Negotiating for the purchase or sale of a home in St. Paul often involves more than just the home seller and the home buyer. The complex negotiation dance often has other participants on the dance card.
Immediate participants in the negotiation are the real estate agents representing each side. Usually each agent knows what their client's hot buttons are and works to fulfill their clients' desires. The hot buttons are as diverse as the home sellers and buyers. For some the closing date is the most important detail to "win" in the negotiation. For others it is price. Still other are concerned that both sides give similar concessions. Sometimes the breaking point for a client might be whether a single small item is included in the sale or a small thing has to be fixed. The steps to a fully executed purchase agreement are as unique and various as the steps taken by ballroom dancers.
Because most sales involve financing, another silent participant in the dance is often the lender. Home buyers and sellers may ask for things that the lender does not allow. To the buyers and sellers, the request seems simple, but the lender acts as judge and jury for everything written in the purchase agreement. If the lender says the request is against the rules, it cannot be granted even if both parties agree. The lender will not give a mortgage if that request is included in the purchase.
An example that is usually not allowed by FHA mortgages is the establishment of an escrow account to pay for work to be done after the closing. An escrow account is similar to a savings account that is created with money from the closing and is used to pay contractors for work to be completed after the closing date. The money is usually held by the title company. If, for instance, the closing was one week away, but the sellers agreed to paint the house trim, replace concrete, or fix broken windows, the home sellers might suggest they put money from the sale of the house in an escrow account to pay for the work to be done AFTER the closing. Unless the seasonal St. Paul weather prevents completing the work before closing, FHA will not allow the money to be escrowed. The work has to be done before they will give funding for the mortgage.
Even though the home seller and the home buyer are in agreement and dancing together on this issue, it matters not. The lender will not allow the work to be done after the closing with escrowed funds to pay the bill. The lender participant in the negotiation dance prevents the dancers from dancing their own steps.
Much like a dance contest coach, the real estate agents involved in the negotiation are aware of the dance rules and what their individual clients bring to the floor. The goal is to help the dancers accomplish their goal of winning (successful sale of the home) while incorporating each clients' unique requests within the framework of the dance rules. It's a beautiful thing when the dance is done right and the goal is reached!
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