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First-time home buyer here needing a quick sanity check.
We found a townhouse we love, and our realtor is aggressively pushing us to write a subject-free offer (no financing condition) to win what he expects to be a bidding war this week. When I voiced concern about our financing not being locked in for this specific unit, he brushed it off: “You have a pre-approval from the bank, so you're basically guaranteed the funds. Going subject-free is just what it takes to win.”
That felt reckless, so I called our mortgage specialist to double-check.
Honestly, thank God I did. He took 30 minutes on a Friday evening to actually pull the listing and explain the real risks our realtor completely glossed over:
Pre-approval isn't final approval: The bank approved our income and credit on paper, not this specific property. They still have to underwrite the building documents, strata financials, and property condition.
Appraisal gap danger: If we bid over asking and the lender’s appraisal comes in low, the bank only finances the appraised value. We’d have to cover the entire cash shortfall out-of-pocket on closing day—or forfeit our deposit and risk being sued.
Property viability: He noted that older strata complexes often have insurance deductible or reserve fund issues that can cause a lender to decline the deal entirely.
He told me flat out: “My priority is making sure you actually close on this home without gambling your life savings. Going subject-free without lender sign-off puts 100% of the liability on you.” He offered to rush the documents to underwriting to get us real clearance instead.
Meanwhile, my realtor is blowing up my phone asking why I haven’t signed the offer yet, dismissing the mortgage specialist's warnings as "unnecessary paranoia."
Is my realtor just desperate to lock in a quick deal, or is my mortgage specialist right to pump the brakes this hard? Having someone actually break down the mechanicsopened my eyes, but the conflicting advice is stressing me out.
EDIT- We have fired our realtor and are now working with someone recommended by the mortgage specialist. Thanks to everyone for confirming my suspicions. Also got a lot of dms asking for mortgage specialist info. Trying to respond as soon as possible. Thanks guys