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Legal IssuesSFI – Financially qualifying the seller
OK, PAR does not have a Seller Financial Information form similar to the familiar BFI, but…should we? At a time when so many sellers are “short” or “upside-down” aren’t there compelling reasons for listing and selling agents to qualify sellers at the threshold of a potential listing or transaction?
A short sale is characterized by uncertainty and delay. As a listing agent whose livelihood is tied to transactions that close it only makes sense that you take the listing with eyes wide open. As a buyer agent, would you dare recommend the purchase of a short sale property if the buyer absolutely has to be in the home by a certain date? How does anyone know that an upside-down seller can bring sufficient cash to settlement in order to payoff all liens?
Do you qualify sellers? Is it enough to rely the seller’s Disclosure Statement that there are no reasons that would preclude her passing good title? As a buyer’s agent, do you have a duty to qualify a seller before submitting an offer? Folks, there are no legal impediments that prevent you from asking the seller about his financial qualifications to sell!
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Jim Goldsmith, Esq. is an attorney with Caldwell & Kearns and serves as general counsel to PAR. A substantial portion of his practice is dedicated to providing advice and counsel to real estate licensees and representing and defending real estate salespersons and brokers in civil lawsuits and licensing claims across the Commonwealth. He routinely counsels employers on employee relations issues as one of the voices of the PAR Legal Hotline. |
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