Almost Every Real Estate Deal Has Some Uncertainty
Scott P. Rogers
For sellers, there will be uncertainty in most real estate deals.
I wish that as soon as you sign a contract to sign your house I could tell you that you're guaranteed to make it to closing, on the expected timeline, without further negotiations - but that is not always going to happen.
1. The buyer will likely want an inspection
Unless we're in a multiple offer situation where a buyer waives the inspection contingency, we're likely to be working our way through an inspection - and the findings of that inspection. An inspection can reveal small or large issues, often unknown to you, the seller. We may need to negotiate repairs, or the buyer might decide not to move forward with the purchase.
2. Most buyers need financing
Unless a buyer is paying cash, they'll need to be approved for a mortgage to buy your home. They'll be preapproved before we accept their offer, but a preapproval isn't a 100% guarantee that their loan will be approved. Between contract and closing, the underwriters have to review all of the buyer's financials and sign off on the loan approval -- and things like a recent job change, new debt, or a documentation issues can complicate things.
3. An appraisal will likely need to be completed
Even if we've priced your home fairly, based on real comps, that doesn't mean it couldn't appraise a bit low. Appraisers are taking a fresh look at recent comparable sales, and sometimes their number and our number don't quite match.
So... how uncertain is uncertain?
Most contracts make it through inspections, appraisals, and financing just fine. I'm not bringing all of this up to make you overly concerned... just to remind you that there are uncertainties in almost every deal to sell a house.
We'll be working to reduce, mitigate and work through any such concerns, but even so, it's important to understand the existence of and nature of these risks on the front end. A signed contract is not a guarantee of a closed sale.
I wish that as soon as you sign a contract to sign your house I could tell you that you're guaranteed to make it to closing, on the expected timeline, without further negotiations - but that is not always going to happen.
1. The buyer will likely want an inspection
Unless we're in a multiple offer situation where a buyer waives the inspection contingency, we're likely to be working our way through an inspection - and the findings of that inspection. An inspection can reveal small or large issues, often unknown to you, the seller. We may need to negotiate repairs, or the buyer might decide not to move forward with the purchase.
2. Most buyers need financing
Unless a buyer is paying cash, they'll need to be approved for a mortgage to buy your home. They'll be preapproved before we accept their offer, but a preapproval isn't a 100% guarantee that their loan will be approved. Between contract and closing, the underwriters have to review all of the buyer's financials and sign off on the loan approval -- and things like a recent job change, new debt, or a documentation issues can complicate things.
3. An appraisal will likely need to be completed
Even if we've priced your home fairly, based on real comps, that doesn't mean it couldn't appraise a bit low. Appraisers are taking a fresh look at recent comparable sales, and sometimes their number and our number don't quite match.
So... how uncertain is uncertain?
Most contracts make it through inspections, appraisals, and financing just fine. I'm not bringing all of this up to make you overly concerned... just to remind you that there are uncertainties in almost every deal to sell a house.
We'll be working to reduce, mitigate and work through any such concerns, but even so, it's important to understand the existence of and nature of these risks on the front end. A signed contract is not a guarantee of a closed sale.
