All Forum Posts by: Lydia S.

Your contract may very well include language saying that you, as a buyer, have the obligation to provide the necessary information to your lender in a timely fashion in order to obtain the financing.  Since you seem to have neglected that obligation, the seller may very well have a leg to stand on in regards to their request.

This may need to go to mediation to sort out.

What does the contract say about the financing contingency?

Our State outlines that if financing is not approved by a certain number of days before closing, a Lender letter sent to the seller about the denial of financing allows the buyer to retain their earnest money.  

I believe you can find some samples here on BiggerPockets, but bear in mind you cannot call yourself a Realtor unless /until you're under a Brokerage and pay due to NAR.
You can also consult an attorney for contracts. 

Is this a flat fee/FSBO listing and the seller took their own pics?

In addition to the great responses so far, let me add a few things.

Builders are not known for reducing the sale prices and may suggest they’ll throw in some upgrades if you don’t use your own representation, however, a good buyer rep will still negotiate those things for you AND get you a possible price reduction.

Your rep will point out differences in the builder’s sale contract (as they don’t typically use the State Real Estate agreement, at least in my experience).  These differences include the appraisal contingency, which requires the buyer to cover any difference if the appraisal comes in low, unlike the State contract which allows the buyer to negotiate the price, or terminate and get earnest money back.  
I was recently able to negotiate a substantial price reduction for my buyers after a low appraisal on a new build.

A buyer rep may need to be a squeaky wheel to get various documents or State electrical inspections or the certificate of occupancy if the listing side is dragging their heels on deadlines.  
I have had to be persistent with the sellers rep to get these things done in time on a build that was falling behind the timeline and the buyers rate lock was about to expire, meaning they would’ve had to nearly double their interest rate!

Of note, many builders are offering discounts or credits where I am since the market has cooled and buyers can benefit from interest rate buydowns.  If you don’t have an agent, you may not be aware of the savings offered, so definitely ask.

If the building is not yet complete, your agent should and could ensure that you get inside for a few walk-throughs to check on progress along the way.  

Lastly, if you are looking for a new build and a completely new neighborhood, just remember there might be an HOA which could limit the number of rentals now or in the future.

It’s possible that your Realtor discussed the closing date with your current Lender and came up with the closing date- and if you received a full pre-approval, the timeline can be faster than if you were only pre-qualified.  If the closing date approaches and the Lender needs more time, an extension is all that’s needed.

@Meagan Dempsey

Congratulations!

Great responses have already been made and I just wanted to encourage you that this is not a ‘job' in the typical sense. You're self employed and need a Brokerage to hang your license with in order to function as a licensee/agent, and most likely a Realtor if joining NAR is a requirement of your Brokerage or MLS.

Don’t go applying for a desk job or you’re defeating the purpose and flexibility of being self employed. If you do, I suspect it could take you a long time to pull yourself away from being an employee at a Brokerage and truly entering the realm of your own business, which is where you grow and chase your endless opportunities!

Interview several Brokers and you’ll start to see what each has to offer you in support, education, culture (meaning do they interact like a big family or is it more cut throat for lack of a better term).  Find someone who makes you feel comfortable!  Talk to some of their agents and ask how they like it there.

You got this!

@Tony Legg

If you do this, remember you can't accept an FHA loan from a buyer for 90 days so it may exclude a significant number of buyers.

@Hunter Reed

Realize that there's a difference between an MLS and public websites which also display listings. An MLS is where agents and Realtors place their listings and these are potentially shared with public websites such as realtor dot com and zillow and a multitude of other sites.

You can access those free public sites anytime but they may or may not be accurate or up to date.

For access to the actual MLS for an area, you can ask a Realtor to create a portal for you, where you can create your own searches.

Contact a Realtor or a few and have a conversation about what your plans and goals are, and when you find someone who you seem to connect with, ask them for a portal so you can start your research while you work towards your financial position.

Much success to you!

@Aaron Lietz

Of the Lenders I recommend to clients, most were introduced by speaking to our Brokerage, or who contacted me for an individual coffee/meeting to build rapport and share what they had to offer.  Including the types of loan programs, partnering up on marketing materials or online platforms like List Reports, Listing Booster and Total Expert, and holding open houses together- supplying flyers and food.

Then most importantly, they’ve proven themselves to be responsive and capable of handling the transactions, especially challenging ones!  They can always be reached by phone or text, evenings and weekends.  
as mentioned above, share what might make your programs or products different from other Lenders, so when we get buyers who are for example, self-employed, or need down payment assistance, we know which Lender can work with them.

So call some Brokerages or some Realtors and start networking, lunch and learn meetings, send the occasional buyer to those you connect with, keep in touch, be easy to access, friend them on social media, and work hard for their clients!

Best of luck!!