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I want to handle this whole thing best I can and could really use some advice.
First part- selling our current home. We purchased it as a short sale in 2009 for 223k. It was a huge mess. Put about 70k into it and cleaned it up. It's still a pain in the but in many respects. We're on a busy road, the bedrooms are weird, the second full bath is in an unfinished basement. But, the finished part of the inside of the house has been completely renovated. It looks pretty good. I added a small attached garage (so nice to have in new england). The lot is about 1/2 acre. It has a good size yard. There is very little on market right now for under 400k. We asked 399k, got a ton of interest, and in a week had an offer in for 390k (398k with 8k back for closing and repair stuff). We said great and took it.
Inspection was Saturday and they came back with requests. Almost all the outlets are not grounded, so they want that taken care of. I was gonna have my guy out to take care of it hoping it won't be too crazy expensive. They want us to lower the asking price by 10k to take care of chimneys that need re-pointing and flashing repair, vinyl siding that is touching the earth around the addition, messy wiring in the basement, and insufficient vermiculite insulation in the attic that might have asbestos.
I insulation thing I'm not sure about. I thought of picking up an asbestos kit at home depot (as I did when I bought the house and had a similar concern) and testing it and giving them that info. I'm thinking of getting estimates on the chimney and raising the vinyl siding and if it's around 5k go back and tell them we'll lower the price by 5k and show them the estimates.
What do you think?
Second part- we're trying to buy another short sale. Better town, better lot, problems of course. We just started that process so having a closing date on our home is a plus for the bank.
Third part- I think there is something seriously wrong with my RE agents. One of them is always talking about his personal problems. The other agent I knew from when I bought my current home and just reached out to her because I knew her. Now I'm mostly working with this guy and he's a bit of a freak. I hope he doesn't talk to potential buyers and agents like he does with me. I'm stuck with him I guess.
Anyhow, I really want this other home and I'm so done with my current home. I just want out. So, do you think I should just lower the asking prices 10k or try to negotiate if I can?
I'm tossing and turning over this. I just don't know. I already offered to pay 8k for their closing costs to cover this kind of stuff and they wanted my fridge, which I planned to take, but I agreed to give it. That's 10k right there and they want more.
I would go back and say you already are helping them out with 8 k in closing costs. You can negotiate anything really. They want help with closing? 10k for repairs and your fridge? There is no way I would agree to that. That's about 20k off. Sounds like the buyers are trying to bone you. I would offer 2k after closing. If they threaten to walk let them walk.
Yeah, I just don't know what's reasonable. I didn't realize there was an issue with the flashing, but now I know I have that stain on my dining room ceiling. It does need to be fixed. And I've always known that the grading in the yard has poor drainage. That needs to be dealt with. But this home is not new construction. It's in Old home with many updates and the stuff is really small in my eyes. I should never have agreed to a 8K in closing costs. I should've made that my cushion money. My agents were not really guiding me correctly. Also, while there is a home for sale in pretty good condition a few blocks away 410 K less it has no garage. Then there is another home for sale for the same price that is a complete pit. Looks like it should be demoed.
What I'm reading online is that there is such low inventory in the Massachusetts metro area that sellers are in a very good position. I'm just afraid of losing buyers and then not being able to move forward with my other home purchase.
There is always a chance people will walk, but they also use tactics of threatening to walk to simply push you to see how much they can get. They are only gonna get what you're allowing them to get.
On what? Sales price? Negotiating repairs? This isn't your first rodeo, so don't forget to take your share of "guiding me" blame--I am sure you were all unicorns and rainbows when your agent brought you a strong offer a week into listing and you saw that fat settlement check in your mind.
You cannot convince most people on here that you really didn't expect negotiations out of the inspection phase...especially on a short sale you already dumped $70k into....
On what? Sales price? Negotiating repairs? This isn't your first rodeo, so don't forget to take your share of "guiding me" blame--I am sure you were all unicorns and rainbows when your agent brought you a strong offer a week into listing and you saw that fat settlement check in your mind.
You cannot convince most people on here that you really didn't expect negotiations out of the inspection phase...especially on a short sale you already dumped $70k into....
You don't have give away the Ponderosa either. Sure some negotiations are to be expected, and the buyer needs to understand that they are buying a old house that is not going to be brand new in every phase. You want all new go buy new. And you will still have drainage, framing, finish, plumbing and other issues.
I think there are a lot of agents out there that blow smoke promise the world and then can't deliver. Or are just really bad at their jobs. I met very few agents that I thought were worth a damn. And there are plenty of irrational buyers and sellers out there to go along with those agents.
Either way let's face it, lots of the stuff agents had to "work" for is now done over email. No more mailing, driving, faxing paperwork for buyers to sellers. It's all fast and easier. So why are they still getting 6%? Back in the day they had to take pics develop them, put together packages, actually work by calling and going around doing things. They had to do footwork for the client. Not so much now. Lots of times it's the client that finds the house not the agent
On what? Sales price? Negotiating repairs? This isn't your first rodeo, so don't forget to take your share of "guiding me" blame--I am sure you were all unicorns and rainbows when your agent brought you a strong offer a week into listing and you saw that fat settlement check in your mind.
You cannot convince most people on here that you really didn't expect negotiations out of the inspection phase...especially on a short sale you already dumped $70k into....
I have never sold a home before, so it is my first rodeo somewhat. I honestly didn't expect negotiations. Call me naive. The deal was supposed to be to offer to pay the 8k in closing costs they wanted for any small things that came up. The inspection was supposed to be for information purposes only. This is the conversation I had with my agent at least and what she recommended to avoid small repair negotiations. So, i went along. I'm paying these agents thousands of dollars (like 20k when all is said and done for the one house) so, sure, I expected them to guide me. That's a fair expectation, imo.
In hindsight I see that young first time home buyers probably operate a bit differently than seasoned homeowners. There a difference in available monies. Perhaps "an inspection for informational purposes" was not an appropriate course of action. I imagine that agents develop a level of expertise so that each venture isn't plug and play, but that changing variables warrant different kinds of approaches. No? It would have been better to understand that young first time home buyers looking to purchase a relatively inexpensive, older home, won't have the experience to not sweat the small stuff or money carried over from a previous home.
Anyhow, I have said no to the 10k drop and have offered to do a few hundred dollar fixes, which they seem to be ok with for now. From what I understand they love the home, but don't have the cash on hand after the down payment to deal with small repairs (that's scary on its own). I don't want to lose the buyers for so many reasons (fear of not getting another offer, having to go through all the hassle with my kids and showings, non-stop cleaning, etc), but at the same time there is very little inventory in my location and even a home that looks like it should be condemned a few blocks over has the same listing price. I don't want to shoot myself in the foot here.
You don't have give away the Ponderosa either. Sure some negotiations are to be expected, and the buyer needs to understand that they are buying a old house that is not going to be brand new in every phase. You want all new go buy new. And you will still have drainage, framing, finish, plumbing and other issues.
I think there are a lot of agents out there that blow smoke promise the world and then can't deliver. Or are just really bad at their jobs. I met very few agents that I thought were worth a damn. And there are plenty of irrational buyers and sellers out there to go along with those agents.
Either way let's face it, lots of the stuff agents had to "work" for is now done over email. No more mailing, driving, faxing paperwork for buyers to sellers. It's all fast and easier. So why are they still getting 6%? Back in the day they had to take pics develop them, put together packages, actually work by calling and going around doing things. They had to do footwork for the client. Not so much now. Lots of times it's the client that finds the house not the agent
Oh yeah, I found the home I'm purchasing. I've done all the leg work to make this deal go through and it's been plenty with this short sale. I've had at least 10 appointments for various estimates, conversations with the town, becoming familiar with town codes, etc. Even with my current home - I took most of the pictures for MLS listing. I cleaned up the description grammar wise. I staged the home (rented a storage locker and moved much of our stuff out) and did the landscaping for the showing. We had a good hundred people show up at our open house. It's so much work for sellers and buyers. An unbelievable roller coaster ride.
Oh yeah, I found the home I'm purchasing. I've done all the leg work to make this deal go through and it's been plenty with this short sale. I've had at least 10 appointments for various estimates, conversations with the town, becoming familiar with town codes, etc. Even with my current home - I took most of the pictures for MLS listing. I cleaned up the description grammar wise. I staged the home (rented a storage locker and moved much of our stuff out) and did the landscaping for the showing. We had a good hundred people show up at our open house. It's so much work for sellers and buyers. An unbelievable roller coaster ride.
Maybe you're not as naïve as you say.
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