So the time has come to sell your beautiful Myrtle Beach, SC home! You are probably experiencing a lot of excitement for a new chapter to come, but you also may be feeling a little anxiety as you look at your seemingly mile-long to-do list to get the house ready for showings. We see it all the time. But eventually, the time will come when all the boxes are checked, “I’s” are dotted and “T’s” are crossed – you can rest easy now as you wait for the offers to come through the door. It sounds simple, right?
As we have talked about before, we get a lot of questions that circulate through our door here at Jerry Pinkas Real Estate Team. One question that we get asked quite frequently is in regard to selling a home in Myrtle Beach, more specifically about what potentially can go wrong when you have a buyer looking to purchase your home. And while there are many things that can go perfectly smoothly during the purchase, as with all things, there are items that can definitely go south. And as you may have guessed, that is exactly what we are going to be talking about.
What is the biggest problem that you see when selling a house?
As we talked about earlier, the question we get asked all the time is what problems we see that slow deals down or make deals fall apart when you are selling a property. As you can imagine, we have seen it all – the good, the bad and everything in between. One of the issues we see consistently is a problem with the buyer of the property submitting an offer on the home and ending up not being properly qualified. Picture this: an offer comes through, everyone is excited that it is finally happening and you find out after 25 or 30 days that there is an issue with financing. Major bummer, we know.
Everyone is excited to get the deal done and closed, but what many people do not realize (or do not want to admit) is that deals fall apart sometimes and it is very disappointing. It is always better to find these things out up front and make sure that the buyer is not only serious but is a qualified buyer to purchase your home. As you can imagine, when this does not happen it not only wastes people’s time but also is very upsetting and frustrating. This is one of those things that we want to make sure you avoid when you are selling a house, and that is where we come in. Our experienced team here at Jerry Pinkas Realty is here to help you and give you the guidance you need to ensure that potential buyers really are ready and qualified to move the purchase process along.
We also want to touch on the fact the issues can arise at any point throughout the purchasing and closing process, not only when it comes to financing. There are contingencies and issues that can arise even when you have a buyer that wants to make a full cash offer. The best way to avoid these pitfalls that can be costly and frustrating is to work with an experienced agent that knows the area and can ensure that you do not waste your time or energy on offers that do not have the proper backing. You want to make sure that you go into the selling process with an open mind and an understanding that anything can happen – good or bad – but that the right agent will ensure you are taken care of at every point.
Should I be more confident if the buyer has been pre-qualified and/or pre-approved?
Absolutely! But before we get into this topic too much, we want to properly define these terms so you can fully grasp what they can mean to you during the selling process. The terms pre-qualified and pre-approved, while they sound similar, do have some differences and it is important to know how to differentiate the two. When we talk about a buyer being pre-qualified for a mortgage, all that means is that they have submitted a financial overview (such as debts, incomes, and assets) to a lender and that lender has given them an overall picture of the size of the mortgage that they can qualify for. And while this is usually a pretty simple process, it is important to understand that this is not a comprehensive look at the buyer’s ability to purchase a home – it is simply an overview at the potential of the loan amount.
Now don’t get us wrong, having a pre-qualified buyer is great. But on the other hand, having a pre-approved (especially a fully pre-approved) buyer is an even better scenario. What is a pre-approved buyer? We thought you would never ask. The pre-approval process is one that is definitely more involved and takes other items into account. A buyer will complete an official mortgage application, and the lender will then review the buyer’s tax information, verify their credit score, verify that they are employed, verify their income, etc. At the end of the evaluation, which typically takes around 21 days, the lender will provide the buyer with the specific mortgage amount that they qualify for. So as you can see, having a buyer that is pre-approved does hold more weight than someone who is just pre-qualified. But in the end, having a buyer be either pre-qualified or pre-approved trumps someone who has not gone through either process and can, therefore, be a much more appealing buyer with less risk for potential issues arising down the road.
On a side note, if you are a buyer, going through the process of getting pre-qualified or pre-approved is a great way to see where you stand when trying to get a mortgage. You can see what things you need to work on, spend time on and essentially work to correct to attain the type of financing you are looking for. On the other hand, if you do not have time to work on fixing the things holding you back, it may be a good way to understand the type of home you can afford and therefore refine your search based on what makes sense for your current situation. And since the pre-approval process can take around 21 days, you may want to start the process sooner rather than later if you are in a hurry to purchase a home.
What should I do if I am looking to sell my house in Myrtle Beach, SC?
We understand the process of putting your house up for sale can be a mix of emotions. On one hand, you may be stressed and overwhelmed thinking of the process and all that must be done to prepare, and on the other, you are excited about new beginnings and all that lies ahead for you and your family. Our experienced team here at Jerry Pinkas Realty has seen it all and we understand all that goes into the home selling process, which is why you should give us a call today. Our team can give you great insight into the marketplace and help you to avoid the potential pitfalls that can be not only costly but extremely frustrating as well. We have helped numerous people successfully sell their home with ease in Myrtle Beach, SC and we are confident we can do the same for you. This is what we do, we do it every day and we are good at it. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you!
You have questions, we have answers. Give us a call at 843-839-9870. We can recommend a trusted, local mortgage loan provider.
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Jerry Pinkas Real Estate Experts
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