Frequently Asked Questions

Why Is A Showing Appointment Needed At All?

by Edward Sorensen June 1, 2010

Why do we insist on setting showing appointments for the home owner(s) who have hired us to help them sell their homes? Primarily, it’s a safety issue. We don’t want to put our home owner(s) into a position of having someone claiming to be a buyer or a real estate agent to walk up to [...]

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Why Are Showing Appointments Made A Minimum Of 24 Hours In Advance?

by Edward Sorensen June 1, 2010

There are several reasons why we don’t schedule showing appointments less than 24 hours in advance. Scheduling an appointment 24 hours in advance gives all parties involved enough time to confirm that showing appointment will occur at the time requested with the least amount of confusion and last minute changes. Scheduling an appointment 24 hours [...]

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Why Are Showing Appointments Made A Maximum Of 48 Hours In Advance?

by Edward Sorensen June 1, 2010

We sometimes get a request like this: “Can I see this house two weeks from next Wednesday?” The answer is “no”. That is to say, you can’t make an appointment today to see a house we have listed two weeks from now. There are several reasons why we don’t schedule showing appointments more than 48 [...]

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Showing Instructions For Occupied Properties

by Edward Sorensen June 1, 2010

We strongly recommend occupants, while a property is for sale, to never answer the door to allow entry or to speak to unknown persons to ensure no one posing as an agent or buyer is allowed access the property for nefarious purposes. At no time will an occupied property be shown without an appointment confirmed [...]

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Showing Instructions For Unoccupied Properties

by Edward Sorensen June 1, 2010

Unoccupied properties may be shown by other real estate agents at any time without an appointment. However, unoccupied properties may have the power turned off, and, for safety reasons, we recommend that unoccupied properties only be shown during daylight hours.

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Acceptable Offer Packages

by Edward Sorensen May 2, 2010

All real estate agents must submit one of two complete offer packages: Standard Residential Purchase Agreement Package Notice Of Default Purchase Agreement Package Either of the two packages must be complete and contain all required forms and addenda filled out completely. Standard Residential Purchase Agreement Package A standard residential purchase agreement includes: Proof of Deposit [...]

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Incomplete Offer Packages

by Edward Sorensen May 2, 2010

The following items will make a submitted offer incomplete: Using forms which are not the most recent revision of forms available from the California Association of Realtors. Missing required forms or addenda as defined in these offer instructions. Missing required signatures either by the buyer or the buyer’s agent. Missing required initials either by the [...]

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Offer Terms That Are Most Likely To Be Countered

by Edward Sorensen May 2, 2010

We will advise our seller(s) will be advised to counter any of the following terms: 1. OFFER: D. CLOSE OF ESCROW-Requesting a close of escrow greater than 30 days after acceptance. 3. FINANCE TERMS: G. VERIFICATION OF DOWN PAYMENT AND CLOSING COSTS-Verification must be attached. 3. FINANCE TERMS: H. LOAN TERMS (1) LOAN APPLICATIONS-Loan preapproval [...]

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Offer Terms That Are Most Likely To Be Countered (Short Sales Only)

by Edward Sorensen May 2, 2010

We will advise our seller(s) will be advised to counter any of the following terms: PREAPPROVAL LETTER-Using a preapproval letter from a lending institution known to us to be incompetent or ineffective. 1. OFFER: D. CLOSE OF ESCROW-Requesting a close of escrow greater than 45 days after acceptance. 3. FINANCE TERMS: G. VERIFICATION OF DOWN [...]

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Acceptable Methods Of Submitting An Offer

by Edward Sorensen May 2, 2010

Real estate agents may choose any of the following options: EMAIL-Please email a complete offer package to Offers@HowToBuyThisHouse.com FAX-Please fax offers to 888-615-3327. A cover sheet is not required.

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Unacceptable Methods Of Submitting An Offer

by Edward Sorensen May 2, 2010

BY MAIL-Hard copies of offers will not be accepted. IN PERSON AT OUR OFFICE-Hard copies of offers will not be accepted. PRESENTATION TO SELLER-Other real estate agents will not be permitted to present offers directly to the seller.

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How Delivery Of Offers Is Confirmed

by Edward Sorensen May 2, 2010

Receipt of all offers is confirmed by a post updating the Offer Status for the applicable property of www.HowToBuyThisHouse.com within 24 hours. Receipt of offers will not be confirmed by any other method. If a post updating the Real Estate Transaction Updates for the applicable property of www.HowToBuyThisHouse.com does not indicate the receipt of an [...]

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What Happens To An Offer After It Is Received

by Edward Sorensen May 2, 2010

The offer will be reviewed for completeness and counter offer items. If the offer is complete and does not contain counter offer items, we will recommend that the offer be: Ratified By The Seller(s) -OR- If the offer is incomplete or contains counter offer items, we will recommend that the offer be: Countered -OR- Rejected

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What Happens To An Offer After It Is Received (Short Sales Only)

by Edward Sorensen May 2, 2010

CASE 1-A Short Sale On Which An Initial Offer Has Not Been Received, Or A Previous Offer Was Rejected By The Lien Holder(s), Or A Previous Offer Submitted To Lien Holder(s) Was Abandoned By The Potential Buyer: The offer will be reviewed for completeness and counter offer items. If the offer is complete and does [...]

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What Happens To An Offer After It Is Ratified By The Seller(s)

by Edward Sorensen May 2, 2010

Notification of ratification of an offer by the seller(s) will be made by a post updating the Real Estate Transaction Update for the applicable property of www.HowToBuyThisHouse.com within 24 hours. Additionally, an electronic copy of the ratified offer will be forwarded to the buyer’s real estate agent.

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What Happens To An Offer After It Is Ratified By The Seller(s) (Short Sales Only)

by Edward Sorensen May 2, 2010

Notification of ratification of an offer by the seller(s) and forwarding of offers to lien holder(s) for review will be made by a post updating the Offer Status for the applicable property of www.HowToBuyThisHouse.com within 24 hours. Additionally, an electronic copy of the ratified offer will be forwarded to the buyer’s agent.

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What Happens To An Offer After It Is Presented and Not Ratified Or Countered By The Seller(s)

by Edward Sorensen May 2, 2010

An offer that has not been ratified or countered by the seller(s) will be delivered to the listing agent’s broker of record for archiving. It will not be presented again to the seller(s) after the offer expires.

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Do You Provide Everything There Is To Know About A Property For Sale?

by Edward Sorensen April 1, 2010

No. We don’t provide everything there is to know about a property for sale. At least we would never claim to do that because even if we were required to provide everything there is to know about property, or tried to provide everything there is to know about property for sale, there would be no [...]

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