Naples Florida Real Estate: A Few Steps Ahead Of The Game...

When working through real estate transactions it pays to look past today and think ahead a little bit to insure a successful and happy closing for all parties involved:

For example:

I recently had a Naples condo under contract.  Because there were tenants in place the buyer (my client) wanted to do the inspections closer to the end due to the fact that she wanted to make sure everything was going to remain in as close to the condition at the time of inspection as possible.  That term was accepted by the seller so it worked out.

A few days before the inspection I reviewed the contract timeline and realized if any inspection items were to come up, technically the seller would probably have one business day to handle all repairs which is possible to do in Naples but improbable as well. 

I called my client and told her all of the scenarios that could possibly arise if in fact there were inspection issues even though the other side was quite certain there would be nothing wrong on the inspection report.  

After going through the possible options with the buyer, I contacted the title company to discuss some options with escrowing money for possible repair items.  The title lady (who I adore) got quite anxious and explained that the seller was already having to come to the table with a sizeable amount of money that was apparently unexpected by the seller.  I minimized her anxiety as this was just not in my mind that big of a deal.  At this point we're dealing with unknown variables and it was just far too soon to pull the fire alarm.  She also explained that the seller was signing his paperwork 5 days before closing and leaving the following day to go out of the country....oh....cool....the plot thickens.

Still remaining calm, I explained to the title lady, it's not a big deal til it is.  I doubt there will be a problem but I'll keep you posted.

Next call was to the listing agent.  After explaining the run down of what could occur, she went on to tell me about the seller having to bring unexpected money to the table.  Well, sorry about that...anyway here's what can happen next.  She went further to explain that she was pretty sure there was nothing wrong with the unit.  Man, I hate telling other people how to do their job but I'd rather be of critical assistance than let something bad go down so I explained it to her like this. 

I know you've been in the business a long time as have I.  This is my 12th year and during those 12 years, I've seen 2 completely clean inspection reports.  I doubt seriously this one is going to make 3.  Here's the deal, your guy is signing early and then he's taking off out of the country.  You need to make sure, he has additional money ready to be wired or waiting at the title company if in fact anything is wrong...the end.  If you don't tell him, he won't be prepared and the news of not closing is going to be far worse for him than the fact that he's bringing money to the table to make his condo go away.

She wasn't convinced.

I reworded the first paragraph and said it again.

She still wasn't convinced.

I reworded the second paragraph and said it again.

By now, she had that same tone in her voice a kid does when you tell them how important it is for them to do their homework or eat carrots or something equally unexciting to do but she agreed to make the call.

The inspection was completed and guess what!

I still have 2 perfect inspection reports in my real estate history.

The good news is, everybody was already well aware of the options and negotiating through repairs and values was perhaps the easiest part of the transaction.

Had I not thought ahead, that seller would've signed his paperwork, hopped on that plane out of the states and the rest of us would've been up a creek.

Fortunately instead, the transaction closed, the buyer is a very happy new Old Naples condo owner and the seller got his wish...that condo off his books and out of his hair.

As for that other real estate agent and I...we both got a paycheck and a giggle at the end.  About a week had passed since we had closed and I thought to myself, I should give her a call for old times sake.

When she answered the phone I said, "hey, it's been a week...you miss me yet"?  She laughed, I thanked her for working with me and wished her well as did she.

ALWAYS THINK AHEAD!

Best Regards,

Your Naples Smart Girl!