UPDATE: Who has six visits to a house for sale they don't want to pay for??

[Disney Doll]

Wife of a realtor here...I have listened to this kind of stuff for 17 years.

You do not have to accept anything from anyone with regard to an offer.

Your requirement can be a full price offer with no contingencies, and anyone who comes in with less than that...the answer can be no. These people sound like they will be a nightmare to deal with. When DH & I were buying our house, we kind of went back and forth a couple of times with offers. Our house was over-priced for the condition it was in, by about $30K. It was an estate, the previous owner had left it to his 2 nieces. We started out $30K below asking, they came down $4K, we came up $5K, they came down $1K, We finally said "This amount is our highest and best offer". And it was. We could not have afforded to pay more for our house than we did, because of the repairs we knew we would have to make pretty quicklt after we bought it. We had to reserve some of our money for that. My point being, just as we told our sellers that we had made our highest and best offer, you are well within your right to say "That is our bottom line price, non-negotiable". We had plenty of people say it to us when we were house-hunting...the house we own wasn't the first one we made an offer on.

With regard to the home inspection...if stuff is found that will have to be fixed regardless of who you sell it to, you may as well fix it. But in the contract you need to put that you will fix maintenance issues (ie-furnace, roof, problems with siding), not cosmetic issues, such as paint color or they don't like the type of windows you have even though the windows are perfectly fine functionally. Also add that YOU will choose the contractor and provide proof that the work was done.

You can also sell the house in "as is" condition, meaning that you don't care what the inspection shows up, you aren't fixing anything, you aren't lowering your price. If they agree to "as is" condition, then what they offer is what you get, they don't get to nickel and dime you to death after the fact, so tell them not to bother asking.

I'll send good vibes that a different family buys your home.

And BTW, regardless of what your realtor says, you do not have to allow anyone to spend hours on end in your home. I know she's your friend, but put your foot down about a few of these things...she's capitalizing a bit on your friendship. I can tell you without a doubt that my DH would have NEVER taken people to see a home 6 times and allowed them to spend 8 hours there, especially if they did not make what could be considered a viable offer. It's not necessary, and no, the rest of the real estate community isn't going to black ball you for not allowing these people excessive access to your house.

Make sure the actual listing itself is VERY clear about what fixtures will and will not be staying with the house. Realistically, if I were you I'd get everything out that you intend to take/keep form the house so that there is no misunderstanding.

 

[PaulaSue]

Okay maybe I'm glad we haven't had any walkthoughs yet? (2 weeks on maket and online.

 

[chris1gill]

Okay maybe I'm glad we haven't had any walkthoughs yet? (2 weeks on maket and online.

Well, our first house went off without a hitch. Not so with this one, it's unique in many ways... We never had even a hint of a problem buyer with the first house...

DisneyDoll, thanks for all the advice, well taken & will take all of it with me on this one!

 

[SomePixiedust]

Just bumping to see if there is an update

 

[chris1gill]

Just bumping to see if there is an update

No update, haven't heard a thing, all's quiet... I don't think the woman that was interested in coming to see the house actually has, but I'm not sure... I really rankled the realtor (my friend) when I told her, or rather reminded her what we'd already been through.... I prefer not to go through it again.... She took my bottom line, and I said not to call (and put it in writing) if an offer below that figure was made.

So no high blood pressure medication is needed at this time, but thanks for checking back!!! I'd love to have a qualified buyer, but not at the expense of my sanity!

 

[barkley]

Okay maybe I'm glad we haven't had any walkthoughs yet? (2 weeks on maket and online.

take heart-not all potential buyers are this way. although our buyers of a couple of years ago were a royal pain (even our realtor said that if he had been on their side of the table he would have walked away from them and warned every realtor in the area ) the sale finaly went through and now it's up to our former neighbors to deal with them

my brother just put his house on the market last friday-he's in one of the worst markets in the country, foreclosures outlist existing home sales 2 to 1. but he called me today and said he got an offer (freaking amazing, houses are sitting there for months no matter how well they're priced). in his case they would only take offers from people prequalified and preapproved so he won't have to deal with bogus bids that don't have the $$$ in place to support them. the upshot is he got an offer $19,000 less than his asking-he considered it and crunched the numbers on how much it was costing him to hold on to it-he ended up submitting a counter and accepting an offer that was $15,000 less (he figured that in this market it was rare to get your asking and every month it sat it would eat up any more he could potential get plus the realtors get their cut). for him it was also a major 'peace of mind' to know he did'nt have to deal with a house he did'nt live in anymore (vacant houses in even the nicest neighborhoods can attract trouble so he was looking at still carrying homeowner's insurance and having to deal out of the area should any damages occur).

good luck to you-here's hoping you get nice, sane buyers (i joked with our former realtor that perhaps his profession should require a psych eval from any potential buyers who want to enlist their services ).

 

[chris1gill]

take heart-not all potential buyers are this way. although our buyers of a couple of years ago were a royal pain (even our realtor said that if he had been on their side of the table he would have walked away from them and warned every realtor in the area ) the sale finaly went through and now it's up to our former neighbors to deal with them

my brother just put his house on the market last friday-he's in one of the worst markets in the country, foreclosures outlist existing home sales 2 to 1. but he called me today and said he got an offer (freaking amazing, houses are sitting there for months no matter how well they're priced). in his case they would only take offers from people prequalified and preapproved so he won't have to deal with bogus bids that don't have the $$$ in place to support them. the upshot is he got an offer $19,000 less than his asking-he considered it and crunched the numbers on how much it was costing him to hold on to it-he ended up submitting a counter and accepting an offer that was $15,000 less (he figured that in this market it was rare to get your asking and every month it sat it would eat up any more he could potential get plus the realtors get their cut). for him it was also a major 'peace of mind' to know he did'nt have to deal with a house he did'nt live in anymore (vacant houses in even the nicest neighborhoods can attract trouble so he was looking at still carrying homeowner's insurance and having to deal out of the area should any damages occur).

good luck to you-here's hoping you get nice, sane buyers (i joked with our former realtor that perhaps his profession should require a psych eval from any potential buyers who want to enlist their services ).

That's really GREAT!!! Better than great! What does he think sold the house when there were so many around him that were also vacant? Luckily our house is the only one in the neighborhood vacant. It's alarmed to the hilt and we can monitor it online. All the screens, doors, even the heat and cold are monitored... it gives us the best peace of mind.... We don't plan on heating it next winter (My MIL left mid-January this year), so our only carrying cost is the property tax and electric as well as 20.00 for the phone... not so bad....

As for our realtor she has NO idea why this other agent hasn't kissed off the crazy couple... they have seriously worked her to death, in fact before our house they put in another offer on another house and canceled last minute. So knowing that, seeing their outlandish requests and offers, we're not so interested based on their own history.... these people need the psych exam no question, their realtor too since it's obvious she is never getting a sale from them!

 

[barkley]

That's really GREAT!!! Better than great! What does he think sold the house when there were so many around him that were also vacant? Luckily our house is the only one in the neighborhood vacant. It's alarmed to the hilt and we can monitor it online. All the screens, doors, even the heat and cold are monitored... it gives us the best peace of mind.... We don't plan on heating it next winter (My MIL left mid-January this year), so our only carrying cost is the property tax and electric as well as 20.00 for the phone... not so bad....

As for our realtor she has NO idea why this other agent hasn't kissed off the crazy couple... they have seriously worked her to death, in fact before our house they put in another offer on another house and canceled last minute. So knowing that, seeing their outlandish requests and offers, we're not so interested based on their own history.... these people need the psych exam no question, their realtor too since it's obvious she is never getting a sale from them!

i think part of it was in the pricing. they looked at their house and the comps but they also looked at how many houses were in that price range and realized that if they priced it a bit lower they were in a range that was largely populated by offerings for short sales or repos. the short sales are known to be a hassle to work through for a buyer and the bulk of the repos are not in the best condition (and some are totaly thrashed) so that put them in the position of being one of the nicest people in that price range were looking at (and since prices have gone down, people in the higher price range are looking at the lower price ranges because they know they can get some good deals). the other part i totaly attribute to his realtor. he's the same one we used 2 years ago and he is AWSOME. my brother took our reccomendation and did the same thing we did-called in the realtor ahead of time and told him what he planned to do repair/spruce up wise and ask his input. the realtor pointed out a few minor things he felt would improve the listing and eliminated a few others that he felt would not make a difference or be cost effective. this particular realtor is also very good at taking photos (i remember him telling us that when he saw that on-line mls's were taking off he went and took a photography class to improve his skills ). he's very good at taking photos that don't leave you guessing what the place looks like (not too dark, photos of all the rooms, and of both inside and out)-he's also not resistant to coming over more than once to do photos (our former house had terrific views from the front of sunsets so he did our interiors and the back yard during the day when it was bright and sunny, came back that nite to photograph the view from our porch). i think photos are so important these days-my dh and i can't understand why the seller of our current home did'nt put but one exterior shot of the property in his listing-we've got views to die for that we never would have known about if we had just relied on the on-line photos).

i don't know where your home is located or what's around it, but i am convinced that the reason ours sold so quickly was because we knew that people in adjacent counties were unaware of the incredible housing prices in ours and how much better our schools and area were in general. we had our agent email the link to our home to several out of county realtors pointing out the benefits of our property over those in the same price range localy, and how short the commute was. as it ended up our buyers learned about our place from one of those realtors (and we got top dollar because they considered our place a 'steal'). might be something you want to look into.

 

[chris1gill]

i think part of it was in the pricing. they looked at their house and the comps but they also looked at how many houses were in that price range and realized that if they priced it a bit lower they were in a range that was largely populated by offerings for short sales or repos. the short sales are known to be a hassle to work through for a buyer and the bulk of the repos are not in the best condition (and some are totaly thrashed) so that put them in the position of being one of the nicest people in that price range were looking at (and since prices have gone down, people in the higher price range are looking at the lower price ranges because they know they can get some good deals). the other part i totaly attribute to his realtor. he's the same one we used 2 years ago and he is AWSOME. my brother took our reccomendation and did the same thing we did-called in the realtor ahead of time and told him what he planned to do repair/spruce up wise and ask his input. the realtor pointed out a few minor things he felt would improve the listing and eliminated a few others that he felt would not make a difference or be cost effective. this particular realtor is also very good at taking photos (i remember him telling us that when he saw that on-line mls's were taking off he went and took a photography class to improve his skills ). he's very good at taking photos that don't leave you guessing what the place looks like (not too dark, photos of all the rooms, and of both inside and out)-he's also not resistant to coming over more than once to do photos (our former house had terrific views from the front of sunsets so he did our interiors and the back yard during the day when it was bright and sunny, came back that nite to photograph the view from our porch). i think photos are so important these days-my dh and i can't understand why the seller of our current home did'nt put but one exterior shot of the property in his listing-we've got views to die for that we never would have known about if we had just relied on the on-line photos).

i don't know where your home is located or what's around it, but i am convinced that the reason ours sold so quickly was because we knew that people in adjacent counties were unaware of the incredible housing prices in ours and how much better our schools and area were in general. we had our agent email the link to our home to several out of county realtors pointing out the benefits of our property over those in the same price range localy, and how short the commute was. as it ended up our buyers learned about our place from one of those realtors (and we got top dollar because they considered our place a 'steal'). might be something you want to look into.

Thanks Barkley,

It has occurred to me to email local agents from surrounding counties since our house is rather unique and would work well for anyone that had extended family or a large family... I've asked if my agent would do this (she hasn't). She's taken pictures, but another realtor I spoke with said they were really too dark.... I've been wanting to advertise it in area's other than our town.

My agent happens to be my friend, that's more than a double edge sword at this point, but I can't let her go. I know it's business, but she's been very helpful in a lot of regards, and I owe her... so I hope she comes through somehow. Maybe I'll talk to her about advertising again (she doesn't see the need for it, as it's usually ineffective she says)

Since your brother sold so low, did he lose money on the house, or had he owned it long enough that that wasn't an issue?

Thanks!

 

[fan_of_small_world]

It has occurred to me to email local agents from surrounding counties since our house is rather unique and would work well for anyone that had extended family or a large family... I've asked if my agent would do this (she hasn't). She's taken pictures, but another realtor I spoke with said they were really too dark.... I've been wanting to advertise it in area's other than our town.

My agent happens to be my friend, that's more than a double edge sword at this point, but I can't let her go. I know it's business, but she's been very helpful in a lot of regards, and I owe her... so I hope she comes through somehow. Maybe I'll talk to her about advertising again (she doesn't see the need for it, as it's usually ineffective she says)

I know that she's your friend, but it doesn't sound like she is trying as hard as she could be. Even in a good market, the agent who sold our last house really worked her network. She contacted her colleagues all around (not just in our town) and held an open house just for realtors (I don't know if this is common where you live - it is here, and usually on Tuesdays). I agree that advertising isn't usually very effective when it's in a pulication geared toward homebuyers. But, she absolutely should be using her network and getting the word out to other realtors, especially given that your property is unique.

She did the same thing on the other end for us - she found the house we ended up buying through her network. It hadn't even gone on the market yet!

 

[Regina]

ACK!! Bad memories!!

We had "that family" when we had our house up for sale last year. Repeated long visits, including arguments as to who would get which room. They never made a realistic offer, they didn't get the house.

Then someone left a note in our mailbox asking us to please come down 50K as she loved the house but couldn't afford the asking price and she also needed to sell her house.

MareQ, I can't believe someone wanted the dog!!

I don't envy any of you who are going through this in today's market. It wasn't fun but at least we sold. I know of two houses in my neighborhood that are still sitting there waiting for a buyer for over a year.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

she absolutely should be using her network and getting the word out to other realtors, especially given that your property is unique.

That is the truth. We HAD to sell this house in order to buy another one. No way around that.

So we went with the biggest folks that we knew.
Turns out they take care of their own. They really, really pushed the homes under their name. It was unreal.

Our decision was a good one. So depending on your situation will depend on what you want to do.

Today we get to be in the "driver's seat". We are making an offer. We will see.....

Oh the kicker is, I have not seen the house. I am counting on my DH.....(give me strength)....

 

[mickeysgal]

Oh the kicker is, I have not seen the house. I am counting on my DH.....(give me strength)....

You are a brave, brave woman.

Good luck.

 

[fan_of_small_world]

Oh the kicker is, I have not seen the house. I am counting on my DH.....(give me strength)....

I was in your shoes several years ago when we moved to the midwest. I was coming near the end of my pregnancy with DD, and for several reasons it wasn't a good idea for me to fly back and forth to do house hunting. DH was already there working and he ended up doing all of the house hunting. He took the camcorder and sent me the tapes of the houses and neighborhoods he liked by Fed-Ex. I never saw the house in person until a week after settlement!

The good news - he did a great job - I LOVED the house and the neighborhood! Good luck to you!!

ETA: I am VERY picky when it comes to houses, too, so poor DH had a picky, 8-month pregnant stressed-out woman to deal with, lol!

 

[Frye7127]

maybe the realtor and prospect have something going on and they like your house for some hanky-panky That is a long time to visit and hopefully you will get someone else to buy

 

[chris1gill]

Oh the kicker is, I have not seen the house. I am counting on my DH.....(give me strength)....

OMG, you are a very trusting woman!!!

I don't know, if we don't sell this year, I'll change broker's next year... I really feel I owe our broker this one just due to some personal circumstance she's helped us with.... Call it loyalty, but I owe her, at least for now... hopefully she'll get motivated, have an open house, do something to advertise the house. I have faith we will have realistic buyers come through that door!

And, for the record, this family already had that argument about who would get what bedroom

 

[connorlevismom]

As for our realtor she has NO idea why this other agent hasn't kissed off the crazy couple... they have seriously worked her to death, in fact before our house they put in another offer on another house and canceled last minute. So knowing that, seeing their outlandish requests and offers, we're not so interested based on their own history.... these people need the psych exam no question, their realtor too since it's obvious she is never getting a sale from them!

What the hell is wrong with these people? Serial offer writers!

Kristine

 

[chris1gill]

What the hell is wrong with these people? Serial offer writers!

Kristine

Umm, yup... they canceled that offer 1 week before closing because they decided it was too close to the highway Did they not know where the house was located when they put the offer in in the first place???

Funny thing, they love our house so much because it is one of the only homes in town with a flat lot... course they want the 26 acres around it too, I'm sorry, unless they come up with that $$, there's a subdivision going in there. They get their 2 flat acres but the other 26 are up for grabs & not by them They think the house is too much money, but the adjacent lot is going to go for 200K because it's flat!

 

[corie161]

I think you need to sign up for that show on HGTV called Sleep On It. They can sleep in the house and test everything out, maybe that would be enough for them.

Good luck in the house sale...we just put ours up 2 weeks ago and nothing yet either!

 

[Dee & Greg]

The family that eventually bought our house looked at it 7 times!!! I told the Realtor that they "need to stop visiting the house". I wondered if they were going to have mail delivered there! We went back and forth 5 times on offers and counter-offers. We ended up $1,800 apart on a $227,000 house! I finally had enough and caved in. Fortunately, we were able to close in about 10 days, so that helped!
The Mother loved the house and is a SAM to three boys under the age of 8... I thought she was a saint to put up with her DH's stalling...