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A 3 car detached garage was built, new carpet throughout, new marble tile in bathrooms and new countertops in the kitchen.
I am not saying that the seller is under obligation to respond nor am I saying that the agent should not do as instructed by the seller. I am only stating that in my opinion they are playing a game without being honest. I have a bad feeling about the agent. I don't know anything about the sellers so sure they could be instructing the agent but I think not. Another exampl is when we first went to see the house we drove an hour to get there and the agent had givin the wrong code to get in. He had said to my agent, when you get out there, if you have any problems at all call me. I will have my cell on and be available. So we waitied a good 45 minutes with my agent calling numerous times. Never received a call back or an answer. We eventually left without getting in. The next day when she still could not reach the agent, she contacted the agents office to get the code.
They did counter at 128,900 1k less than asking and offered to pay 2500 to closing costs. I have not responded yet.
A 3 car detached garage was built, new carpet throughout, new marble tile in bathrooms and new countertops in the kitchen. New roof in 09 and I think a new furnace.
If you have the cash to close, I always prefer to work the price down vs. the closing costs. Here in my area, the tax appraisal is almost always identical to the sales price. So, I try and get my tax appraisal basis as low as I can and I am one of those people who refutes the tax appraisal whenever it makes sense.
However, if you are thinking the sales price if higher might not support the appraisal (may not appraise out) and that might help after the deal to get the price down more....then there's another angle. However, my thinking has always been that if the house doesn't appraise and the seller has agreed to closing costs, the first thing the seller will do as response to this issue is want to lower the price by shifting closing costs concessions to price concessions........ so some things for you to consider as you mull over the counter.
Went through the process about 8 months ago as a first time homebuyer. At first we were very excited and felt so pessimistic towards the end but finally ended up buying a home that we liked. At the end, we were so relieved to be over it. Hang in there!
The house that we bid on was not the first house. It is move in ready, pending the inspection.
We got the call from our realtor this morning. She said thet the sellers realtor spoke as though they were going to reject our offer but said the realtor did not come out and say that. Seller is supposedly out of town until mid week. Sellers realtor said that he had shown the house to someone else a couple weeks ago (his client) and they had scheduled anothr showing but due to rainy weather, had cancelled and would be rescheduling. He thought that person may make an offer.
My realtor suggested we either up our offer or start looking at other houses. We really really love the house. It is in the exact town we want to live in and being such a rural area, there isn't a lot on the market.
My personal opinion is that th sellers realtor is trying to wait and see if a higher offer is made, which would be by his own client, giving him my realtors percent of the comission in addition to his own. It does not sound like he is being honest about the sellers being out of town. If so, wouldn't he of said that right away?
I don't know what to do. Like I said, we really want the place but I'm not sure doing business with the sellers realtor is worth it. I feel like he might not accept any of the offers and instead wait to see if he can get full comission.
Thoughts? Ideas?
They are pulling on your chain. We have these new inventions called Email and mobile phones.....If I had a house listed and went out of town, I would be checking in. Good offers can get away.......can turn into a very expensive vacation. Don't up your offer without a signed counter.
I don't bid against ghost, and I've also been known to lower my offer after a highest and best charade. They will quickly get the message.
They did counter at 128,900 1k less than asking and offered to pay 2500 to closing costs. I have not responded yet.
The place has been on the market for a year and they came down a whole grand as a counter? I don't buy the "out of town" and unable to contact agent nonsense, being left standing in the street with the wrong code and the agent not answering their phone. I have zero patience for those kind of games. I'd walk.
The place has been on the market for a year and they came down a whole grand as a counter? I don't buy the "out of town" and unable to contact agent nonsense, being left standing in the street with the wrong code and the agent not answering their phone. I have zero patience for those kind of games. I'd walk.
The 1K counter may be to send him a message that his lowball offer is not workable. If that's the case, when he submits a good offer they may reply with a good counter offer.
Just a guess, there's no telling the whole story without knowing all the details.
I really appreciate everyones suggestions We looked at a few more homes tonight and they were not at all what we were looking for. We decided to counter with 122,900 final. I feel like they may not even accept that or maybe we offered too much, ugh!
My agent was able to find that they did purchase the house for 70k. I have seen the before pictures from the old listing (address was listed different than the new one) and they did make improvements. Of course what they purchased it for really isn't of concern to me but they would be making a profit so I don't know what their deal is and I'm really over playing the game. I feel the agent is sketchy at best.
So now we wait and if they reject or counter we walk. I have had enough.
I really appreciate everyones suggestions We looked at a few more homes tonight and they were not at all what we were looking for. We decided to counter with 122,900 final.
No deal is ever final unless/until the property changes hands.
I hope it works out well for you. Please post your outcome.
p.s. I hope you don't buy it too sweet for the seller.
It sounds like they are flippers. They bought in 2009 and it's been on the market for over a year. Did they ever actually live there? It sounds like they are in no hurry to sell and can hold out for as close to their listing price as possible. Then it becomes an issue of whether you are willing to keep creeping up while they hold their position. That's not something I would participate in but if you really want the place, expect little in the way of negotiation from the seller.
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We looked at a few more homes tonight and they were not at all what we were looking for. We decided to counter with 122,900 final. I feel like they may not even accept that or maybe we offered too much, ugh! 
