Any seller b.s. you're experiencing in this market? (Bethesda: appointed, real estate market)

[trying2moveup]

Just out of curiousity, I'm wondering if there are stories to be shared of sellers trying to pull b.s. moves in this real estate market. This is my first time buying an existing home and I feel like I just got played on my full price offer to capitulate the other party that was on the periphery.

Essentially we were told some information from the seller, who conveniently happened to be home when we came for our showing, that I think was used to get us to make an offer (we loved the home - they were not in the house when we viewed it- we felt that it was right for us from the moment we walked in. . . this "sharing of info" came later).

I realize these are business transactions but I'm p'o'd right now and just looking to see if anyone else out there has experienced some aggravation along these lines.

[psychofan]

You paid full price in this housing market?!?!??

[trickymost]

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What the previous poster said.

It must've been one hell of a property.

Where was it located, and what type of property? The agent I used for my purchase recently said certain types of homes in very specific neighborhoods in DC, Bethesda, and Arlington in certain price ranges are still being snapped up within days, sometimes with multiple bids.

But, that is not the case for most areas....

[psychofan]

First rule of house hunting is to NEVER fall in love with a house. . .

[tagylyn]

Being a seller - I can say I have received alot of "bs" moves from buyers. I do know it is a buyers market but at the same time I am not giving away my house.

If I would have received a full price offer I would had been estactic!!

I'm sorry you had this experience, but not all sellers are trying pull bs. At least not me

[ChosenGSR]

Funny watching the tug of war between the buyers and the sellers. Eventually the market will decide the price of a house

[TeamBenya]

Jeez, don't get so uptight about the paying full price thing!

Yes it may have been a mistake, given the current market, but it may have been a really good deal, too; Great prices do still exist, even in this type of market.

We don't know enough details here to be able to give any sort of opinion on whether paying full price or not was a smart move. I will say though that "falling in love" with a house from the moment you walk in is a tough emotional response to hide.....

Can you give us more details on the situation? From my point of view, there's always someone, somewhere trying to buy or sell that's out and looking to pull a fast one on a deal. What happened in your case?

[trying2moveup]

Sorry late in reply - a busy few days with a sick relative. .

The SFH was in Frederick. It was on the market for 98 days when we saw it. It was originally listed for 400K and was now down to the mid 300s. Frankly, I think it was (now) priced right based on the comps or we would not have made a full price offer. Our agent pulled up the solds for the past 6 months and it was priced within 10K of all. 10K to me over a 30 year loan is priced right.

I know you shouldn't fall in love with it but when my husband and I walked in, we just knew - this was the one for us. It was laid out right, it was the right amount of space. It had been updated and taken care of by the original owners and it was only 10 years old. It was on a quarter acre lot that was landscaped just as we would have done it - but by now, of course, everything has matured and it was just a really nice house. It was truly move-in ready for us.

We wrote up the contract that night. What bugged me was that the listing agent was up front when ours called and told her that there was another party that had made an offer, which the sellers had not accepted to that point. So we knew that was in play - but the seller happened to be home when we showed up for our appt- and THAT is what I think is bugging me the most. He was not present when we went through the house - he took the dog for a "walk." However, he was outside, talking to our agent when we went back inside right before leaving to do one last quick walk through, and he was saying all this stuff that I won't get into here but basically I feel like we were played. He was lamenting problems with the other offer in the middle of all of this. Health issues, when to close, yada yada.

Other than telling him he had a lovely home, we did not speak with him nor did we come out of the house doing cartwheels. We pretty much said he had a nice home - since he was standing by our car when we came out to leave - and we got in our car and drove off to our agent's office.

Then we find out the next morning that the other party was going to up their ante - which consisted of someone swooping in on behalf of the buyers and paying all cash. We had the typical financing and home inspection contingencies. We do not have a house to sell. We could accomodate their closing date issues because we have a place we are staying in in the interim that we do not have to get out of by a certain date. The others probably didn't have a house to sell either, but with cash, who cares if they do, I guess? . So cash won in the end. If I was the seller, I would have done the same thing (but I wouldn't have been home for the showing!)

I know this is business and this is a business transaction. I think I would have been just as disappointed but less emotional about it if the seller HAD NOT been there. I told my agent if the seller is home, I'm not going in from this point on. Is that stupid? I guess i"m just being too emotional and feeling like I was played in all of this. I mean, if the seller was having SO MANY PROBLEMS with this other party's demands, then nix the cash and take our sensible, pre approved, full price offer!

[TeamBenya]

It's akward and uncomfortable when the seller is present like that, period. It's sort of a doubled edge sword because your agent has the opportunity to get more info than the sellers agent might be allowed to provide (fiduciary responsibility and all that).

I wouldn't say that you got played necessarily, you were not suckered into paying more than the house was worth. If anything the other buyers were forced to pay more than they would have otherwise would have. In a way, you were used to get the best possible deal for the seller. Given the situation, it's difficult to avoid that.

I understand your frustration about not wanting to have the seller present, and you have the right to request that, but what the seller does on their own property is their right as well.

I would chalk it up to the listing agent being shrewd enough to get the best deal for their client and move on to looking for another property that fits your needs. It's no fun to get stuck like that, but as you said, busines is business and the listing agent got the best deal in. Who knows, perhaps this magical "all cash" offer falls apart before it gets to settlement and you get another crack at the home.

[TeamBenya]

Quick question, did your offer require closing help?