In all professional settings, licensed real estate agents are expected to conduct themselves with the highest level of professionalism, expertise, dedication and loyalty when representing clients in either a sale or a purchase. Selling real estate on all levels of representation is a job for a compassionate, caring, knowledgeable person who has loads of patience and stamina to oversee a transaction to its successful fruition.

Before the closing, when the deed is transferred to the purchaser, a million variables can interfere with the process. Certainly, the team one works with is critical in achieving success as well. To take for granted that a home will close is an unrealistic approach—at all times, vigilance is needed to ensure that all the working parts are coming together to the advantage of your buyer or seller.

When pinpointing a team that is tangential to the services of a realtor, I am referring to the mortgage lender, attorney, inspector and closing agents.

I have worked with many professional disciplines within their area of expertise and overall find it rewarding with commitment on everyone’s part to do the job right.

It would be nice to be a Pollyanna and say that all deals are easily facilitated, but that’s not the case. I’d like to relay my last transaction and the difficult kinks along the way. In this particular case, my purchaser’s income consisted of a variety of positions as a paid employee while also running his own business. He had W-2 forms for employee positions and a 1099 form for sole proprietors stating their income.

Red flags inadvertently flare in the lending process when income is based on being an employee as well as a sole owner of a business.

Fast-forward: The buyer, much to everyone’s disappointment, was not approved for the loan, and all levels of the transaction were falling apart. The seller was furious, the buyer extremely disappointed, and as you can imagine, the realtors were frazzled as well.

The only level of confidence comes from the attorney who typically assures their client that there will always be another house to consider. The attorney has an approach that should the sale not be in the best interests of their client, he/she easily moves on with a focus of full protection for their client no matter what home they purchase.

However, this buyer was in tears, and was worrying that he would not be able to achieve his dreams.

As the buyer’s representative realtor, I immediately contacted another loan officer who might have other loan programs more suitable. In fact, this new loan officer was able to pull the deal together, even accompanying the buyer to the IRS office to get the documents that were missing, and getting the loan approved. We were back to celebrating the purchase after all.

Unfortunately, sometimes there is no recourse or a happy finale. However, an agent’s job is to always think and react and to come up with alternatives. Ken Goffstein/Fairway mortgage was my savior in this case. He secured the missing links on a transaction that seemed to be falling apart by ultimately getting the loan approved for this same buyer who was rejected previously.

So I caution my colleagues to work closely with all disciplines involved, endure until you have exhausted every option. My motto is, “Keep trying until there are no more avenues to explore.”

Having been successful in my journey, let me relay the snapshot of the month and what is transpiring in the real estate world.

Robust buyer demand, coupled by low mortgage rates, continues to exceed housing supply, which remains near historic lows. With limited existing homes on the market to purchase, the focus is on builders to provide a boost to inventory to help meet further buyer demands.

However, the rise in material and lumber has escalated, contributing to higher construction costs which limit housing availability to keep up with strong buyer demands. As a result, in May 2021 single family closed sales were up by 39.2 percent to 1,105 with single family median sales prices increasing 16.5 percent to $555,000. Townhouse-condo closed sales were also up 125.1 percent to 493, while median sales price increased 2.9 percent to $360,000, as reported by the NJMLS. During these post pandemic-times it is interesting to note that adult communities’ median sales prices decreased from 7.9 percent to $327,000.

Home is where your heart is! Always striving to meet your housing goals and dreams!

Ruby Kaplan is a realtor licensed in both New Jersey and New York. Her passion is to help people meet their housing needs and goals. Having bought, sold and built homes, she has acquired expertise to represent both sellers and buyers. She is sensitive to her clients’ needs and has a driven commitment to oversee all her transactions with honesty, integrity, knowledge and dedication. Visit www.rubybobbyhomes.com  for more information.

The Ruby and Bobby Kaplan team/United RE/ will promote your home with the best of social media and create alerts for your housing needs. Your Housing Needs Are Our Priority! Ruby can be reached at 201-314-4152 or on her cell at 917-576-4177 or at [email protected].