Why Home Sales Fall Through

Homes that go back on the market after having generated solid offers often arouse a lot of suspicions. In reality, however, there are a number of factors that could cause a sale to fall through at the last minute. Following are several problems that can bring these processes to a halt along with strategies for avoiding them.

Last-Minute Financing Issues

Although loan pre-approvals carry a significant amount of weight during the purchasing process, a pre-approval is not an absolute guarantee of funding until the borrower's application is actually in the hands of the loan underwriter. Until this happens, information in public records pertaining to past debts, foreclosures, liens, bankruptcies or other issues can impact the lender's decision. Some buyers also make the mistake of accruing new debts after they have gotten their pre-approval letters. They might purchase new vehicles, new furniture or other items for their new homes. Having these purchases financed will impact their debt-to-income ratios and alter the amount of money that they are approved to borrow if any at all. Buyers should always wait for escrow to close before financing new purchases in order to avoid this issue.

Buyer Or Seller Remorse

It is not uncommon for buyers and sellers to feel remorse. Buyers may become overwhelmed by the magnitude of their oncoming expenses while sellers could have too much of an emotional attachment to their properties to actually part with them. When the home is the seller's sole place of residence, issues in securing a new home can also cause the seller to back out of the deal. Good planning and plenty of forethought will help both buyers and sellers make informed and regret-free decisions.

Home Inspections

Issues that are identified during home inspections are another reason why buyers back out of sales at the last minute. An exhaustive inspection of any home, whether previously-owned or brand new will invariably reveal some minor issues. Talking with inspectors about the significance of any problems that are found will give buyers greater peace of mind. It will also allow them to negotiate for reasonable credits or repairs so that a fair sales agreement is reached.

Low Property Appraisals

Sellers could be asking more for their homes than they are actually worth. When lenders finance these purchases, they require up-to-date property appraisals in order to protect their interests. If a home is appraised for less than sellers are asking, buyers can pay the difference out-of-pocket, seek a new appraisal or obtain second mortgages to cover the difference. It may even be possible to have the appraisal value overridden by providing the underwriter with sales data from comparable sales that better supports the asking price.