For this home I just sold in Hayward for $900,000, I was the agent for the buyers. The buyer’s father who I sold a home to 18 years ago referred me his daughter! I remember her as a young child and now she is all grown up and buying her own home! Amazing!
The search was intense because at this price range, it’s super hot and competitive and getting harder and harder to find a home under $1m. In fact, we started more-so in Fremont, and went a little East to Hayward to find the right price point in order to get the type of home they wanted and needed.
For this home we were neck and neck with another buyer. My clients wrote a very compelling letter to the seller and I feel that also helped us lock in this home. I also begged and pleaded with the listing agent to work with me since the search was so tough in this range and they had already lost out on a few homes.
The transaction itself was basically horrible when it came to the loan. The buyers chose Quicken and it was a nightmare. I am always concerned when buyers choose online lenders and lenders that are not local who bounce buyers around to different points of contacts throughout the process. I did warn them that I was concerned about this choice, but apparently, the person that referred them had good success and they were offering a great rate so they wanted to stick with Quicken.
They sent out a horrible appraiser, not even local to the area, and the appraisal came in low. We tried to fight it. I sent my own comps. I tried to go up the ladder, see if we could get a 2nd opinion, etc, etc. The buyers also tried to stand their ground. And Quicken would not budge. And, in fact, the buyers had to change around their loan program to not as good of a deal, in order for Quicken to close on the loan. I did offer for the buyers to talk to my loan officer, but at that point, they were just done and wanted to close and get their home.
It all worked out in the end, we closed, but the frustration and stress of working with Quicken Loans was an ongoing misery and battle until closing day. And, the original loan officer who initiated the loan and was the first point of contact, just completely disappeared from the scene and was no help at all, whatsoever.
They were excited to get their keys! They gave the seller a free month of rent back, so when we closed, they still had to wait a month for the keys. When they finally got into their home, they were really happy!
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