Team Work in the Buying and Selling Process

We recently closed the sale of a house that was financed by a Rural Development loan. This is a government based loan that allows buyers to finance 100% of the purchase price and buy a home that is in a designated rural area. Certain towns qualify for "RD" loans. Additionally, buyers must meet guidelines for income.


RD underwriters are very particular about the house they approve for a loan. A special appraiser is a part of the process and this appraiser makes recommendations for repairs that must be made to make a house safe. Typically, electrical issues come up, broken windows need replacing, roofs need repairing. You get the idea.


In addition, buyers typically hire inspectors to go over the house and tell them where there are safety issues and where improvements should be made. Often an RD report is filled out by the inspector and sent to the underwriter.


In this recent house sale, the inspector cited a foundation wall -- really a retaining wall in the basement area that was sort of a stairway/breezeway from garage to basement -- as needing to be monitored. He did not raise concerns with the buyers. The buyers accepted the inspection. But, the inspector implied in his report that it was an entire wall of the main foundation on the footprint of the house! So, RD wanted it fixed -- and we found out late in the process!


Enter the buyer who is a Master Mason! He and the seller spent the weekend tearing apart areas of the retaining wall, putting drainage gravel in the ground and smoothing the wall with a skim coat of concrete. Voila! A beautiful wall. It passed inspection!


The house sale closed yesterday. What a beautiful example of team work! The seller wanted to sell; the buyer wanted to buy; and they all worked together to have it happen. In fact, after it was over, they opened some wine and celebrated. Is this the start of a great friendship?


Buying and selling houses requires team work: the agents, the lender, the buyer, and the seller all have to invest time and energy to make the sale work. They can compromise in some areas and in others, requirements are set in stone and can't be compromised. But in the end, if everyone pitches in, the deal comes together!














(Note from Karin: For those of you who follow my blog -- and I thank you -- I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post. There was a death in the family and that temporarily stalled my writing. But I'm back. Thanks for your loyalty.)