Well, here goes. The start to our trek North to Maine, our new home-state. (Portland: live in, restaurants)
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I like this house too much for it to fall through. I'll work with the seller. The house is currently owned by a living trust. So, it would be up to the trustees to either have the work done or credit us with the cost. I, personally, would much prefer to supervise the installment myself than trust an installation that was the cheapest the owner could find. Kinda like the astronauts put their lives in the hand of the lowest cost rocket bidder! Fingers crossed it's the numbers will be low. These new houses are quite tight and probably hold contaminates in far better than the older, looser homes out there. We'll be sure to follow all this up. The lab we've contracted with is Peak Performance Home and Building Inspections and they get five stars in their reviews.
I like this house too much for it to fall through. I'll work with the seller. The house is currently owned by a living trust. So, it would be up to the trustees to either have the work done or credit us with the cost. I, personally, would much prefer to supervise the installment myself than trust an installation that was the cheapest the owner could find. Kinda like the astronauts put their lives in the hand of the lowest cost rocket bidder! Fingers crossed it's the numbers will be low. These new houses are quite tight and probably hold contaminates in far better than the older, looser homes out there. We'll be sure to follow all this up. The lab we've contracted with is Peak Performance Home and Building Inspections and they get five stars in their reviews.
When we bought our agent highly recommended asking for a credit rather than asking them to fix it because of exactly what you mentioned--you want to be able to select and supervise your own people.
When we bought our agent highly recommended asking for a credit rather than asking them to fix it because of exactly what you mentioned--you want to be able to select and supervise your own people.
I agree although this is not always possible; certain loan products will require work be done (and verified by the appraiser at the borrower's expense) prior to closing.
FWIW....In business, it is normal practice for the selling party of a good or service to have first crack at rectifying a deficiency. If the work is to be done by the seller, it should be agreed upon that the buyer can have the work inspected. (I doubt that realtors like that as it is another possible bone of contention.)
And, I am sure that there are times when a credit is given by a seller and no work is ever done.
FWIW....In business, it is normal practice for the selling party of a good or service to have first crack at rectifying a deficiency. If the work is to be done by the seller, it should be agreed upon that the buyer can have the work inspected. (I doubt that realtors like that as it is another possible bone of contention.)
And, I am sure that there are times when a credit is given by a seller and no work is ever done.
Everything is negotiable, more often than not, the seller would rather credit than have the work done as they are moving on and have issues where they are headed. I'm not sure what you refer to about REALTORS not liking seller's fixing the property, we are here to be of service to our clients and execute their requests. You are correct about some buyers not using the credit to fix repairs, one way around that is to have checks cut at closing from the seller's proceeds to the various vendors that have supplied estimates that have been approved by the buyer.
Not getting on Realtors. But some don't like any possible complications and will discourage buyers/sellers doing things that can be new possible problems. We have had our house for sale in NC, and from the inspector's report, I proposed to fix items A through G. Our realtor discouraged that, and said that was not normal, rather than trying to mediate the situation. So I agreed to a concession on $$. I won't likely do that again. BTW, she will not be our realtor after her listing expires on June 15....
(BTW#2, the buyer kept stalling, and wanted additional extensions to the Due Diligence date; we finally said NO More Extensions, and the buyer left in a huff. They had some other agenda...and we're not crying over spilt milk. It's getting into prime rental season and the Outer Banks is OPEN to all visitors.)
Not getting on Realtors. But some don't like any possible complications and will discourage buyers/sellers doing things that can be new possible problems. We have had our house for sale in NC, and from the inspector's report, I proposed to fix items A through G. Our realtor discouraged that, and said that was not normal, rather than trying to mediate the situation. So I agreed to a concession on $$. I won't likely do that again. BTW, she will not be our realtor after her listing expires on June 15....
(BTW#2, the buyer kept stalling, and wanted additional extensions to the Due Diligence date; we finally said NO More Extensions, and the buyer left in a huff. They had some other agenda...and we're not crying over spilt milk. It's getting into prime rental season and the Outer Banks is OPEN to all visitors.)
Like most professions, there is a wide spectrum of of competency and willingness to work among real estate agents. It's very important in your initial interview to discuss how she/he works prior to signing a contract and make sure that there is a good fit. The agent should also tip you off to what a buyer might ask of you before you list the house. You should also ask for specific references of houses that they have sold recently either as a listing or buying agent.
As for negotiating repairs, it really depends on what type of local market you are in, if you have multiple offers at or above list price as is common at the average price point in Southern Maine, you are not going to need to do as many or credit as much, if any. If you are in a more balanced or buyer's market the opposite is true. There are micro markets in neighborhoods and price ranges, you can't just assume the market is the same for a $300,000 house and a house listed at $450,000, even in the same neighborhood. Your agent needs to know and share those numbers with you before you list, when you receive an offer and when you receive the request for repairs or credits.
There has been a lot of talk here about the hot market in Maine. How hot it is? Well, we just spoke to some friends of ours here in Connecticut and they've been looking in Maine for a while and finally quit. Why? Because every house they were ever interested in was spoken for before they could get back up and make an offer. They tried many times without success. They ended up buying back here, unfortunately. Maine was their destination.
My wife and I were incredibly fortunate that we didn't lose the house we found. It was on the market for only 23 days when we saw it for the first time. It was the first house we looked at during our three day trip, too. For whatever reason we figured we had time to make a decision and moved onto nine other house over three days. Then we went home only to realize how dumb we had been and could not beat feet back to Searsmont to put in an offer after a second look. As I said in my post a while back, we almost lost it two not one but two snipe bids that just about torpeadoed us. We were so lucky because the last thing we want to do, now, is go back on the trail and drive back and forth across that beautiful state looking and looking again only to be comparing what we could have had had we responded earlier.
A note to anyone in the market for a home today in Maine. Get your financinig together and know what you want in a house because when you find it, if you want to live here, you have to be able to make an on-the-spot decision. It's not fair, I know. My wife really felt pushed but, in the end, she agreed it was certainly the right choice. This isn't like buying a pair of shoes or even a new car. It's going to be your new home where memories will be made and your lives centered. You'd like to be able to really examine the surroundings etc. Well, this is the way it is now at least there, The Way Life Should BE. Obviously Maine has something to offer that few other places do. So, bring your "A" game up here and be ready to pounce.
There has been a lot of talk here about the hot market in Maine. How hot it is? Well, we just spoke to some friends of ours here in Connecticut and they've been looking in Maine for a while and finally quit. Why? Because every house they were ever interested in was spoken for before they could get back up and make an offer. They tried many times without success. They ended up buying back here, unfortunately. Maine was their destination.
My wife and I were incredibly fortunate that we didn't lose the house we found. It was on the market for only 23 days when we saw it for the first time. It was the first house we looked at during our three day trip, too. For whatever reason we figured we had time to make a decision and moved onto nine other house over three days. Then we went home only to realize how dumb we had been and could not beat feet back to Searsmont to put in an offer after a second look. As I said in my post a while back, we almost lost it two not one but two snipe bids that just about torpeadoed us. We were so lucky because the last thing we want to do, now, is go back on the trail and drive back and forth across that beautiful state looking and looking again only to be comparing what we could have had had we responded earlier.
A note to anyone in the market for a home today in Maine. Get your financinig together and know what you want in a house because when you find it, if you want to live here, you have to be able to make an on-the-spot decision. It's not fair, I know. My wife really felt pushed but, in the end, she agreed it was certainly the right choice. This isn't like buying a pair of shoes or even a new car. It's going to be your new home where memories will be made and your lives centered. You'd like to be able to really examine the surroundings etc. Well, this is the way it is now at least there, The Way Life Should BE. Obviously Maine has something to offer that few other places do. So, bring your "A" game up here and be ready to pounce.
Well said, Cuffler. Buyers should have financing lined up with a pre-qualification letter in hand prior to looking at any houses.
There has been a lot of talk here about the hot market in Maine. How hot it is? Well, we just spoke to some friends of ours here in Connecticut and they've been looking in Maine for a while and finally quit. Why? Because every house they were ever interested in was spoken for before they could get back up and make an offer. They tried many times without success. They ended up buying back here, unfortunately. Maine was their destination.
My wife and I were incredibly fortunate that we didn't lose the house we found. It was on the market for only 23 days when we saw it for the first time. It was the first house we looked at during our three day trip, too. For whatever reason we figured we had time to make a decision and moved onto nine other house over three days. Then we went home only to realize how dumb we had been and could not beat feet back to Searsmont to put in an offer after a second look. As I said in my post a while back, we almost lost it two not one but two snipe bids that just about torpeadoed us. We were so lucky because the last thing we want to do, now, is go back on the trail and drive back and forth across that beautiful state looking and looking again only to be comparing what we could have had had we responded earlier.
A note to anyone in the market for a home today in Maine. Get your financinig together and know what you want in a house because when you find it, if you want to live here, you have to be able to make an on-the-spot decision. It's not fair, I know. My wife really felt pushed but, in the end, she agreed it was certainly the right choice. This isn't like buying a pair of shoes or even a new car. It's going to be your new home where memories will be made and your lives centered. You'd like to be able to really examine the surroundings etc. Well, this is the way it is now at least there, The Way Life Should BE. Obviously Maine has something to offer that few other places do. So, bring your "A" game up here and be ready to pounce.
Absolutely, the lets go home and think about it is just a waste of a trip.
Motels are cheap, come for a few days and be ready to cut a check .
We lost out several times to builders who bought $15K houses, fixed the plumbing etc and flipped them within months. Thats gotta be quite the opportunity for someone unafraid of work.
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