It Takes a Village To Close A Sacramento Escrow

It takes a village to close a Sacramento escrow is a blog previously written by Elizabeth Weintraub. I have included an excerpt in italics below as this is a broad stroke topic that deserves more dialogue.

Before the escrow begins we have the title officer order a Preliminary Title Report. We order the natural hazard report. Next, our pest and roof report. To sell a home as-is, for me, if the reports are upfront, then they know what they are buying. I’ve always practiced real estate this way for 25 years and it has never been a problem. Let me say though that this is not the only way to practice. Some agents order no reports and, in fact, do not want to know anything and that is just as correct. It’s all a matter of the path you feel confident using.

I sell a lot of probates and these are sold As-Is. My fiduciaries and attorneys prefer I order the reports. I put right in the counter offer that any attempts to renegotiate or ask for credits you will be canceled at the first opportunity. I have the buyer sign the reports and a receipt for reports. No matter how well you prepare, agents still may come back asking for repairs and the seller says “no dice, no repairs.” They threaten to cancel and then they come back around, if they are truly serious. Stupid game to close a Sacramento escrow.

Welcome to home buying stress. Almost anybody who is buying a home in Sacramento today is stressed out. I don’t care who you are. There is no way to buy a home and not be stressed about it, so don’t feel alone. Even if you’re lucky enough to have beat out all of the competition and get your purchase offer accepted, you still need to get through underwriting. Lenders are much more strict than they were 5 years ago, more restrictive than a year ago or last month, it seems. Just because your lender says you’re fully approved does not mean you will get a loan.

I’m not trying to give you one more thing to worry about but getting approved by underwriting is a concern. I had one seller cancel an escrow a few months back because the buyer asked for too many extensions. It was a home in Elk Grove. No matter what the buyer did, she could not close her loan. The reason she could not close her loan was because the IRS was backlogged. She needed her tax returns from the IRS. She couldn’t get them. My seller got tired of waiting and canceled. I didn’t blame her.

Another buyer in Lincoln could not close on her escrow. Something happened to her financial situation so the USDA loan she was trying to get was no longer a reality. She could not afford the FHA loan under its program terms, so she ended up losing the house. She lost her earnest money deposit, too, if I recall correctly, or maybe they are still fighting over it. My seller sold to another buyer who could perform.

Just last night, a Roseville buyer found out her “fully approved loan” did not pass underwriting. She needs to now haul in her parents to be cosigners, which means escrow will be delayed. My seller expected to close this week, and now she will have to wait another couple of weeks or start with over with a new buyer. Oy.

You can see that nothing has really changed over the years. This stuff is still going on. But here at Weintraub & Wallace Realtors at RE/MAX, we know how to close a Sacramento escrow. If you would like a relatively stress-free transaction, please call us at 916.233.6759.

— JaCi Wallace