Friday was a joyous day for a buyer that I had been working with since June of last year. We started looking at condos that would fit his criteria--spacious for him, quiet for his dog, near nature trails, in his price range, etc. We toured about ten properties, but he decided on a unit in a quiet complex that rarely has any active listings.
Unfortunately, it was a short sale, but we put an offer in and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. When another unit came up for sale in the same complex, he decided to rescind his offer on the other unit and put an offer in on this one. At the beginning of November, we had an accepted contract with a closing at the end of January to accommodate the seller.
What should have been a relatively easy transaction turned into anything but. We found out that the building that his unit is in is in a flood zone, which the condo association was not aware of. The lender, of course, would not provide financing unless flood hazard insurance was in place, so there were endless conversations and dealings with the condo association, property manager, insurance agent for the condo association, insurance provider, insurance agent for the buyer, lender, underwriter, seller, seller's agent (have I forgotten anyone?), etc.
Long story short, because of FEMA and lender regulations, we ended up closing three weeks later with much angst on the part of everyone involved in the transaction. The seller couldn't close on his new home, the buyer and seller had to reschedule moving companies, and the seller's agent and I were required to sign up for meditation classes.
But in the end, I couldn't be happier for my buyer who is thrilled with his new perfect place. At the closing, we met the seller and his agent for the first time, swapped stories, reminisced about the transaction, and exchanged congratulations. It truly was closure!
Sometimes, transactions proceed without a hitch; sometimes, they hit every bump in the road. This one was a tough journey, but it was well worth the trouble because my buyer is finally in his new home!
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Peggy Chirico, REALTOR®
Serving the Greater Hartford Area
Prudential CT Realty
peggychirico@gmail.com
860-748-8900
If you are buying or selling a home in Hartford County or Tolland County, please call me, email me, or visit my website. I would be happy to help you with your home search or provide a market analysis for your home.
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Peggy - Those bumps are always such a challenge. But when you make it through and your buyer is happy, it is worth your efforts.
Peggy, congrats on finally getting it closed! I'm happy for all that it was worth the wait!
Debi
Peggy ~ There are not many relatively easy transactions these days. Congrats on closing this one!
Peggy, it seems like they are all that way! We have a set of clients that don't want to see any short sales at this time due to the time that another home they attempted to buy on a short sale took before they even found out that they were not in the first position on the house.
That's kind of interesting that the owners' association didn't know that part of their complex was in a flood zone. I wonder if it was a new flood zone map. Ours out here get revamped every time that 100-year flood comes along, which seems to be more often than 100 years.
At least it closed right, sounds like a lot of work an dhopefully they don't reduce the commissions the way they do here.