Did You Know The Buyer Holds The Cards In a Real Estate Transaction?

Everyone’s talking about how homes are going over asking but no one talks about how in California, the purchase agreement gives buyers several rights to cancel the sale that the seller doesn’t have. Here’s how:

  • Earnest Money Deposit. Once their offer is accepted, Buyers have 72 hours (3 days) to make their 3% earnest money deposit into Escrow. If the day the acceptance is due falls on the weekend, it’s pushed to the following Monday. The Buyer can back out during this time.
  • Contingencies. These are in place to protect the Buyer. When shopping for a home, you’ll hear them often. The main 3 are Inspection, Appraisal, and Loan. In this frenzied market, 1 or 2 of them are waived to lure the Seller to accept their offer. The Physical Inspection is the most common sticking point that makes Buyers cancel. If you are going to sell your home, talk to a trusted agent so you are advised on what inspections need to be done to avoid this from happening.
  • Lending. The Buyer was pre-approved and even pre-qualified. But when the document underwriting is done, sometimes the Buyer isn’t approved for the full loan amount or approved at all. It does happen. This is where a good agent would cross-qualify the top offer before acceptance to ensure their financing is solid.

Buying a home is one of the very most important decisions you will ever make. Do you have the knowledge to navigate this ever-changing real estate market?

I’m happy to help you get there.

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