Brought to you by Scott P. Rogers, Funkhouser Real Estate Group, 540-578-0102, scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com
Brought to you by Scott P. Rogers, Funkhouser Real Estate Group, 540-578-0102, scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com
Friday, November 15, 2019
If you're selling your home, and it just went under contract (hooray!) should you be confident that it will make it to closing? Yes and no....
YES - Most contracts result in closed transactions in this market.
- You likely know your house pretty well and have taken care of any unresolved maintenance or repair issues so the home inspection shouldn't cause you too much concern. (Maybe? Does this describe you and your house?)
- You likely asked for a lender letter before accepting signing the contract, so you know that the buyer is likely to have their loan approved.
- The buyer likely was not willing to pay more than the house was worth, so it is unlikely that you'll have appraisal issues. (Maybe? It might not always feel this way right now.)
So, yes - as a seller, you should feel generally confident that that contract you just signed will result in a closed sale.
NO - There are lots of ways in a standard contract that a buyer can end up not buying your house.
- The home inspection might reveal issues you didn't even know about that will cause the buyer to lose interest in buying your home.
- The home inspection might not reveal major issues, but might point out (for example) that the roof, HVAC system, water heater, exterior siding, etc., all will need to be replaced in the next few years which might cause the buyer to lose interest in buying your house.
- Despite being prequalified, the buyer's lender might discover additional information during the loan application and underwriting process that does not result in the buyer being able to be approved for the loan to buy your house.
- We might have negotiated really, really well - in an undersupplied segment of the market - resulting in a contract price that cannot be supported by comparable sales. In this case, the appraisal might come in low, which might cause the sale to fall apart depending on if you or the buyer will make price acommodations.
So -- yes -- that contract you just signed to sell your house will **probably** result in the sale of your house -- but we should understand that there are several hurdles to clear along the way, and there are ways in which the sale could fall apart.
