The Hill On Which an Elk Grove Home Buyer Dies

On which hill is a buyer in Elk Grove willing to die upon? We all pick our battles, but the hill on which we choose to die is special. That’s a question I ask myself when I see an offer arrive for one of my sellers. Most home buyers and their agents are fairly agreeable upfront, but down the road once we’re in escrow things can change. If agents and buyers start out on the wrong foot, though, odds are that they will continue on that same path. This is what I warn sellers about. I tend to share pertinent stuff that happens.

I just closed an escrow yesterday in which we had previously lost a few buyers on the short sale due to no fault of the seller or my advice. Our short sale market in Sacramento has pretty much fallen flat, thank goodness, and it’s odd for me now to close a short sale versus the hundreds I used to list and sell. The first buyer was in contract for about 48 hours before that buyer freaked out and canceled. The next buyer canceled when Fannie Mae asked for another $5,000 in sales price. Finally, we secured a third buyer who was willing to pay the extra $5,000 and wait for approval. This was a smart buyer because by the time we received the approval letter, the property was worth more than that $5,000 increase.

That second buyer had decided to die over $5,000. Now, there is nothing available in that complex anywhere near the price that buyer could have paid to own a property. The sales prices are higher.

In another escrow, we received a full price offer from an Elk Grove buyer who wanted to use her own title and escrow company, even though she wasn’t paying for those services. We pointed that out and sent her a counter. This buyer demanded her own title and escrow, regardless, most likely at the suggestion of her agent and argued ad nauseam over the issue. That was the hill on which that buyer chose to die.

It’s good the sellers passed on that buyer because the thing is a few days later another set of buyers much more willing to work with the sellers came along and wrote a spectacular offer that the sellers could not refuse. This is exactly what I shared with my sellers would happen. Nobody says you have to take an offer that makes you uncomfortable, and a REALTOR needs to look out for the best interests of the seller. Sometimes, that means saying no to an offer and letting the Elk Grove buyer die on that hill.