7/10/2012

What California Homesellers Sometimes Overlook: 10 Things, Part II


Because homesellers may feel eager to sell, they sometimes overlook what could turn out to be very important clues about an offer.
 
About the buyer deposit:

What if the buyer submits an offer for your California home at $250,000, which also happens to be your list price? You think you've got a good offer for your equity sale listing, right?  And you see the letter from their lender saying they're pre-approved and that they have funds to close. So what could be wrong?  It's this:  the amount on the deposit line in the offer is for $500.00. and their down payment shows 20% down and they are paying their own closing costs, so they are presenting themselves as strong buyers. So why aren't they putting down a good $5,000-$7,500 for their deposit so they show you they really want your house? First-time buyers with an FHA buyer assistance program might not be able to do more than $500.00 deposit and be highly motivated, but a investor or other buyer with more assets would be ideally putting down 2%-3% deposit because they have the monetary ability to show their motivation.

Important to remember:  The buyer's deposit is fully refundable to the buyer within the buyer's contingency terms of the standard California of Association of Realtors form contract, but if the buyer defaults later on and walks away, the seller will have little or no buyer deposit as liquidated damages to which he/she may otherwise be entitled.  If you, the seller, question the amount of deposit, remember, you can include a reasonable amount in your counteroffer to the buyer if you believe the buyer has the capability and you want the commitment.

For more help and real estate information, please go to http://www.juliahuntsman.com/Home-worth.html

2 comments:

Unknown said...

The California Real Estate market is one of the fastest paced and vibrant in the world. Nowhere else is property traded so fiercely and competitively and at such high stakes as in this state.

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Unknown said...

I have been hearing a lot about short sale california lately. I am interested in learning more about it since I am new to the area. Thanks for all the extra information from this article, it has been very useful!

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