As if finding the home of your dreams, securing, through negotiations, your price and terms, and jumping through the hoops to get proper financing weren’t challenging enough.  When you discover you have a seller who is not really motivated to put their home on the market, you can waste a lot of precious time and energy.  

How do you avoid the unmotivated seller? Find out why they are selling.  Are they only selling if the conditions are right? Has their home been on the market for a long time with no reduction in price? Does the seller have another home already? Do they need to find a home to buy yet and is their new home purchase going to be contingent on the sale of the previous? Quite simply, there are so many what ifs, you need to ask questions and listen carefully to the answers.

Obviously, some one who has been transferred or experienced some sort of “change of life” is going to be a good motivated seller, willing to work with the buyer and do what it takes to make the sale happen.  If the seller indicates they are just thinking about moving, then you are probably dealing with a less than motivated seller and may find yourself wasting a lot of time, energy and money.

Take time to look around the property for indications of the seller’s drive to sell.  Is the home clean and tidy for viewing? A well-staged house is a good sign.  If the owners have a lot of belongings and it is obvious they have not begun making efforts to pack or clear items out, the property could turn out to be more trouble than it is worth.

It can be incredibly frustrating to find out during closing that your seller isn’t motivated.  Or maybe they just want their money, but aren’t going to make any efforts to see things like failed inspections or repairs needed for financing get completed to seal the deal.  Take the time to consider the motivation of the seller before you make the offer.  It can save you a lot of headaches and many times, a lot of heartache.