Slow & Steady wins the race!
What do you do when you have close personal friends who are in the market to buy, but can’t hire you as their agent out of obligation to a family member? I recently had a situation occur where my friends decided it was time to jump off the rental train and become home owners. I thought it was a great idea and a wonderful way to secure their financial future. The wife would call me and ask me questions and of course I would answer any and all that came my way. I even set them up with a loan agent to get them pre-approved and started sending them automated email alerts for new active properties. I knew in the back of my head that they did have a relative who was a local Realtor, but because I was there “go to”, I didn’t feel it was neccessary to ask. Shame on me because they ended up using the relative when it came down viewing homes. They even wrote a few offers. At the end of the day, I truly just wanted them to become home owners, so as long as they were happy I was. Every now and then, she would call me with all kinds of questions and seemed so frustrated with each phone call. I had to unfortunately refer her back to her Realtor as it would be unethical for me to answer too many questions, after all I wasn’t there Realtor. The last phone call I received from her was a distraught one, after writing an offer on a short sale listing (pre-foreclosure) and having the seller accept it, she thought the house was theirs. She had no idea that lender who was taking the short pay-off had to approve the offer first. Futhermore, she wasn’t aware that another offer could potentially trump theirs. Can anyone tell me what happened next… you guessed it, while waiting for lender approval another offer came in and the listing agent submitted it to the bank. My friends scrambled to re-submit an offer with a higher purchase price, but it was no match for this new offer and just like that, they were back to square one.
I wasn’t surprised that any of this happened, I could see it coming from a mile away. I told her that in the current market, they have to be pro-active and have a Realtor who is well versed with short sales & REO’s as first time home buyers 9 out of 10 properties will be either a short sale or REO. On top of that, they switched loan agents and got pre-approved through a mortgage broker that told them their monthly mortgage payment would not exceed $XXXX.XX, however what the mortgage broker left out was the taxes, private mortgage insurance and home owner’s insurance which is all required monthly when getting an FHA loan. They had no idea and were so devastated when they found out. It was actually a blessing they didn’t get that house, because they wouldn’t have been able to afford it!
I am happy to report, they have decided to work with me exclusively from here on out. I have set them up with a loan agent who is well versed with FHA loans and were are actively looking for property. I am hoping one day soon, I will be able to hand them the keys to their new home!
Nicole Machado
Visit my website www.nicolemachado.com
If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to the Author's RSS feed or the Blog's RSS Feed!
Comments
9 Responses to “Slow & Steady wins the race!”
Leave a Reply
-
Our RSS Feed
PruCalVoices RSS Feed
Get Email Updates
-
Join us on Facebook
-
Join us on Twitter
-
Recent Posts
-
Categories
-
Archives
Just curious, did you have the Buyers sign an Exclusive Buyer agreement with you? Did you sense any potential risk of them going back to the family member?
Great story Nicole. The right agent (and team) make all the differenct in the world.
I’ve had those types of situations happen and it’s so frustrating to sit back and watch. I’m so glad that they ended up coming back to you!
Nicole, dealing with frineds is difficult. You handled it perfectly. Good Luck!!!
Nicole,
Good luck in finding them the perfect home, and too bad they had to find out the hard way before asking the right agent and lender to represent them!
Brian
It is so important to have the right agent – it will make a complete difference in the transaction.
Hi Nicole,
I cannot wait to hear the happy ending to this story when they purchase their home with you as their realtor. Nice job and “good luck”.
Jonathan
Great Post Nicole!
It is frustrating when buyers go another way, especially when you feel you are a good match to help them find their home. Even more so when they are friends or family, but if they are happy in the end its ok. I’m glad to hear that they have learned and decided to work with you. I’m sure they won’t be disappointed, you are a very good agent. I am sure you will find them the house that is right for them. Good luck,
Adam
Nicole,
I’m so glad they finally made the right decision. After all, all that phone consultations did not go to waist.
Shokoofeh