The very best Lethbridge REALTORS® live and die by deadlines when representing their homebuyers. We lose sleep over them. We get grey hair over them. And you can lose the home if you don’t respect them. Deposits matter too, on a number of levels.
how deadlines crush dreams every day in Lethbridge real estate:
When you make an offer on a home, the offer to purchase is usually conditional upon financing. Even if you are pre-approved, the lender must approve you to buy THAT home. The lender or mortgage broker must also make sure they have verified all of your finances, from your employment income to where you are getting your down payment. Most financing conditions are 1-2 weeks long. If a buyer doesn’t waive (remove) his financing condition by the deadline stated in the contract, the purchase agreement collapses and the buyer and seller are starting all over again.
Put another way, you the homebuyer don’t get the home and the seller reserves the right to put the home back on the market and sell to someone else, usually someone more prepared than you were.
The 2 reasons that deposits matter in a real estate purchase:
- The size of the deposit signals to the seller how motivated and financially ready a buyer is.
- After conditions are removed and the purchase is considered a “final sale,” the deposit is at risk if the buyer is considering doing something ill-advised like backing out of the deal or buying a $40,000 car and messing up his debt service ratios.
In short, deposits and deadlines aren’t to be taken lightly when shopping for a home. If you haven’t done your homework, the seller and their REALTOR® will know. In turn, you’ve compromised your negotiating position and later on, your ability to fulfill the purchase contract.
Watch my video below and find out how you can be more prepared for a negotiation when you make your next home purchase in Lethbridge.