Once again, I am on one side of a transaction, this time a HOME SELLER, in WA State. After 12 years of being a landlord across the country, it is time to Sell.
First of all, I want to stress how lucky we, as a property Seller in TX, our promulgated TREC contracts are a lot stricter and more protective of the Seller comparable to WA State contracts. Here are some differences:
The Option Period in TX ends at a specific # of days from contract date. Repairs are to be negotiated within this Option Period. In WA, there is no option period but the Buyer is entitled to inspections within 10 days. During the period, Buyer can request repairs and the Seller has 3 days to respond. If Seller counters, the Buyer has 3 days to respond and this can go back and forth giving each party 3 days, hence, extending the option period until both parties agree.
The Financing Contingency expiration is also specific in TX. Once this period expires, the Seller can breathe and make moving plans. In WA, the contingency expires at closing! The Seller has anxiety attacks all the way to the closing table! The Buyer has right to the earnest money for financing reasons all the way to closing date.
Since the selling season is not over in WA State, the lenders are having difficulty finding Appraisers and getting Appraisals done on time. In my case, the buyer’s lender could not arrange appraisal until 10 days before closing, due to the lender 7 days before closing. We have arrived to closing day and the Appraisal is overdue and has not been submitted to the lender which means the Buyer is in need of an extension to closing, an additional 14 days! The other frustrating issue is the lack of communication from the Buyer’s Agent (who has supposedly been out of the country since contract date) and lack of communication from the lender who assumed that we were getting updates from the Buyer’s Agent. This 2 alone is a recipe for STRESS! My Listing Agent has been trying daily to get hold of someone to no success.
As a Realtor/Broker and a Seller, I truly understand when a transaction goes sideways, there’s a lot of tension and stress involved. We try our best to get to closing on time but many times we have no control of the other parties or situations that may arise. We can only communicate to our clients what we know and when we know nothing, then we cannot communicate anything.
What can you do? Put yourself in the shoes of the Buyer, if you were a Buyer, make sure you find a trustworthy lender and one who is highly recommended. If there are Appraisal issues or lending changes, or other market related issues, find out what those are. Secondly, make sure you have good representation, one that is going to have coverage when the agent goes on vacation, one that is always available for their client and good at communicating. This particular buyer’s agent moved to Seattle from Portland just before the buyers hired him. The agent did not even show them the property, my Listing Agent did.
Whether you are buying or selling, know that I will always give you my 120% towards your transaction! Please call Pearl Jones on your next real estate transaction.
