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How Many Sacramento Purchase Offers Does it Take Before an Offer Sticks?
Buyers who write purchase offers on homes they intend to buy generally close.
Even though I have been in the real estate business for 40 years, it still amazes me how buyers can be so sure one minute and so completely nuts the next. I’m wondering if there isn’t some sort of sign that buyer’s agents are overlooking, or if the agents are so completely focused on getting the paperwork signed that they forget to have a chat with the buyer. You know, something along the lines of: When you sign this contract, you have committed to buy a home, just in case they thought they were signing up for membership in Sam’s Club instead.
We have all become distracted by technology and the whirling world around us. Hey, anybody could have a temporary lapse, I suppose.
I just don’t understand how a buyer can be jumping up and down with such enthusiasm over buying a home, and not quite 2 minutes later falling into cold feet syndrome with severe regrets. Just a few days ago, an agent called to say his buyer was dedicated to purchasing a home in Sacramento. The guy was absolutely in love with this home, and his entire family was behind him. They were so obsessed with buying this home that they pulled out a wad of cash, $3,000 in all, and gave it to the buyer’s agent, begging him to obtain a cashier’s check with it on their behalf and draw a purchase offer.
Two other buyers wanted the same home in Sacramento. This was really good for my seller. She was excited and relieved to hear the news. We received two offers and waited for the purchase offer from the buyer with the $3,000 cashier’s check, too. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Then the agent called to say the buyer had a change of heart and was no longer interested in buying the home.
Doesn’t matter because we have 2 other purchase offers. It was tough initially choosing between them. They were very close to each other in terms of price, down payment and terms. The seller did an eeny, meeny, miny, moe and picked one. Signed the purchase offer. We sent it to the agent and 30 minutes later escrow shot over title information to the buyer’s agent. That’s when the agent emailed to say that after he explained the process, oh, so sorry, his buyer has flipped his gourd and will no longer be buying the home.
All this in one day. Sure hope the third time’s a charm.
Sacramento Home Sellers’ Warning
You might be tempted to believe that all real estate transactions are win-win, even the phrase win-win makes me cringe, but a win-win real estate transaction is not necessarily always the case. The win-win misperception was misappropriated many years ago by long-dead real estate gurus. Much of the time, it’s just not true. In real estate, one party typically makes out better than the other party, not much different than some divorce cases. Although you might say, hey, in the end they are both divorced now, one party is often a little bit better divorced than the other.
I know there are buyers and sellers who want to be good friends with each other. After all, they have something in common — the house! I’m all for enjoying friendships with the people who are buying or selling your home, just don’t try to cultivate that relationship during the transaction. Bad, bad idea. Sellers belong on one side of the fence and buyers on the other. You can kick the fence over after escrow closes.
Let’s say your home was built, for example, during the geological time known as the Asbestos Era, which is sometime during the Cenozoic period, in the Quarternary. Perhaps the buyer suddenly became worried that your home might contain asbestos, but the buyer’s inspection period had expired. On top of that, say the buyers had removed all of their contingencies. As a seller, you might feel it is OK to let the buyer complete an asbestos test, even though you’ve already paid for such a test and the results were negative.
You might believe that since the home is sold AS IS, the buyer has no claims against you. You might also believe that if the buyer finds asbestos, the buyer will have to give you the earnest money deposit if they were to cancel because that’s what the contract says. But you haven’t met the buyer’s lawyer who might argue the contingency period is reopened after the discovery of new information. The lawyer might further argue that somehow the seller possessed knowledge of this defect but failed to disclose it. Little is black-and-white in the law.
The fact is once a buyer’s investigations are completed, the inspections are over. If you are a seller, don’t be a buddy and let the buyers continue investigating. The friendship a seller may have forged with the buyer (or vice versa) could come back to haunt. For maximum protection, expect your Sacramento real estate agent to handle such discussions and arrangements.
The Highest Per-Square-Foot Home Sold in North Highlands
Holy toledo, I just closed the highest per-square-foot cost home in North Highlands over the past 6 months! This is a typical 1957 tract home, about 1,100 square feet, located in a quiet neighborhood of similar homes, in which the highest priced home sold at $140 per square foot. This home closed at $177. You think we didn’t struggle with the appraisal? You betcha we struggled.
When the appraiser called to make an appointment, I mentioned that if she needed additional comps, she could feel free to call me. That’s polite code for if the home won’t appraise, let me know and I will help. See, I think it’s very insulting for a Sacramento real estate agent to throw comparable sales at an appraiser. It’s telling the appraiser that the appraiser doesn’t know how to do her job. It sends an demeaning message, but agents don’t stop to think about how an appraiser interprets their “assistance.”
Some agents will meet appraisers at the property and hand the appraiser a list of comps. I imagine the appraiser throws them away in disgust. It’s like saying, “Hello, welcome to my neighborhood, you dumb cluck.” I didn’t tell the appraiser that I knew more than she did. I didn’t suggest that she couldn’t perform her job. I didn’t even say if she had a problem that I would help. Because I knew when she ran the comparable sales, she would not be able to justify the sales price.
Sure enough, she sent an email asking if I would send her additional comparable sales. I know the parameters for an appraisal. I know what’s acceptable, which is not exactly the parameters a Sacramento real estate agent might use. I found 3 comparable sales that supported the per-square-foot house with similar sized homes and condition, formatted those comps into a 3-up comparison and sent them.
The home appraised at value. We closed escrow on Wednesday. Sellers who initially thought their home might be underwater are now dancing for joy in their new home in Arizona!
