re-signed all of the relevant contracts and began again. We found another property they liked, contacted the list agent to prepare a contract, were told that there had been no other activity on the property. Just after we submitted the initial Purchase and Sales Contract to the list agent, she emailed to tell me that the property now had multiple offers. How in a matter of hours it switched from no activity to multiple offers is a bit amazing to me, but I suppose it happens. Unfortunately for my buyers, one of the other offers was a straight cash deal, so their offer was declined.
Out we went a few days later to view some other homes. One had just come on the market that morning, an REO, or Bank Owned property (actually owned by the VA). They loved it, and though it was at the top of their price range, we put together another offer. The listing agent kept getting confused about who owned the property and what the offer requirements were. Ultimately, their offer was countered with a higher price than the property had been listed for. My buyers began to think that they were never going to be able to buy a home.
The same day that we received word their offer would not go through, we discovered that the very first condominium they had been interested in was back on the market! Without going to see it again, they decided to write up an offer on it. I contacted the agent. She told me we were in another multiple offer situation and that their offer needed to be their highest and best. We submitted it with a copy of the information about the first offer they had submitted on the property nearly 6 months before. Two days later, I received a wonderful phone call: OFFER ACCEPTED.
The home inspection went well. Their mortgage broker has been working with the lending company and the title company, and we are rapidly moving towards closing.
It's been a long road, but when I get to hand them the keys and tell them they are now homeowners, it will all be worth it.
If you know of anyone who would be interested in buying, selling, or investing in real estate, please let me know. I would be delighted to show them exactly what I can offer to them.
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