Answers by Rebecca Diamond

Sickness is not an excuse for delayed or rescheduled showings. Your agent should have licensed colleagues that can cover in his/her stead. We as agents do this all the time when we go on vacation - someone is in place to co-pilot the ship in our absence. Your situation is no different. Have a compassionate conversation; \"I\'m so sorry you\'re not feeling well. I don\'t want to put added pressure on you, so I\'m hoping we can find someone to take over showings until you recover. Is there someone in your office that could help?\" After all, you hired an entire brokerage, not just one agent, so someone should be able to help out. Best of luck with your home sale, hope you get top dollar!

If I were in your agent\'s shoes, I would want to know why it\'s not working out. If his breath is the only obstacle, while it\'s a tough topic, if you handle it with compassion, a professional will make an effort to do better. If it\'s more than just his breath, as in, bodily odor, that\'s harder. Maybe something like \"Hey, I hope you don’t mind me saying this — I’ve noticed a bit of an odor lately and thought you’d want to know. I figured I’d rather mention it quietly than have someone less kind bring it up.”

The USAHud.com website has vetted agents in your area that can help you find what you\'re looking for.

First of all, I would stay away from the large, online lenders. A small, local, lender that\'s flexible is often the best choice. To find one of those, one tactic is to find a trusted Realtor first because most Realtors have lending professionals they work with all the time who are exquisite professionals and can get the job done. I have 4-5 lenders I frequently recommend specifically for first-time buyer government programs and I\'m sure there are Realtors in your area who do the same thing. Go find those people. If you\'d like, I can refer you to some great agents in your area, feel free to reach out to me.

Probably not. The appraiser needs quiet time to focus, without distraction or pressure to move from one room to another. Most of them do not like to be accompanied, even by your Realtor, and it\'s always a good idea to keep all the people in your transaction\'s eco-system, on your good side. That said, a listing agent should provide the appraiser with a package of comparable properties, a detailed list of recent updates, and a brief synopsis of how the transaction went - if there were multiple offers, that\'s especially important for the appraiser to know. If someone has to be there, that\'s ok but not preferred; just advise them to stay out of the appraiser\'s way.

No, it doesn\'t have to be sparkling clean. But as others have said, your should treat the appraisal like any other showing - neat and tidy, spot clean where needed, kids and pets out of the way.

Short answer: yes. Tell your lender you\'re receiving gift money from a family member and you want to use it for a rate buydown. Your lender will tell you which documentation they need (gift letter or proof of donor ability/transfer). Your buydown might put you in a better position overall for different programs, so be sure to ask your lender to price out FHA vs Conventional.

The earnest money is a \"good faith\" deposit, showing your seriousness to purchase. It goes into an escrow account, usually at the listing broker\'s bank. You \"get it back\" in the sense that it is applied to your closing costs at settlement.

Disclose that you are not well and tell them why. Let the Buyer and their agent decide if they want to reschedule or not. Put some hand sanitizer out for them if they decide to come and relegate yourself to a patio, deck, porch, or even just the driveway while they are there. Very often, a Buyer will not come back if their preferred appointment time is not available; for that reason, I always counsel Sellers to accept as many appointments as possible.

You\'re going to have to get an attorney for this. Wish I had an easier solution but that\'s what it takes in PA.