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The top reasons home sales fall through

On Behalf of | Jan 12, 2023 | Real Estate Law

The real estate market has been as stressful as ever in many major markets in California and throughout the country. Homebuyers follow every new listing and sometimes pay extra for houses that appear on the market. These buyers often want to ensure that sales do not fall through. Many buyers and sellers have multiple reasons why a sale may fall through. Several of these are factors that they can control.

Reasons for failed home sales

There are a number of reasons that residential real estate transactions fall through. Only one of these reasons is that one party lost interest or did not want to go through with the sale. In most situations, there is a demonstrable reason that is connected to some part of the sale process.

Purchases sometimes fall apart because the buyer’s inspection found a problem with the house that the seller did not disclose. There are times when the buyer’s contingent sale does not go through quickly enough and they are forced to back out. In some instances, financing falls through or a buyer’s appraisal determines that the house is too expensive for the bank to issue the loan.

What to do

These problems do not involve psychology or understanding why people get cold feet. Instead, they are problems that can be anticipated and determined before the buyer makes an offer. Buyers need to tour houses and make sure that they are accurately advertised in their initial listing.

Sellers need to review the financing and the contingent offers that a sale may be based on. In general, both sides need to make sure that they are communicating, acting fairly, and being as transparent as possible with the other party in the transaction. This process will likely decrease the chances of a sale not going through.