Unrealistic sellers (home, buy, construction)

[coconutbutter]

Originally Posted by HoustonBornNRaised

You should be prepared to cover all three of those items anyway. Those three are all buyer expenses.

I had to pay all three as well as a survey (lender requested a new one). I don't know any sellers are willing to cover any/a portion of those costs unless they are in position where they *need* to sell since they're a buyer's responsibility. If sellers cover any of those costs, it's because they're offering an incentive.

I'm thinking that the sellers of this particular property probably have a number that they're looking to net, and that any offers below it will be rejected.

I made an incredibly fair offer on a home based on the comps in the area. This home was not in good condition and needed a full remodel. The house was also on the market for 6 months. From what I could gather, the sellers didn't have to sell and would've been more than happy waiting until someone would pay their asking price. Turns out, an investor came along and did...

Originally Posted by Glossa

The homes in my area sell for WAY more than the appraised value, so I'm not understanding this issue.

HCAD appraisal and home appraisal are different. The latter is essentially an overpriced CMA.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by coconutbutter

My friend and I were buying houses around the same time, and the first home she offered on belonged to a difficult seller. He required her to plan her inspections around his calendar because he wanted to be there. Suffice it to say, she walked away. We found out later that his agent was dumping him since this was the third contract where the buyers walked away.
s.

That seller was an idiot. The last place he needs to be is anywhere near the inspection. If I'm selling I don't want to see the inspection report. If an adjustment needs to be made and it's reasonable I'll talk about that...but otherwise I do not want to know the specifics of the inspection

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by Nick_tx

Basically. In the end we offered to cover our closing costs, inspections adn appraisal and submitted a price close to what it would appraise at and they still didn't move. Well at least it's good to hear I'm not the only one. Oh and it's been on the market for over 6 months with almost no activity.

I'm not sure what is unreasonable about the buyer paying their closing costs, inspection and appraisal? Is this unusual at all in a strong market?

[coconutbutter]

Originally Posted by Komeht

That seller was an idiot. The last place he needs to be is anywhere near the inspection. If I'm selling I don't want to see the inspection report. If an adjustment needs to be made and it's reasonable I'll talk about that...but otherwise I do not want to know the specifics of the inspection

I know, right? I don't know if he realized he'd have to disclose the results of the inspection. He had this fear that the inspectors were going to mess up his water pipes, etc. I think he was just nuts.

[Nick_tx]

Originally Posted by Komeht

I'm not sure what is unreasonable about the buyer paying their closing costs, inspection and appraisal? Is this unusual at all in a strong market?

Depends what else you can get for the same price. Why buy a 3 bed when I can get a 5 for the same if not less. It's not really a strong market for the seller when their is a bunch of new inventory.
Mind you I'm only referring to the mpc not the rest of Houston.

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by Nick_tx

Closing and price actually. We made a first offer based on comps for the area. Then after all the negotiations we ended up being $2000 over our top bottom line price. They would not budge on closing even when we came up on price. We made all the consessions, which weren't unreasonable to begin with, and they still wouldn't cover 1/3 of closing. We basically had to walk away.

The seller has their own closing costs, usually more than the buyers'. The buyer's closing costs aren't "given" to the buyer, out of the goodness of the seller's heart. The buyer is basically financing his closing costs.

Pretend a house is $200K. If a seller receives 2 offers - one for $193K - and one for $198 BUT with $5K seller contribution of buyer's closing costs - those offers are identical to the seller. Let's say the appraisal value will be about $195K.

If you are going to ask for some closing costs, your agent needs to make sure the house will appraise for the whole amount. Going back to that second offer above - the house would have to appraise for $198K. One offer will fly - the other not, because of the closing costs dumped in.

Originally Posted by Komeht

I'm not sure what is unreasonable about the buyer paying their closing costs, inspection and appraisal? Is this unusual at all in a strong market?

You can roll them in, but it takes some searching to find a house that will be able to absorb those rolled-in closing costs.

[texas7]

Unless you are paying over the asking price not sure why anyone should pay part of your closing costs unless they were desperate to sell.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by cheryjohns

You can roll them in, but it takes some searching to find a house that will be able to absorb those rolled-in closing costs.

Or, you know, the buyer could write a check for the closing costs like I do.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by Nick_tx

Depends what else you can get for the same price. Why buy a 3 bed when I can get a 5 for the same if not less. It's not really a strong market for the seller when their is a bunch of new inventory.
Mind you I'm only referring to the mpc not the rest of Houston.

OK - well if the market is so buyer friendly then it sounds like you should be negotiating with a builder or someone who's more desperate to sell.

Personally, if the home is priced at where I think market should be and I'm getting interest and traction, I would not consider an offer that included closing costs unless it was otherwise extremely strong. Frankly between buyer agent fees and seller agent fees, and make ready on the house there are already a TON of costs the seller is absorbing. Why pile on?

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by Komeht

Or, you know, the buyer could write a check for the closing costs like I do.

LOL. Not everyone has the money. Some have saved the down payment but never thought about closing costs.