Rebecca Risher O.
Seller beware
**Seller beware.** If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Monarch contacted us with an offer to purchase our property, and we signed a contract with a generous purchase price and a 90-day closing timeline. We understood that the contract allowed them to market the property to another buyer before closing, so seeing it listed on the MLS was not a surprise. What concerned us was how the process was handled. The property’s location was listed incorrectly on the MLS, and we received feedback from interested buyers that Monarch was slow to respond to inquiries (or didn’t respond at all). These issues made us question how actively and effectively our property was being marketed. Monarch eventually removed the MLS listing. Then, just a couple of weeks before our expected closing (and only after we reached out for an update) they informed us that they were withdrawing from the contract. We passed up other opportunities to sell because we expected the Monarch deal to close. Instead, we lost valuable time and were left to start over. Based on our experience, this arrangement offered us little protection as sellers. Before signing with Monarch, make sure you understand their right to withdraw, what commitments they are actually making, and the risk of taking your property off the market while waiting for a closing that may never happen.