Trusting the Real Estate Process

We say it over and over, to all of our clients. At least twice daily, you’ll hear one of us say to a client, “Buying and selling real estate is a process, not an event.” With the current market being highly competitive, that mantra can’t be repeated enough. It’s important to remember that multiple offers are a reality in this market. Appraisals, changing lending rules and competition with other buyers can be trying and discouraging.

The key is to have the right team working for you. Is your real estate professional knowledgeable about the process? How easily can he or she answer your questions? Does your real estate professional have a team of professional alliance partners that complements the level service being provided?

When choosing a real estate professional to represent you, we always recommend that you speak to at least three. Find the best fit for you. Like all relationships, your relationship with your real estate professional will thrive on a good personality match. It’s important that you feel comfortable enough to ask questions and trust that you are getting the correct answers—even if the answer is not always what you expect to hear. There are sometimes hard truths that need to be told. Make sure your agent is forthcoming and candid.

Your process is also largely dependent on the level of trust you place in the person you’ve chosen to guide you through that process. Don’t get discouraged in your process. If you’ve chosen the correct team to assist you, a successful transaction is just around the corner.

Relating a personal story, we recently closed a transaction with a buyer that wasn’t without its trying moments. From the outset we discovered we were working with a seemingly capable but very unresponsive listing agent. The property was a foreclosure, so good response was essential. We were not off to a great start in that regard. Then the appraisal was $18,000 short of the sales price. The seller, being an institutional entity, did take their time to decide and understand that because the appraisal was for an FHA loan the appraisal would follow the property for six months. Thankfully, the seller did agree to lower the price. However, what we weren’t told at the time was the seller had also told their listing agent to inform us that the previously agreed upon seller-paid closing costs were off the table because of the agreement to reduce the price. The listing agent mistakenly left that change out of the amendment to lower the price. After what had been weeks of delay, the buyer finally had his closing date scheduled and signed the paperwork at 9 a.m.. As usually happens in foreclosure sale, the transaction closes in escrow for the day until the seller reviews and approves all documents at the end of the day. In this case, the seller rejected the closing documents because the closing costs were still showing as being paid by the seller. The listing agent informed us at the end of the day that the addendum should have stated that fact. Unfortunately for that listing agent, we pointed out the error and by the time it was over, the seller asked the listing agent to give up his commission and the listing agent also had to pay additional funds to cover the closing costs out of his own pocket.

Is this an extreme example? Absolutely it is. Did it really happen? Yep, true story. If it hadn’t been for the insistence of the closing attorney, working on behalf of the buyer’s lender and our insistence that the contract was agreed to by all parties and any mistakes made by the listing agent were not the fault of our buyer, our buyer might have had to pay those closing costs just to close the deal.

My point isn’t to scare you about the sometimes-harsh realities you might encounter in the process. Most transactions are in fact quite smooth. I simply want to illustrate the importance of having a team of professionals working for you every moment leading up to closing and even afterwards when you remember the few hundred questions you forgot to ask. Know who represents you and know you can trust them. Our philosophy is once a client, always a friend.

iDeal Real Estate Professionals, LLC is owned and operated by Brandon Bramlett and C. Mark Willix and is affiliated with Maximum One Realty Greater Atlanta. For personalized service, visit us at www.idealrealestateprofessionals.com. You can also email us at info@idealrealestateprofessionals.com.