Real Estate and Escrow

Real Estate Escrow is taking two to three times longer to close.

It is not the fault of your Agent, the buyer or he seller.

In my experience it has been the financial institutions and their being overly careful in making certain that the buyer is qualified and that the finances are there to close the deal.

An example is the commercial property that was started in September.

The buyer had 1/3 of the cash on hand to purchase the property with a construction loan from the Small Business Association. They have been in business for more than ten years, own a couple of homes, have exellent credit and are well known in their community.

They have been renting and wanted to control their own business and enlarge their floor space to accomodate the standing room only for their customers.

They were all set to close in December when their lender went on Christmas Vacation and didn't return until after New Years.

It wasn't until the first of February that they were notified that the SBA changed their rules and no longer will loan to a Restaurant!

The seller of the property had offered to do a "Seller Finance" at an earlier time and they came to an agreement. Escrow closed at the end of February.

So what do you do? You have patience. Home loans are easier than commercial loans as any agent will tell you. But even home loans are going through their re-growing pains after the market collapses.

Everyone has been pointing fingers and I won't do that here. Suffice it to say, the financial institutions are under scrutiny by the Feds and are attempting to get a better grip on the loans even if it is a 'knee jerk' reaction.