Current Housing Market: Feb. 2021
Remember how you couldn’t find toilet paper when the pandemic hit? Well, the current housing market is kind of like that. But the news isn’t all crap... Knowing how to anticipate outcomes will help distinguish a successful buyer while avoiding [toilet] clogs.
For starters, you can wipe away any seller paid closing costs; a seller’s market breeds expectations of well-funded buyers; buyer’s asking for the closing cost will surely be handed a plunger.
Appraisal issues? Surely. Think of appraisers as the septic pump of real estate. They don’t care about future droppings, and they’re concerned only with what’s already in the tank. With prices being bid up through scarcity, buyers should anticipate low bank appraisals. To temper this [almost] inevitability, many buyers are posting additional cash to bridge any appraisal shortcomings. Quick closings, escalation clauses, and short inspection windows will be ‘double-ply’ in a ‘single ply’ market.
Bottom line: Seek the representation of a realtor who networks, is disciplined, and enterprises on your behalf. And just because a realtor says they’ve been in the business longer than most of us have been alive doesn't mean the status quo hasn’t flushed their competence. The moral of the story is simply put: sh*t or get off the pot.
