While many folks think being a realtor is about driving around in a fancy car looking at pretty homes, being a real estate agent is a lot more than that. In fact, my job is really about two main things: people and problems. If you don’t like dealing with people during one of their most-stressful periods and you aren’t good at or don’t like solving problems, real estate probably isn’t for you!
Buying or selling a home is a complex and infrequently conducted transaction. And there are a lot of people involved. That complexity and the number of people involved in the process means there is a lot of potential for things to go wrong!
Below are some of the challenges a great real estate agent either prevents or solves during the course of a real estate transaction. While not all of these have happened on any one transaction, I have had ALL of the items happen on different transactions during my 18-year career.
Challenges with the lender
1. Lender does not properly pre-qualify borrower
2. Lender decides last minute not to approve the borrower
3. Lender decides last minute not to approve the property
4. Lender wants property repaired prior to close
5. Lender raises rates, points, or costs
6. Borrower does not qualify because information is received late
7. Lender requires a last-minute reappraisal
8. The borrower does not like the fine print in the final loan documents
9. Lender loses the file
10. Lender asks for information in bits and pieces
11. Lender changes the buyer’s loan terms
12. Lender goes out of business
Challenges with the other agent
13. Agent won't return phone calls
14. Agent transfers to another real estate company
15. Agent did not pre-qualify their client regarding their motivation
16. Agent goes on vacation and leaves no one to handle the transaction
17. Agent lacks experience in real estate
18. Agent has poor people skills with their client or other parties
19. Agent isn’t able to talk their client through difficult negotiations
20. Agent does not communicate with their client or other parties
Challenges with the buyer
21. Buyer didn’t tell the truth on the loan application
22. Buyer didn’t tell the truth to their agent
23. Buyer submits incorrect or incomplete tax returns to the lender
24. Buyer lacks motivation to buy
25. Buyer's source of down payment funds changes
26. Buyer's family members do not like the home
27. Buyer is too picky regarding the condition of the home
28. Buyer finds another home they think is a better deal
29. Buyer wants to ‘nickel and dime’ during the inspection negotiations
30. Buyer brings an attorney into the picture
31. Buyer doesn’t complete paperwork on time
32. Buyer doesn’t deposit their earnest money on time
33. Buyer changes jobs, becomes ill, files for divorce, or other financial setback
34. Buyer doesn’t have enough money for the down payment
35. Buyer doesn’t obtain property insurance in a timely manner
Challenges with the seller
36. Seller decides not to sell
37. Seller changes jobs, becomes ill, files for divorce, or other financial setback
38. Seller hides property defects
39. Defects are discovered late in the transaction
40. Seller refuses to make any repairs to the home
41. Seller gets an attorney involved
42. Seller removes items from the property that should’ve been included
43. Seller has a federal tax lien on the property
44. Seller has other last-minute liens on the property
45. Seller doesn’t actually own the property
46. Seller doesn’t realize all parties on title need to sign documents
47. Seller leaves town without giving anyone power of attorney
48. Seller doesn’t sign before a notary or doesn’t FedEx signed documents on time
49. Seller delays the projected move-out date
Challenges with the home inspector
50. Inspector notates every single detail vs only items of health, safety, or structure
51. Inspector scares the buyer about the condition of the home
52. Inspector offends the seller by noting irrelevant negative items about the home
53. Inspector includes defects from a completely different property in the inspection report
54. Inspector delays providing the inspection report
Challenges with the appraisal process
55. Appraiser isn’t local and doesn’t understand the market
56. No comparable sales available
57. Appraiser takes too long to conduct the appraisal
58. Incorrect or inaccurate appraisal
59. Appraisal comes in too low
Challenges with the title & escrow company
60. Escrow officer fails to notify agents of unsigned documents in a timely manner
61. Escrow officer fails to obtain information from beneficiaries, lien holders, title companies, insurance companies, or lenders in a timely manner
62. Escrow officer lets parties leave town without getting necessary signatures
63. Escrow officer provides incorrect information to lenders, agents, buyers, or sellers
64. Escrow officer loses important documentation
65. Escrow officer incorrectly prepares signing paperwork
66. Escrow officer doesn’t relay valuable information fast enough
67. Escrow officer doesn’t manage all the balls in the air
68. Escrow officer doesn’t find liens or problems until the last minute
69. Escrow officer is unable to resolve issues that come up
70. Escrow officer provides poor service/communication
71. Escrow officer loses paperwork
Challenges outside everyone’s control
72. Earthquake, hurricane, tornado, fire, flood, mudslides, and/or FedEx delay!
So make sure you have the right agent helping you with your real estate transaction, it will go a lot more smoothly!
