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Old 10-15-2014, 01:45 PM
 
9,891 posts, read 11,680,035 times
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The big question is, is the price of the home, a fair value in it's present condition.

If it is, then it is priced as is, and the buyer should pay for the improvements, cleaning, pumping septic tank, and bringing panel to code.

If it is priced at a fair market value after these things are done, then it is time to walk away. It is simple as that.

The owners think the price is a fair price as is. The owner has to show it is not, if they want to negotiate a new price.

The buyer needs to evaluate things, and decide if the price reflects the as is condition it is in, or if it is priced at a top market fixed up condition.

If the buyer made an offer on the home that was dirty, then suddenly wanting the home cleaned up is a very unreasonable request long after the contract was accepted by both parties.

If the septic system is operating properly, requesting the septic tank be pumped, should have been asked in the original offer, not suddenly wanting it done today. That is another unreasonable request.
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Old 10-15-2014, 01:55 PM
 
17,384 posts, read 11,893,765 times
Reputation: 16120
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merjolie8 View Post
Our seller refuses to fix anything. He thinks we're getting a good deal in the house and thus we should pay for the fixes. We requested that they fixed the electrical panel that have some issues not to code, some fixtures that are leaking, clean the house, pump the septic.

We think our offer was fair and we're thinking of walking. Dealing with them has been frustrating to say the least. They relocated and we don't really know if we're dealing with them or the relocation company. It took a month to get a contract with all the back and forth between them. And now, they don't want to fix anything.

Our agent told us that it's being increasingly common for sellers not to fix anything, that she knows of 5 deals that fell through because of that and that fortunately our issues are not major. We're not asking them to give us a new house, but at least clean it up and get it up to code.

Thoughts?
Or maybe buyers are just getting more greedy, and expect a perfect home instead of "as is". When we sold our house a few years ago, the buyer had the most ridiculous demands after the inspection. 99% were cosmetic, and just not worth our time. The home was safe, had no code issues, had brand new bathrooms and was perfectly clean.

They actually almost walked away, and came back time and again demanding less, but always something. We finally sent them a letter saying we were done negotiating and they agreed the next day.

Decide how bad you want the house, and if can walk away and sleep at night.
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Old 10-15-2014, 03:06 PM
 
Location: Southern California
1,166 posts, read 1,623,593 times
Reputation: 2904
When we bought our house years ago, it was a sellers market. When I mentioned the inspection items (very minor), the wife said in a very smarta** way, "Well, you'd better grab a wrench and fix them." So, when the deal closed, I said I wanted to move in that day (a Friday). They thought they would have the weekend to move, and they would have if they hadn't been such jerks about the inspection. They had to scramble to get the movers over there immediately, since the house was officially mine.

On the other hand, my son and his wife just bought a place this year, and the sellers were very accommodating. Rather than repair the items listed on the inspection, they agreed to leave their washer, dryer, and refrigerator. That worked out well, since my son didn't have any of those things.
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Old 10-15-2014, 04:25 PM
 
Location: City Data Land
17,156 posts, read 12,862,289 times
Reputation: 33164
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merjolie8 View Post
Our seller refuses to fix anything. He thinks we're getting a good deal in the house and thus we should pay for the fixes. We requested that they fixed the electrical panel that have some issues not to code, some fixtures that are leaking, clean the house, pump the septic.

We think our offer was fair and we're thinking of walking. Dealing with them has been frustrating to say the least. They relocated and we don't really know if we're dealing with them or the relocation company. It took a month to get a contract with all the back and forth between them. And now, they don't want to fix anything.

Our agent told us that it's being increasingly common for sellers not to fix anything, that she knows of 5 deals that fell through because of that and that fortunately our issues are not major. We're not asking them to give us a new house, but at least clean it up and get it up to code.

Thoughts?
I believe that both parties should negotiate. I walked on a house deal. The house needed a mere $1200 in repairs. We had negotiated $2500 off the price of a $150K house. We wanted the seller to complete $600 worth of the repairs: a water heater repair and an electrical repair that was actually dangerous. She refused, we came down to $400, she refused that, and only offered to do $150. Thus, we canceled the contract. A house deal is give and take, whether it's a seller's market or not. After that, her house languished on the market for four months before it sold.
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Old 10-15-2014, 04:59 PM
 
Location: Austin
7,244 posts, read 21,703,595 times
Reputation: 10013
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks View Post
I believe that both parties should negotiate. I walked on a house deal. The house needed a mere $1200 in repairs. We had negotiated $2500 off the price of a $150K house. We wanted the seller to complete $600 worth of the repairs: a water heater repair and an electrical repair that was actually dangerous. She refused, we came down to $400, she refused that, and only offered to do $150. Thus, we canceled the contract. A house deal is give and take, whether it's a seller's market or not. After that, her house languished on the market for four months before it sold.
But in your situation, you walked on the house because of $250. Didn't you lose more than that on the cost of the inspection for the next house?

People (Buyers and Sellers) need to put the money into perspective. YES, it's all done on principle when people back out, but when really analyzed, many times it costs more to back out than it does to move forward, and if the house is great enough to negotiate on in the first place, it should be good enough to take a deep breath and just move forward, or you're out more money on the next one.

(** PLEASE note this doesn't apply when you're talking about major repairs. What I said above applies to the smaller repairs that don't cost very much)
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Old 10-15-2014, 06:18 PM
 
1,782 posts, read 2,730,449 times
Reputation: 5975
Quote:
Originally Posted by ringwise View Post
Or maybe buyers are just getting more greedy, and expect a perfect home instead of "as is". When we sold our house a few years ago, the buyer had the most ridiculous demands after the inspection. 99% were cosmetic, and just not worth our time. .
Too many buyers want an old house in thoroughly modern condition. You can't "renovate" a house without destroying its historicity. You can remuddle an old house into something shiny and modern, but then you've lost all the qualities that made it an old house.

If I were queen of the world, I'd tell young, inexperienced buyers that they're not allowed to watch HGTV: Houses Getting Totally Vandalized.
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Old 10-15-2014, 07:21 PM
 
Location: Purgatory
6,353 posts, read 6,214,425 times
Reputation: 9885
Imho, you can usually find what the seller last bought it for and this will give you some insight into if the seller is being greedy, thrifty, or just ignorant.
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Old 10-15-2014, 07:36 PM
 
24,834 posts, read 37,205,303 times
Reputation: 11538
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merjolie8 View Post
Our seller refuses to fix anything. He thinks we're getting a good deal in the house and thus we should pay for the fixes. We requested that they fixed the electrical panel that have some issues not to code, some fixtures that are leaking, clean the house, pump the septic.

We think our offer was fair and we're thinking of walking. Dealing with them has been frustrating to say the least. They relocated and we don't really know if we're dealing with them or the relocation company. It took a month to get a contract with all the back and forth between them. And now, they don't want to fix anything.

Our agent told us that it's being increasingly common for sellers not to fix anything, that she knows of 5 deals that fell through because of that and that fortunately our issues are not major. We're not asking them to give us a new house, but at least clean it up and get it up to code.

Thoughts?
It has a septic.....does it have a water well???
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Old 10-15-2014, 07:41 PM
 
Location: Needham, MA
8,525 posts, read 13,904,246 times
Reputation: 7908
Quote:
Originally Posted by FalconheadWest View Post
People (Buyers and Sellers) need to put the money into perspective. YES, it's all done on principle when people back out, but when really analyzed, many times it costs more to back out than it does to move forward, and if the house is great enough to negotiate on in the first place, it should be good enough to take a deep breath and just move forward, or you're out more money on the next one.
Please allow me to translate using my real estate buyer to English dictionary. Let's see . . .

BUYER: It's the principal!

This roughly translates into English as . . .

BUYER: Watch out! I'm about to bite my nose off to spite my face.
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Old 10-15-2014, 07:43 PM
 
Location: Philaburbia
41,733 posts, read 74,684,043 times
Reputation: 66668
Quote:
Originally Posted by Utopian Slums View Post
Imho, you can usually find what the seller last bought it for and this will give you some insight into if the seller is being greedy, thrifty, or just ignorant.
The last sales price is irrelevant.
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