Facebook and Real Estate Negotiations

Emotions can run high during real estate negotiations. Super high.

Recently, an out-of-area Facebook friend posted that she had bought, The House!

There were over 150 Likes and dozens of comments.

Then… the topic disappeared from her News Feed.

Everyone understands that it is exciting to buy something new, and a house sale is typically an epic moment for both buyer and seller. There aren’t many times in your life when you buy or sell a home, but remember that it is possible to let your friends know a little too early that you are moving.

Real estate sales aren’t final until the Deed has been signed

Things happen that can cause delays, defaults, and heartache like…

The buyer may change her mind (seen it)
The seller may change his mind (seen it)
The home inspection uncovered a bigger than expected issue (seen that)
The appraisal was low (it happens)
The buyer’s new job was eliminated (yup. it happened)
The buyer got mad at the seller (declared void)
The underwriter rejected the loan (happened a long time ago)
There was an issue with the Title (ex-spouse)
The Estate required all four children to sign (one was uncooperative)

The Facebook stalker

Another reason to hold back your announcement on Facebook is the potential that the other party may see your post.

How can that happen?

When a client was selling her house, she caught wind that she had a Facebook connection with the buyer’s daughter who posted on her page how her parents had located a cute home in Vienna “near their grand-kids”. We had an interesting conversation because it was obtained in a round-about manner.

Although my clients didn’t use the information maliciously, they did know that the buyers were super excited about their house.

This scenario could have taken a wrong turn if another buyer submitted a higher, back-up offer. Sellers can continue to accept back-up offers just in case the primary contract falls apart. Back-ups aren’t common, but if there is a back-up contract in hand then the seller can become much more demanding and inflexible with the current contract holders.

For example, failure to respond to a Notice to remove a contingency immediately at the deadline may result in a contract becoming voidable. If the contract is declared void, then the NVAR Sales Contract (Paragraph 34) states that “both parties will immediately execute a release directing that the Deposit be refunded in full to Buyer according to the terms of the Deposit paragraph.”

Hey, that’s when it’s completely over!