There’s only so much sellers can control, the key is adjusting to the things they can’t. An agent’s true value is helping a seller navigate one to minimize the other. So what happened with Vaughn Landing? It closed 7 months and 3 contracts later. A three year old townhouse with one past owner in Germantown, MD, conveniently located, minutes from MARC station, highways and shopping.

The seller had gone through all the listing steps to prepare the townhouse for market. They priced it well, given its meticulous condition, market trends at the time and comparable units.

• The first contract was ratified in 12 days after initially listing it. The buyer decided he wanted to live somewhere else (that is what I was told) and he walked on the home inspection.
• The second contract, despite having a gainfully employed buyer, a lender letter saying income had been verified and finances run through the mortgage lenders DU (document underwriter) system, the buyer was denied financing due to insufficient funds.

Nothing the seller had done or not done landed him in this situation. What is the best strategy in this scenario?

• Accept that there are several moving parts to a real estate transaction and no one controls the entire process.
• Circle around to the very first consideration of step # 3 of the sales process keeping in mind the time already on the market.
• Work with the information/feedback your agent has collected to decide what adjustments, if any need to be made and when to put it back on the market.
• Remember time is of the essence.