Recently I’ve had two situations near Destin Florida where a real estate buyer’s agent would not provide their buyer’s proof of funds with a contract on one of my listings. What is proof of funds? It may be either a bank letter or statement showing adequate cash available to purchase a property, or it could be a lender’s pre-qualification letter showing the buyer may be able to obtain a loan for the amount specified in a purchase and sale agreement.  A pre-qualification letter is not a final mortgage approval or even a pre-approval, but it’s commonly the best you can get prior to a buyer finding a specific home, when full loan underwriting is performed.

Why is it important to get proof of funds before accepting an offer? Because you will need to remove your house from “Active” status in the Emerald Coast Association of Realtor’s MLS once an offer becomes a contract. Most agents will not show their buyers your home nor will a buyer be interested if you already have a contract on your property, so you want to only take your property off the market with evidence that a buyer can complete his transaction. If he does not provide proof of funds, it could be cause for concern. Proof of funds is always required when a buyer is purchasing a short sale or a foreclosure. The short sale lender or foreclosing bank or entity will demand it.  I process many short sale listing transactions in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, Niceville and Crestview and this is always the case. An individual seller may not require proof of funds, but I would advise against it.

I’ve had two recent Destin area listings where the buyers were well-known builders in the area. In each case the buyer’s agent either was afraid to ask for the builder’s proof of funds or the builder refused to provide it.   This really is unacceptable, as a builder is not above the standards of protocol for a real estate purchase. In the end, it is my seller’s decision regarding how they want to proceed. One buyer’s agent simply responded to my email requesting proof of funds: “Their money is solid as a rock.”  That’s not proof of funds to me!

It’s Wendy!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.
Call 850-650-7883 ext 204
Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

The post Selling Your Destin Home? Require Buyer Proof of Funds first appeared on Rulnick Realty.

I had two offers come in on one of my Destin Florida listings this week.  One was received a day later than the first. Due to logistics, I presented both at the same time to my seller.  The first offer was significantly higher.  The second offer was ten percent lower than list price, and had no financing contingency.   I advised the seller of her options: ask for “highest and best” from both parties, counter one, reject both or accept one. The seller chose to accept the higher offer.

During negotiations, there were misconceptions from both agents about presenting and accepting offers.

1.  The “losing” agent said: “You should have told me there was another offer.  How unprofessional.” He believed the common fallacy that the listing agent must inform the buyer’s agent that there is another offer.  But should I have? Only with my seller’s permission.  Why? Check out Realtor Code of Ethics Standard of Practice 1-15: ‘REALTORS^®, in response to inquiries from buyers or cooperating brokers shall, with the sellers’ approval, disclose the existence of offers on the property.’

2.   “My offer was first!”, the “winning” agent told me.  He implied his buyer got extra credit and was entitled to the sale because he sent his offer first.  Hmmm? Really?  In truth, sellers don’t have an obligation to negotiate with or accept offers in the order they were presented.  

The bottom line is – the seller calls the shots when negotiating real estate offers.  They can choose to respond, or not respond.  They can decide how much and with whom.  They can tell their agent to disclose the existence of another offer, and even the amount if they want.  Or not.  And the listing agent’s job?  Follow their seller’s their instructions.

It’s Wendy!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Call toll-free 1-877-487-9639 or local 850-650-7883

Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

Destin FL Real Estate

Destin Short Sales & Pre Foreclosure Help.

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The post If Your Offer is Presented First – Do You Get Brownie Points? first appeared on Rulnick Realty.