Destin Short Sale Approved – Everything Was Fine, But Then…

Little things can make a big difference in getting to a closing.  We all know that.  It’s one of the most important factors in real estate success.  The “big picture” in the agent skill-set for selling listings is one-third marketing, one-third negotiating, and one-third follow up to closing.  Mess up on any of those, and you probably won’t have a successful transaction.  Yesterday I had a last minute scare at the final day of an already extended approval for a Destin FL Short Sale.  I’ve seen almost everything in my 20-year career, but this was a new one.  The listing had actually been referred to me by a licensed Destin Realtor, who did not want to handle his own Short Sale.  The buyer, too, was a Realtor representing himself.  The Seller’s bank, Citi Mortgage, had counter-offered the buyer’s price of $300,000 with $325,000. After some negotiations, the buyer-Realtor agreed to increase his price.  Wonderful! I had an addendum to the contract signed reflecting the new price of $325,000.

The day of closing arrived yesterday. The buyer’s lender was delayed in getting the closing package to the title agent.  It was the last day Citi’s approval was good through, and it had already been extended once.  At 3:30 I got a panicky call from the buyer.  The title agent had finally received the closing package, and his new loan amount was wrong!  It was based on $300,000, the amount in the original offer!  And that’s what the buyer’s lender had appraised the property for.  The buyer-Realtor said we never had an addendum reflecting the new price, and his bank had been unaware.  It would take a miracle to save the closing. Voila! I looked in my file, found the signed addendum, and faxed it to the buyer.  He got it to his bank.  The appraiser corrected his price, stating he had been overly conservative.  Deal closed. Happy ending. Whew.