There’s been an increase in inventory both in Arlington County and surrounding areas like Fairfax County, and some of it is attributed to the relocation underway of all Exxon employees to Houston from their current Merrifield location. Every employee who owns a home will have the option of selling through the relocation company. Currently, there are over 130 homes active or pending on the market for sale that’s a corporate relocation. Most of them are Exxon employees, but not all, which is causing an extra spike in inventory in addition to the normal Spring influx.
As a buyer, here’s what you should know about purchasing a relocation sale:
1. All initial negotiations are done verbally. Yes, you’ll submit the normal contract and addendum with the additional relocation company disclosures, and then negotiations are done with the actual owner.
2. There will be lots of extra paperwork. Most of it will say they know nothing of the actual property!
3. It can take a few extra days to get a ratified contract back.
4. They will require a bigger deposit with the contract than our local market usually needs.
5. They generally don’t allow a rentback option.