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Not to be blunt but you may not have to totally write it off....if he passes away unless one of his kids want it (in which case I think they'd already have it), they'd most likely sell it, and you'd think they might be a little more realistic on the price.
Or as I often tell my sellers at that point: "We have your buyer...."
Love is a many splendored thing, but...
Only said this once... and I meant it and still never got out of second position.
Thing is I was so sure it would turn out my way... non-contingent, as-is and 100k over all cash... plus the social connection.
I even went to the buyer and asked to buy his contract and sweetened it 150k... he said 300k and it just was not reality for me...
It's been 5 years and every property I look at for myself is through the eyes of this one and so far nothing has come close in terms of location, rare county setting with public fire hydrant which I must have for my car collector insurance, etc...
Some delusional sellers are simply patient with low carrying costs or the property otherwise generates income.
For 20 years the commercial building next to work was for sale for 1 million dollars... the widows husband told her it was worth a million and not a penny less....
It was rented a string of times buy the price was always a million... 10,000 square feet of showroom.
Anyway... at age 87 she had a heart attack and decided to get her affairs in order... property was sold for 600K 30 days later... my company had tried to buy it for 600k in 1995....
Or as I often tell my sellers at that point: "We have your buyer...."
Love is a many splendored thing, but...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner
Only said this once... and I meant it and still never got out of second position.
Thing is I was so sure it would turn out my way... non-contingent, as-is and 100k over all cash... plus the social connection.
I even went to the buyer and asked to buy his contract and sweetened it 150k... he said 300k and it just was not reality for me...
It's been 5 years and every property I look at for myself is through the eyes of this one and so far nothing has come close in terms of location, rare county setting with public fire hydrant which I must have for my car collector insurance, etc...
Some delusional sellers are simply patient with low carrying costs or the property otherwise generates income.
For 20 years the commercial building next to work was for sale for 1 million dollars... the widows husband told her it was worth a million and not a penny less....
It was rented a string of times buy the price was always a million... 10,000 square feet of showroom.
Anyway... at age 87 she had a heart attack and decided to get her affairs in order... property was sold for 600K 30 days later... my company had tried to buy it for 600k in 1995....
Yeah.
I have passed on a couple of properties that color my thinking on anything else I see.
One just recently that will stick in my mind for a while.
We have sellers videoing visitors, and some even recording audio, and it is important for buyers to observe and play their cards close...
I quail when they go room to room and the camera red light is on, and they cannot restrain themselves from gushing....
Getting hung up on price per square foot, as another poster mentioned, is foolish. People do not buy houses that way. You are not buying an empty box, you are buying finishes and location and all sort of things that cannot be captured or quantified in that manner. Also to say that small of a home needs $100k in work seems crazy but I guess if you are talking a new kitchen and two new bathrooms it can add up.
It seems like his ask and a reasonable price for your market are about 10% different. That is not that unusual, why not offer 10% below ask and see if he bites? Afterall that is only a preinspection price, then you have to deal with negotiating all of the exciting miscellany that the home inspection turns up. A home built for only $80k even in the 80s was a lower end build so there are likely going to be things come up. ( That's a build price of $250k today.)
Yes, we are in Asheville NC but the house is as far to the county line as it can be. Not in city limits.
They built it in the 80s for 80k and have never updated it. I pulled tax records on the one we want and noticed he bought a new place for 470k in march. I think he doesn't want a mortgage as he's in his 80s. The jokes on him because now he owes another year of taxes plus he's paying on his mortgage for every month he sits.
I really feel like if the price he wanted was reasonable he would have had an offer by now. I know others said ignore the price per sq foot, but if we need to sell it and we have to be at a price that is way out of line with the rest of the market due to what we paid, we might end up unable to move it like him.
I think my real mistake was telling them we loved it despite the quirks. Oh well. Just trying to come to terms with having to walk away. Licking my wounds so to speak. It was nice dreaming while it lasted.
He's not motivat enough and you can't afford to go higher. Move on. Stop looking at the price per for. It's not how you shop for a house. If anything put in your offer and let him decline it.
I've put i offers and had difficult sellers. One time this house was at 565. I put my offer at 550 (which was 20-25k above going rate ) the seller came backwith 1k off and she wanted 90 days occupation AFTER closing with no lease back. She had all kinds of crazy demands. I tried negotiating the lunacy with a lunatic, but in the end I finally said screw it and walked. It took her 12-14 months to sell it. For 550k. And the reason it did sell at that price was because house prices went up. She du get her price. Just took a year longer. I was already. My new house
Btw there is no such thing as a perfect house you buy from someone. You are buying a house that fits the majority of your needs wants desires,
Dissagree- Price Per Sq does have some importance, yes upgrades etc. need to be taken into consideration as well. Those sellers that think they should get dollar for dollar on all upgrades are misguided too.
You're not buying bologna by the pound here and you shouldn't be looking at buying a house by the square foot. To do so takes all the things like location, condition, property size, amenities and schools out of the equation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1insider
This right here. I have seen many deals fail because one party was fixated on price per square foot to the exclusion of the differences in the comps they used to arrive at a "fair" $/sf. Unless the comps were identical in every respect, $/sf is just a starting point to arrive at fair value. Not to mention, I might be willing to overpay for my "dream home".
These 2 right here. We overpaid for our home and sold one we left, the buyer over paid for.
We are here the rest of our lives. Last year we put $250,000 in redecorating. The houses next to us have sold for more than we paid in one day on the market.
Dissagree- Price Per Sq does have some importance, yes upgrades etc. need to be taken into consideration as well. Those sellers that think they should get dollar for dollar on all upgrades are misguided too.
The only time price per square foot is a reasonable comparison is when comparing homes within the same subdivision/development. That way some factors are the same- location, school district, taxes, lot size is likely similar, etc... You are comparing home to home and taking the other factors out. Price per square foot gives a rough guide to compare home of different sizes. You can look at home much repair/updating needs to be done in comparison to turn key. But it still isn't a completely accurate way of determining value- lot topography, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, upgrades like fireplaces, etc...
Does the house have magnificent views? Is it architecturally unique? Is it on a lot of land?
All of these factors may be contributing to his higher than average asking price as well.
I wouldn't walk away from the idea of the house just yet. It may be worth getting a contractor to do a walk through with you to give you a realistic number on how much a rehab would set you back.
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