BiggerPockets

Bidding Wars

Thursday, August 27

I was sitting at my desk the other night having flash backs of 2004 and 2005 when we were in biddng wars and thinking what a wild and crazy market it was. The flash backs happened due to the fact I had just written my 6th offer for the same buyer. As it turns out we are in bidding wars again here in our market cash buyers verses the buyer who just wants a place to call home.

Fannie Mae has made some changes to give some buyers a fighting chance by not looking at cash offers for the first 15 days but its still not easy and the house must be seasoned and I dont mean salt and pepper. From the date the seller closed on the property to the date the buyer closes on the property must be 90 days.  With FHA the home must be move in ready and many of the homes down here are missing outside air conditioner units, handlers, and appliances, as most have seemed to grow legs and walk away. If your lucky enough to find a place with all the requirements don't breath a sigh of relief yet. CHINESE DRYWALL the dreaded word can appear. You can't always smell it you can't always see it. My 6th offer was accepted however  when the inspector said two magic words, CHINESE DRYWALL  that was the end of that offer.

The lesson in this is no matter what type of buyer you are even cash be sure that your Realtor has protected you with contingency clauses so you don't wind up with a house and no place to live. Typical contingency's would be inspection,appraisal, and repairs. Also dont forget a chinese drywall addenda. Plus always get an inspection its not a good deal if you can't  sell it to someone else.