REAL ESTATE Selling Our House

[Shawn]

So our house is on the market (been on since mid December) - we ended up hiring a realtor. We had it built for $1,500,000 about 2 years ago and we're selling for 1,400,000. Even at 1.5 its under what all others are priced at. 1.4 is a steal imo. So we're losing money, but we just wanna move on.

We've had lots of showings and great feedback, but no offers (I know its only been 2 months) . Anyway, our realtor has a friend that is a retired ex ceo of some company and he and his wife had no intention of moving (hes probably not even a real buyer, but who knows). She called them and said hey got this great house, you need to see it, hoping they'd fall in love with it and buy it.

They have now seen it 4 times sometimes for 2+hours at a time. But at the end of each showing they tell the realtor ok, we'll let you know by Wednesday etc. Then Wednesday rolls around and they never call or return the realtors calls. So we figured, screw it, let's offer them a reverse offer of $1,250,000 ($300k+ loss for us after realtor fees!) and give em 48 hours to accept.

They called back (after about 40 hours) and said ok, we'll take a look at it tomorrow again. WTF!! Now they wanna come back tomorrow (after the 48hrs) and "see if they like it enough". They have stressed my wife and I out sooo much. I wanna sell, but not that badly lol.

I do understand that people want to see the house before they make a big purchase. But they've already seen it 4 times in the past 3 weeks. Our primary concerns with it though, is that it seems the reverse offer kinda backfired on us now because we're granting them extra time to let us know - so after tomorrow it sounds like we're going to be right back to where we started with them saying ok we'll let you know and then they never do. And now they probably think they can buy it for 1.1.

I feel like we should 'fire these buyers' and say nevermind. Maybe then they'll buy it What do you think?

 

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[AroundTheWorld]

hmmm.

I would give them one more viewing - then tell them no more. At some point, it becomes disruptive to your life! (but, that is just me!)

And - that "could" be just the kicker they need!!! And if not, you don't need em.

When I had my service oriented business, I could always tell who my "high-maintenance" clients would be before they signed up. They would call with a new question every day, and kick tires, and ask for referrals and more referrals and more referrals. Sure enough, when they became clients, they would be VERY high maintenance. Not worth it.

Their behavior now is a glimps of what is to come.

 

[AroundTheWorld]

and...

(funny I didn't think of this before, as it is much more related to the topic)

When we were building spec houses - we had the same result.... behavior before the offer is glimps of what is to come.

One buyer made the offer sight unseen. Her realtor just called us with an offer out of the blue. We closed without a hitch and never heard from her again.

Another buyer hummed and hawed and came to see the house everyday over lunch and finally made an offer (that was not of the cut and paste variety.... there were a lot of unusual things in there). Then, they continued to come to the house everyday (it was still under construction) and get in the way and cause problems.

After the close, they continued to call with questions about the house and little complaints. Should have seen it coming.

 

[JScott]

Perhaps this ex-CEO is just a very good negotiator (anytime you can get a seller to lower his price -- by 10%! -- without ever even throwing out an offer, you're doing a damn good job of negotiating)?

And on top of it, I'm afraid, you're not being a very good negotiator...

You've now sent the message that not only are you a motivated seller, but that you're likely a desperate seller, and if this really is a negotiating stance on his part, he has you right where he wants you.

My suggestion (unless you really are desperate) -- offer at $1.25M (since you already have) and let him know it's take it or leave it. Additionally, let him know that this offer is just for him, and just for now, and if he leaves it, it goes back to $1.4M. If he comes back, make him start negotiating from $1.4M and discount the fact that $1.25M was ever thrown out there.

 

[JScott]

By the way, what are the comps in your area?

You mention that others are priced at $1.5M, but have any comparable properties actually *sold* for $1.5M?

 

[Shawn]

Thank you both for the help so far. Just had to vent.

We're gonna let him see it one more time and basically have the realtor tell him take it or leave it let us know today. And if he does wait, we're going to do exactly that, raise the price back to 1.4. I would guess if I wanted to be patient and deal with crap like this we could sell it for 1.3 - 1.45 within a year, but I'm impatient.

We absolutely won't take a dollar less than 1.250. I've conveyed this to the realtor too. And I know it may come off as desperate, but I hate negotiating. I'd rather price the house exactly at what I want for it and not discount a dollar, but I guess no one likes to buy houses that way lol.

AroundTheWorld - you hit the nail on the head, I turn clients away when I can tell they are going to be a royal pain in the a$$. Why shouldn't we do the same when selling a house. Oh well, we'll give em one more time and move on

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Wow, I saw pics of your home ... would have guessed that baby was going for $2m++ ... sorry to see you part with it.

As for these buyers, they sound like RPITA's (ROYAL PAINS IN THE ASSES) ... if they are like this, they will be like this during the inspection period ... wanting everything fixed! Hole in the wall from a picture? They want it drywalled. Toilet takes to long to fill? They want the fixture replaced.

I think the ROI on waiting for the right buyer might be better.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Shawn]

Wow, I saw pics of your home ... would have guessed that baby was going for $2m++ ... sorry to see you part with it.

As for these buyers, they sound like RPITA's (ROYAL PAINS IN THE ASSES) ... if they are like this, they will be like this during the inspection period ... wanting everything fixed! Hole in the wall from a picture? They want it drywalled. Toilet takes to long to fill? They want the fixture replaced.

I think the ROI on waiting for the right buyer might be better.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Yeah, our builder said that's about what it would cost now to rebuild (1.8-2.0M). But, we're building a new house and wanted to get this off our plate. The nail holes in the wall - that is hilarious because they already mentioned (shall I say the wife did) the nail pops, the trim separating from the wall (our humidifiers can't keep up with the constant weather changes here) and very small cosmetic things like that. We explained to her the builder will fix it, so we'll get all those fixed before you buy, no worries. Then she went on to say the floors are "too rough" - they're freaking 6" hand scraped oak - that's how they're supposed to be lol. Anyway, we'll see what happens tomorrow!

 

[AroundTheWorld]

The nail holes in the wall - that is hilarious because they already mentioned (shall I say the wife did) the nail pops, the trim separating from the wall (our humidifiers can't keep up with the constant weather changes here) and very small cosmetic things like that.... Then she went on to say the floors are "too rough" -

Uh huh. This is just the beginning if they make an offer.

Ug.

Another thing we learned in the spec house era.... buy sells are designed to protect the BUYER, not the SELLER.

We got to a point on the deal mentioned above, that we JUST WANTED OUT.... the people were royal PITA'S. But, our atty pretty much said that we risked getting sued. On the other hand, the buyer can walk away at any time without ramification.

 

[PEERless]

Jesus! Good luck. I'd say fire these buyers.

 

[Shawn]

Well they came and basically logged all the flaws with the house (trim, nail pops, small crap like that), our realtor seems to think that is good because they may intend to use that to make an offer if those are fixed. Whatever.

Now they are going to look at ANOTHER house they apparently have liked for months later today.

And they want to know if they can come back AGAIN tomorrow and bring a painter and an interior decorator in to get quotes. Even then, the realtor said they probably will need some time after that to wait for the quotes and then digest it all. WTF.

 

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[yveskleinsky]

I would run away fast in the opposite direction from these buyers. ...Either that or tell them that since you are lowering your price you are capping price negotiations from the home inspection at $x, and then make sure the inspection is done up front (like day 2). Odds are they will come back after the inspection with ridiculous demands, and want $50k off.

If your home is a good value, hold tight- maybe consider advertising buyer's incentives, not jsut reducing the price. (Professional interior design service, moving service, packing service, pool/yard service,etc.) Just some thoughts.

Good luck to you!

 

[PEERless]

Jesus! Good luck. I'd say fire these buyers.

Sticking to my guns.

 

[andviv]

retire your offered price.
You already gave in in price and that should account for everything they could come up with.
Thank them for their non-offer and forget about them.
You won't entertain any more verbal negotiations.
If they want to buy your house then please send a written offer. You will entertain any offer above 1.25M. And thank them again for their time and interest.

 

[PEERless]

:iagree:

 

[Shawn]

Well, my wife insisted on letting them come back and bring their painter and crap in to get quotes. She figured give them this last time and then never again. I didn't agree and felt it was bull, but I didn't want to be the one to blame. So I let her handle it and they came spent several hours, yada, yada and after a couple days they called the realtor and said...yeah we don't want to make an offer, it's too expensive for us:cuss: . Should have never let them in the door all those times without seeing a bank statement. That's the problem with people that say they are cash buyers.

Anyway, I later found out from our builder, this guy inquired about building a home with him over a year ago and wasted like two weeks of his time too and never came in to sign the papers. The guy is a flake.

Regardless - it was a valuable learning lesson, we're not going to ever lower our price like that again (we're not desperate) and just hold out so we don't take a beating on the price. I need to set some rules with showings too, maybe something like if they want a second/third+ showing they need to get a pre-approval letter or something (is that wrong?).

 

[PEERless]

it was a valuable learning lesson...if they want a second/third+ showing they need to get a pre-approval letter or something (is that wrong?).

Good lesson. Great rule. Nothing wrong with it. It's still your house, run it how you want.

I guess you have personal reasons for wanting to be out of it so badly that your asking price is 100K below break-even?

 

[Shawn]

I guess you have personal reasons for wanting to be out of it so badly that your asking price is 100K below break-even?

We did, we're having another house built and didn't think the market was so bad lol. So we just wanted to sell it super quick even if it meant a loss. But we realized that was stupid and talked to the builder and he's willing to hold onto our money and resume building once we sell. So now we don't have a reason to take a loss..gladly

 

[PEERless]

I see. Stage it, raise the price, and start a new promo campaign. Breathe some new life into it! Good luck.

 

[M&T]

wat tey ca

 

[PEERless]

wat tey ca

Confused...

 

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[Shawn]

I dont get it? lol

 

[PEERless]

I'm just as confused as you!

 

[M&T]

My Daughter Was Punching Keys As I Was Typing.people Want What They Can't Have-is What I Meant.sorry For The Confusion.

Hey Peerless What's The Stupid Remark For?

 

[PurEnergy]

I'm not a realtor but I think your realtor should have caught the "cash buyer" thing. It sounds like the so called buyer was trying to flip your house. The painters were probably the real potential buyers and not painters.

Another point on your realtor...I say NEVER tell him or her your bottom line because guess what your offers will now be at...$1.25M. It's bad that you have to negotiate with someone who is supposed to be representing you but that's just how it is.

Is the realtor doing anything to market the house other than list it and forget it? Your builders testimony of the COST to build the house now seems like something that could be used to your advantage.

I'm curious, did you use sprayed foam insulation? If so, what brand?

 

[Shawn]

Trust me the painters weren't the buyers haha. Yeah no way will we go that low again. We're probably going to raise our price and set and forget it. The realtor actually advised us against going this low and said the house is worth so much more, so I don't think she's working against us. The problem with this client though is that it is/was her friend and she apologized a million times that she trusted him based on their friendship that he was serious and had the means to do it. Im not mad at her though, she's just trying. Yes, she's advertising our listing in the paper/doing calls daily/sending emails and is a really hard worker. Our contract with her is up in June and I already have a replacement in mind if things don't well with the current one. :banana:

 

[PEERless]

My Daughter Was Punching Keys As I Was Typing.

Ha ha. Sorry.

It sounds like the so called buyer was trying to flip your house.

Yeah, that situation sucked. Be glad you didn't get stuck with those buyers.

 

[PurEnergy]

Also, your realtor should be able to punch out real quick for you the average time on market for your house and the percentage of asking price that buyers are currently paying. And just about anything else you want to know.

Glad to hear your builder is working with you.

You didn't tell me about the sprayed foam. :smxB:

 

[Shawn]

You didn't tell me about the sprayed foam. :smxB:

Sorry - yeah I have no idea! LOL

 

[randallg99]

lemme get this right: an ex-CEO who wasn't even in the market to buy a home was tipped off by a realtor representing the client of whom needs to sell his home so he can move into the one he is building.

hmmm

ex-CEO is most likely not emotionally attached to the home, is retired with apparently too few hobbies if he's visiting the property as often as you say and he will have no problem being told to screw off. This potential buyer is using one of the oldest tricks in the book for negotiating: wearing you down until you yell "mercy, just take the effing thing!!!"

Just like an entire family with uncles and all who visit car dealers... kids running amok, mother bitching about the weather, father saying he doesn't have enough money and raising a million other objections (why don't they just leave if they can't afford it?) but the sales associate is dying to make the sale at whatever cost.... but 20/20 hindsight: not one single associate would ever be willing to go through that experience again...

by the way, what state is your home that you are selling?