Saturday, April 16, 2011

Don't Forget to Ask...Where IS the Money Coming From?

Don't Forget to Ask...Where IS the Money Coming From?

Since my recent post, No Credit....But I Am Paying Cash,  received so many comments, I wanted to share a previous situation also involving "CASH" 

I wonder what others would have done.

Quite a few years ago I had a very unusual,  but not a Cloneonial listing

It had five bathrooms and two bedrooms (no I didn't reverse those numbers), a swimming pool, and was ON the Baltimore beltway before the noice canceling walls were constructed.

Not only could you hear the roar of the traffic, you could read the license plates if the traffic was moving slowly enough! Not an easy property by any means, and this was my second time listing and selling this same house.

Other agent asked, "Why would you take that house again?" What can I say? I love challenging Listings!

One day a couple, who described the property in detail, scheduled an appointment.  They obtained my business card from the sellers place of employment....this card has a photo and features of this house.

                                                   Sell Your Home With Margaret Rome

A  quick tour of the home...they loved everything!  They were ready to write a contract and wanted a 30-day settlement. When I asked, "Who is your lender?" they responded, "No we are paying cash, won't need a mortgage."


                                       Cash HomeRome 410-530-2400

So we wrote a contract at full price, with a $10,000 check for the deposit. It was a weekend and they needed until Monday or Tuesday to "cover' the funds for the deposit. No problem, I thought, after all they were sent by the sellers.

Home inspection was done on Tuesday, gave cash to the inspector and still loved everything about the house.

My sellers came back from their California vacation to prepare for the quick move. When you have this type of property, you do what the buyer wants to get it sold!

While sitting at the table discussing the results of the home inspection, I asked the buyers again about the deposit. They said they needed a bit more time.

Uh Oh..now I have that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Time to ask the big question:

"Where IS your money coming from?"                             

So very straight, so very serious, this not-so-young couple said together, "From our father."

It was then that I realized – they weren't talking about Daddy! They were talking about  "Our Father who art in Heaven!"

They told me, yes both, they had a dream and this was the right house and the money would be there for them, not to worry.

What do you say at a time like this? What do you say to your sellers who just cut their vacation short?

Very calmly I said:

''I know you are both believers. I am a believer. The sellers are believers. However, the seller's attorney is NOT a believer, and he needs the money now!!''

Looking back it is a funny story. At the time, it was an absolute catastrophe! It was a good thing, that up front, I told the sellers  I knew nothing about these "buyers," even though they had a card which only the sellers had in their possession. I assumed the sellers knew these people.

Clearly, none of us really knew them! 

Anyone else have this type of story to tell?


Don't Forget to Ask...Where IS the Money Coming From?

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