Real estate demand remains high this fall

While the market remains strong for sellers and rates have remained fairly steady over the last couple months, we are seeing a leveling off. The demand remains high and prices are still very good for sellers. There was a slight decrease in the number of transactions that closed in the last two months but that was mainly related to the pullback from the buyers who decided to wait it out when the initial rate increase happened in the beginning of June. With the exception of the buyers who were knocked out of the market when the rate increased, most buyers are still making offers and we are still seeing multiple offer situations in many cases.

More concerning to me over the last few weeks was something that, while I know happens, is still shocking and heartbreaking to me when I see or hear about it happening. A property that I saw sitting on the market for over 30 days became intriguing to me, so I delved further into the details. I decided to look up the deed and other documents recorded with the Registry of Deeds. The current owners did not owe a lot on the property and the deed looked normal…but there was another interesting document recorded recently. I opened the document and read it. It was a bit confusing at first glance; it was an agreement of some sort…it gave a certain entity the right to purchase the property…not quite a first right of refusal but an overall blanket agreement stating this certain entity had an exclusive right to purchase this property and it was signed by the current owner. Now forgive my naivety, but why on earth would a property owner sign such a document? The detail and information I dug up upon further investigation confirmed my thoughts were indeed (no pun intended) true.

A representative of the particular entity approached the owner and offered to buy the property. They convinced the owner it would be an easy deal, no agent to pay, no attorney fees, no inspection to worry about, just a quick simple sale. Well, the house needed a lot of work, and the owner was at an age where he didn’t want to get involved fixing it up so this sounded like a great idea to him. The representative presented him with a simple one-page document for him to sign, nothing too intimidating, so he went along and signed it. Then for months, the entity dragged their feet and stalled with every excuse imaginable until the owner finally got suspicious and decided to ask a family friend who is an honest Realtor for her advice. When his   friend investigated what was going on she was appalled. Her friend, the owner of the property had signed a document stating that this entity had the right to purchase the property….well that really puts a damper on trying to sell it to anyone else. Now the title isn’t clear and without getting a release from this company, the owner likely won’t be able to sell it to anyone else.

Please please do not sign anything regarding your home or any property you own without having a Reputable Realtor or attorney look things over for you. There are companies out there that do things like this and until you offer them some kind of monetary compensation, they are not going to release that lien they have on YOUR property! It’s truly sickening to see people making money like this. Please spread the word and help others refrain from anything like this.

As always, if you have questions, reach out anytime! Email or call me and if I can’t help I can refer you to someone who can! [email protected] 508 826-7661.