Question: “My offer was accepted on a weekend.  My lender told me that you always consider the following Monday to be the acceptance date as far as when you start counting how many days you have for inspections and other things.  Is that correct?” Answer: Your lender has an active imagination.  And he’s wrong. Even

Question: “I read in the San Diego Union about writing a so-called ‘love letter’ to a seller to convince them to sell you their home. Do those work?” Answer: For many homesellers, it’s all about the price. But you’d be surprised at how many prefer to sell to a homebuyer that they like. It might

Question: “Hi Gary. I made an offer on a home and didn’t get it. I know that happens. But I just found out the sale closed and it sold for LESS than what I offered. Obviously I’m upset. The realtor must have done something shady. Who do I report her to?” Answer: I understand your

Question: [From an agent who sent me the first of several offers I received on a home.] “Can I get something back to acknowledge that we do have our offer in and it is in before any others?” Answer: I’ve been asked this by homebuyers and homesellers. But I was surprised that an AGENT actually

Question: “My wife and are trying to buy a home, but we’ve lost out to several cash offers. Any ideas for how to get our offer accepted over the cash buyers?” Answer: Here are a few: Offer a higher price (OK, you knew that one) Get full loan approval ahead of time, subject only to

Question: “I made a decent offer on a condo and didn’t even get a counter offer to see if I’d go up. They just accepted another offer. Is that ethical?” Answer: It’s most likely ethical. There are some cases where the seller’s agent ignores other offers so he can get his own offer accepted and