One of the things I’ve always loved about working in land use entitlements is the semantics of it – how words can be interpreted differently by a different set of eyes or a different governing body. One of the greatest thrills I had was hearing a “no” and then studying the materials that they provided to make and present a case in hopes that I could make that “no” a “yes.”
Thankfully, I’ve found my thrill on the residential side of real estate too. Sure, I have it in the negotiations, the offers and the counter offers, those are to be expected in this business. But what I really, really love is when a client says… “Oh, I can’t qualify yet because of my credit score…” or “No, I still have to wait for my foreclosure to drop off…” or… “my lender said I have to have 20% down…” Why do I love it? It’s my cue to teach them that “Anything IS Possible.”
In the last couple of weeks I’ve had two sets of clients with a prior short sale on their record… both still within the “waiting period” required to qualify for conventional loans. Both were told by lenders that they needed to wait for that to drop off and would have to put 20% down on the purchase. I come from a place of “there’s got to be a way to make this work”… and low and behold, a fellow agents referred lenders they’d worked with. Both are now prequalified to purchase a home even while both are still within that wait period, neither have to put 20% down and one of them is currently under contract.
Last night I met a potential tenant at a rental listing I have active. She’s a single mom. She’s owned homes in the past and has never made a late payment but a sticky divorce hurt her credit. When we were talking about the lease rate, she said, “I honestly wish I could buy.” I asked why she couldn’t. Her credit score was below 600, but above 580. She has the down payment. She has the income to qualify. But somewhere down the line she heard that lenders won’t lend with that credit score. I made some calls. And I sent her some names of lenders who will work with her… and if they can’t, they can offer her free credit repair services so that they CAN work with her eventually.
My point is this… just because you’ve heard “no” before, doesn’t mean it’s impossible. There are resources out there. And I’m happy to help facilitate the team you need to make it all possible. Give me a shout - I'd love to help you find a yes, where someone else said no.