Elk Grove Sellers Who Buy With a Contingent Offer is Becoming the Norm

We just closed escrow yesterday for an evening news anchor and his family. They were able to sell an existing home, rent back for a while and close on another home, and we helped them every step of the way. Further, it was a contingent offer that scored the family the home of their dreams. Now, I know there are potential sellers who don’t believe it is possible to get an offer accepted to buy a home when their own home is not yet sold, but that is a common procedure for experienced Elk Grove agents. The trick is to make sure your home is on the market before you try to buy a home. Make it contingent.

I talk to scores of people all day long who call to ask about buying a home when they also have a home to sell. Each is different, and there is no cookie-cutter solution. I have many scenarios to choose from that will work, it just depends which is best for the client. But I do know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, if a seller needs to sell in order to buy, I’m your Sacramento REALTOR who will get the job done.

In this particular instance, I had sold this Elk Grove seller’s home 3 times. Three times! Flakey buyers. Buyers who get all the way to escrow closing, two days away and then suddenly realize, oh my gosh, we can’t get our money out of China! If I had a dime for every time I heard that excuse I still couldn’t afford an oceanfront home in Maui. Or, they are trying to sell a home but won’t price it in accordance with the comparable sales so we have to cancel them because we want to be in escrow with buyers who will actually close. We lost our first two buyers for reason #1 and reason #2.

But our third buyer stuck. Our third buyer was in a multiple-offer situation with another buyer, too. This was a home with no upgrades, no granite counters, no stainless appliances, no crown molding, nothing really special except the view. We worked out all of the details before the offer was formally presented to the sellers, the amount of the rent back, the duration, which made the entire process that much more pleasant for all parties concerned.

The home the sellers found to buy was also their third escrow. The first two homes, well, after presentation of all the facts, the sellers found some terms?that were unacceptable, and we helped them to cancel. It is not up to us to try to talk anybody out of canceling. If the home is not for them, it’s not for them, next. We want happy sellers and buyers.

Sure, sometimes it seems like we do 3 times the work to get the same results we used to obtain years ago without all of that work, but that’s how the business is these days. We do what we have to do to keep our clients smiling. It doesn’t have to be a pain in the neck to sell a home and buy another at the same time. Not if you’re dealing with pros. I say, bring on the contingent offers, boys, this is where we shine!