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Personally I would have walked away already, there is not one piece of property worth all of the stress and dramatics attached to it and it isn't even yours yet.
Haha! Maybe, maybe not. In a higher inventory area, or if we had less specialized needs? I'd be agreeing. And advising someone else the same way. Somehow it's different when it's me and not another person
Also, if there was more than eleven pieces of property for sale in the entire town? A different story. The short commute to work and medical is a huge part of this. But if it doesn't work out we will just have to begin the compromises.
Another thing to consider, is that if you are able to buy this property and build a house, you will be living next to people who may think you robbed them of being able to buy it themselves.
Not sure about your state. But in mine it's called First Right of Refusal.
This is not that uncommon.
When the seller first sold them the house, and offered the extra lot, they buyer declined at that time. BUT they could have written it in to either that sales contract or a separate amendment contract, that IF and WHEN the seller decides to sell, the extra lot or gets a offer on the second lot even if it is not officially for sale, the house buyer still has the 1st option to purchase it from the seller (usually without commission).
That contract may have it's own time frame in it for the house buyer to make a offer. The seller has to honor that contract IF it exeses. BUT he should have told the listing agent at the time of listing that there was such a contract. Because he didn't, he could end up paying a commission no matter who buys it.
Now if there was NO First Right of Refusal contract. All bets are of, and the seller is playing you.
Why is it used? The Buyer spent a ton of money to buy the house (in this case) but did not / may not have the funds to buy the extra lot at the time. But knows he wants it in the future. That lot could sit vacant or for sale for 130 days, or several years. The house Buyer saves money every day he don't own it and not paying taxes on it. (Although the value MAY go up) But knows maybe some day, some one may want it, and he don't want neighbors, so he lock it up in a contract. (Day's, Weeks,or Years Ago)
So we made an offer on land this last week. But apparently the seller has been going behind his realtor's back and negotiating with the person who bought his home next to this empty property and basically said he'd give them a heads up if he got any offers so they could take a first crack at it, after they originally said they weren't interested (but have now changed their minds).
Our offer is better than what the homeowners have apparently verbally discussed, but the seller now feels obligated by his word to get an offer from the other party, so apparently he is going to make them put up or shut up in writing on guaranteeing their funds or take our offer. We are pretty sure he breached his contract with his agent, at the very least, in doing this. But our offer is higher and we so want this property.
Can you give me any encouragement on this? We apparently should hear back by the middle of next week but I'm a wreck, we really adore this homesite and the whole thing feels really unfair, since the property was listed and the people who bought the seller's house haven't actually made any formal offer on the property.
This is the advice I give anyone whose buying a home.
1. Check the county assessors page and get all the facts directly from there. Ignore what Zillow, Trulia, and all the real estate sites say. That value is not based on jobs, location, etc. It's based on what realtors are able to sucker people into paying. If you buy a house based on the value anywhere but the county assessors page, you are paying too much and, like a brand new car, it will be worth considerably less before you take it for a drive with your brand new keys.
2. Don't get attached to the house. Get attached to the investment. If it's a good investment, it's the perfect house.
I married and divorced a man who made two major real estate mistakes. I learned from his lessons.
it seems like a "first right of refusal" should have happened before the land was offered for sale to others. This feels like the seller is trying to get a bidding war going.
In a perfect world, you could force his hand by giving him 24 hours to respond. You could push a bit by saying you need to know because another property has come up, and you'll need to act on it quickly if this seller isn't going to accept your offer. That'll make him worry that you'll walk away.
But if you really want this property, you may just have to be patient. Best of luck, and let us know what happens!
This is the advice I give anyone whose buying a home.
1. Check the county assessors page and get all the facts directly from there. Ignore what Zillow, Trulia, and all the real estate sites say. That value is not based on jobs, location, etc. It's based on what realtors are able to sucker people into paying. If you buy a house based on the value anywhere but the county assessors page, you are paying too much and, like a brand new car, it will be worth considerably less before you take it for a drive with your brand new keys.
2. Don't get attached to the house. Get attached to the investment. If it's a good investment, it's the perfect house.
I married and divorced a man who made two major real estate mistakes. I learned from his lessons.
Sorry, but your advice isn't very good. The value indicated by the assessor's office oftentimes has little relationship to market value.
it seems like a "first right of refusal" should have happened before the land was offered for sale to others. This feels like the seller is trying to get a bidding war going.
In a perfect world, you could force his hand by giving him 24 hours to respond. You could push a bit by saying you need to know because another property has come up, and you'll need to act on it quickly if this seller isn't going to accept your offer. That'll make him worry that you'll walk away.
But if you really want this property, you may just have to be patient. Best of luck, and let us know what happens!
Yes he did originally offer it with the home he sold. They declined and it went on market. No first right of refusal contract anywhere, though that seems to be the gist of the verbal agreement we found out about.
We did tell our realtor that when this offer expires we are done. He either takes it or takes the chance with these neighbors, we will not offer a third time. We pushed up that expiration date a bit too since we noticed it wasn't typed into the latest contract (was drafted up in a hurry), so we aren't going to be left hanging nearly as long. We want it really badly, but the offer is a solid one and we indicated to our agent we won't tolerate any more jerking around.
This is the advice I give anyone whose buying a home.
1. Check the county assessors page and get all the facts directly from there. Ignore what Zillow, Trulia, and all the real estate sites say. That value is not based on jobs, location, etc. It's based on what realtors are able to sucker people into paying. If you buy a house based on the value anywhere but the county assessors page, you are paying too much and, like a brand new car, it will be worth considerably less before you take it for a drive with your brand new keys.
2. Don't get attached to the house. Get attached to the investment. If it's a good investment, it's the perfect house.
I married and divorced a man who made two major real estate mistakes. I learned from his lessons.
You apparently learned nothing about the ONLY force that determines a home's value: THE MARKET. Buyers and sellers. Not agents. Not assessors. Not realtors.
In fact, the assessed value of a home has little or nothing to do with its market value. That's why they call it "MARKET" value.
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