Buying or selling a house is a big deal. It usually involves fairly intense emotions and it always involves a lot of money. If things don’t go right, it can get really terrifying. A realtor’s job is to be a buffer and take the fear out of the process – handling slowdowns, rough spots, and u-turns that can come up along the path to closing. But it can get scary at times. Even for me.
In honor of the Halloween season, a few examples of things that make real estate transactions scary.
BOO!
Lousy Lenders
All lenders are not created equal. Beware of on-line lenders and big banks. They can make things scary. When a problem pops up along the way (and something quite often does) or if you have special circumstances, you need focused attention and personal service. On-line you’re at the mercy of someone in a cube farm who has never met you and may be looking at your case for the very first time when you call in. Big bank lenders usually have layers of bureaucracy that can slow things down and screw things up. Decisions are often made by someone other than whom you’ve been dealing with. Stick with a local lender at a mortgage lending company and you can avoid a lot of scary surprises.
Non-permitted Repairs
I’m sure we all know someone who’s just great with tools. “Loving hands at home” is a nice concept in theory and sometimes in actual practice. But when it comes to renovations, it’s always best to stick with the pros. One thing pros do is apply for the proper permits to do the work. When I see additions and obvious modifications to a house, I generally advise my buyer clients to check on building permits. If they don’t exist, it might be time to back away and look at another house. Who knows what could be lurking beneath that new siding? Or underneath that added storage room? Or in that electrical panel box … Yikes!
Shared Driveways. And other shared things …
Here’s a recipe for conflict: try sharing a driveway with your next-door neighbor. This can work – for decades, even. But if one party doesn’t play by the rules, the arrangement can become a disaster overnight. It’s all fine … until it isn’t. In one situation I know, neighbors sharing a driveway in the Whitland area came to blows and one of them drove stakes down the middle of the drive, preventing either party from using it. This is a major reason reason I generally don’t show attached HPRs. The potential for conflict is absolutely ominous.
Always remember that good realtor will help keep the spooky stuff at bay.