How common is sellers concession

In this market today say like in N. Bellmore or the surrounding areas? We may be switching directions in our house search to Nassau County and was curious...TIA.

Re: How common is sellers concession

My real estate office is in N. Bellmore, and I sell a lot of homes there and in surrounding towns (I live in N. Bellmore, too). I also have a lot of experience with seller's concessions.

I think the answer is that it's less town dependent than it is price dependent. Seller's concessions are fairly common in a first time home buyer's, starter home price point. So in N. Bellmore, if you are looking in the entry point range of $300K to $400K, it's fairly common. If you are looking over $500K, it's really not common at all.

It's very helpful if the seller's concession is desirable for you, but not absolutely necessary. The reason I say that is -- Most sellers don't have a problem with it IF the buyer has the cash and will agree to pay closing costs in cash if the appraisal becomes a problem. That's the only real downside to the seller. They want to make the deal as solid as possible, with as few contingencies in place as possible, esp. with the buyer's financing.

The downside of the seller's concession for the seller is that, say you are offering them $400K, but want to roll an extra $20K into your mortgage to cover closings costs. If the house appraises for at least $400K, but not the full $420K, what will happen? Say it comes in at $410K? Will the deal fall apart and will the seller be back to square one? Or can the buyer come up with the extra $10K and proceed? Usually, the sellers and their attorneys want something in the contract to the effect that if the house doesn't appraise for the full seller's concession, buyer will still proceed.

If you absolutely don't have the cash, then it becomes a tougher battle. The market has become more competitive and there are often multiple offer situations. So a seller's concession would make your offer less desirable than an offer form someone who doesn't need that.

But it's very possible to buy a house with a seller's concession in Nassau. It's just key to have a team in place (realtor, attorney, lender) who is well versed in them and knows how to present it. This is especially key for your buyer's agent - they have to be able to explain it to the listing agent and seller in such a way that conveys that the seller is not "giving them" anything, just allowing them to roll in closing costs to the mortgage as a term of their financing.

Good luck - and let me know if I can help you with your house hunt! (Or if you have any other questions.)

Re: How common is sellers concession