Well, this has never held more true than it does today in this age of bank owned properties. No, this is not another one of those bank, bashing blog posts that seem to be everywhere these days. Quite frankly it is difficult to tell if the expanding trend of banks REQUIRING  more and more of a potential purchaser before accepting an offer, is the work of the banks or of some of the bank-employed REALTORS® that have hitched their fortunes to their bank-employer.

Let’s take a little walk down memory lane to see what I mean.

Inch #1-In the beginning, banks that owned foreclosed homes simply required that a buyer present a loan prequalification letter with any offer that was made on one of their homes. This seemed fair, as no seller wants to be dealing with a buyer that is not qualified for a loan.

Inch #2- It was then not good enough that the purchase contract stated that the buyer had given a deposit check to their agent. The bank wanted a copy of the check.

Inch #3-Next the major banks required that any prospective buyer be loan prequalified with their bank before they would consider the buyer’s offer. Great way for the bank’s loan officers to try and persuade a buyer to swtich their business to them. Yes, it is happening!

Inch #4- Banks then refused to sign their own counter offer before the buyer signed it. So even after the buyer agreed to the terms of the counter offer there would be no binding contract until the seller signed. Providing more time for other offers to come in that may be more attractive the bank. Totally backwards from how it should be done.

Inch #5-Now some banks are not only demanding  for a loan pre-qualification letter, but they are demanding for proof of the buyer’s credit score and in some cases asking for the buyer’s social security number. We just had a bank ask our buyer for thier social security number and we refused to give it to them. Guess what, the bank accepted our offer.

Inch #6- The latest twist is that some banks are requiring that the buyer open escrow and place the deposit money in the escrow account at the escrow company before they will sign their own counter offer. That’s right, Mr. Buyer, put your money up first and then the bank may or may not sign the counter offer that they drafted.

So who is responsible for this “taking of the inches” and how do we stop it from turning into a mile?  My take on this is that the banks are the inch-takers. They will continue to take as much as they are given. I also believe that nearly all of the local bank-employed REALTORS® have a hand in this too.  I always get the same answer when I ask any of them about the shenanigans their banks pull.”It is the way they want it done,” they say. “The buyer can take it or leave it.” Virtually none of them stand up to their employers on these issues, they simply go with the flow.

You, the buyer have total control over this nonsense. Don’t stand by and let the banks’ demands compromise your financial security. Take a stand and hold your ground for what is right. Yes, you may miss out on a house or two but there are plenty of others out there.