Recently, at one of our sales meetings, folks who had attended the National Convention shared with the agent some handouts from a session focused on making sure our clients make it to the closing table without, well, doing something foolish! We've all been there, a week before closing and our buyer client tells us they're so excited to not only be buying a new home, but to be driving a brand new car they just bought! Uh oh!
Anyway, the convention session put together several lists, including “Things you should ABSOLUTELY NOT DO!!!” for buyers, plus lists of “This Will Most Likely Happen…” for both buyers and sellers. They also compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions for buyers.
A few of my favorites from the Do NOT Do list for buyers:
Don't change your job! (one of my clients did this a week before closing!!)
Don't find a lender on the internet who offers a 0.00001 percent rate and isn't local.
Don't go home and sleep on it once you find the right home—in a hot market, if you sleep on it, you might not sleep in it!
Don't wait for the absolutely perfect house.
Don't forget the 80/10/10 rule: If you find a house that has 80% of what you're looking for, 10% of things you can change, and 10% of things you can live with, it's a keeper.
Don't post your real estate thoughts on social media! We heard the story of a seller, once a contract was accepted, boasting on a very public site that they would have gone down a couple thousand more in the price! Oops, they forgot the inspection was still to come, and the buyers saw the posting and gained some great leverage.
We all love to share these stories, and you can get the complete lists by contacting me. I'd love to add your own stories, so please comment below!
