When clients do not have sufficient funds for a property purchase, there are various remedies for resolving the problem in most cases. These remedies do not solve 100% of the problem all of the time, but it is usually worth the agent and clients' time to try. Read the fictional scenario, and based on your reading, answer the questions posed. Also review the federal law regarding seller financing in your reading area. (See Dodd-Frank Act.)

Topic: Short onFunds

Ealy and Cedric want to purchase a property that they both love. After looking at many, many homes, they desperately want the Watsons' property. They can put a down payment of $30,000, which is all of their savings, and then take out a mortgage: they would qualify for $180,000. But the seller's price is a firm $260,000. They want their agent to put in an offer for them, but they know they are coming up short by about $50,000 and have no additional means of financing. Their agent told them that the seller would carry back a small portion of the purchase price if the buyer was qualified and had good credit.

• What can Ealy and Cedric do to make their purchase agreement look more appealing?
• What contingencies would you include in the purchase agreement to protect the buyers in the area of financing?
• What information would you include with your offer to prove to the sellers that the buyers are a good credit risk?
• When this contract is written, what would make it invalid?