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Long story short version form-I have 3bedroom 1and 1/2 bath brick ranch style home for sale. I live in not the best neighborhood and not the worst one either. It has been on the market since Jan. of 2012. After a long agonizing year in 2012 with no buyers, I finally got an offer in February 2013. Inspector came out and yes there were a few minor repairs I had to make. So found a contractor and had those minor issues fixed. Inspector came back out and I passed with flying colors. We were set to close on April 30th. The day after I passed my realtor got my appraisal for my home. It came in lower than what I expected. Lower than the offer that she put on my house. Longn story short - she decided to walk. Im so despondent right now, because I want to relocate to another city. I mean its just the right time. Im out of debt....I have little cushion for savings. The only thing holding me back is this house....and it just seems like I can't unload it.!!!!!! Sorry but had to vent. Thank you City Data for being my sounding board.!!
Correct me if Im wrong but if the appraisal comes in lower than the offer then the bank will only fund the loan for what the appraisal came in at...right? If that is the case I understand why the buyer walked.
That I am not sure about....but Im trying to be patient about selling. Guess I just wasnt expecting her to walk. Just want to relocate and get out from under my home... I mean all signs point to this being the time to do it.
At this point you stop worrying about bullets and you start paying attention to reality. Your house sat on the market for a year with no takers because .......... well, why did that happen ? Usually it happens because it is priced too high,
Didn't your real estate agent tell you that ? The sale fell through this time because.......... well ? - again it is priced too high.
Now that you have an actual appraised value for your home, get it back on the market at or below that appraised value. Have your realtor take a look at very recent comparable sales in your neighborhood ; take a look at your competition ( other active listings ) in your area. Price your home accordingly
Keep emotions out of it; this all about correct marketing. What you paid for it, what you put into it, what you want out of it doesn't matter. All that matters is that the home can appraise for the market says it is worth. It's not going to make you happy, but if you want to sell this is what you have to do.
Willow Wind has offered great advice, and I believe copsgirl is right (at least from my knowledge of bank loans / appraisals). It's possible that this buyer walked because she had to, since the bank wouldn't cough up the necessary amount of financing for the price agreed upon.
I suggest bringing the price down to closer the appraisal amount- because with other potential buyers, unless they're cash buyers you're likely to run into the same problem again.
Good luck and I hope you get more interest in your house soon!
Or consider renting it and being a long distance landlord.
Find a wel respected prop management company in your area and run the numbers. Perhaps in a few years the market in your area will pick up enough that you can put the house up for sale and sell it at a tidy profit.
Unless you have a decent cushion saved however you will probably need to rent at your new location which isn't necessarily a bad thing as it allow you to really get to know an area before you purchase again.
Good luck, renting your home isn't as scary as you might think.
Calm down. Your situation is unfortunate, but not a big deal. Here is what I would do (with the understanding that some of our practices here in NY may be different):
1. Make sure that your contract with the old realtor is officially broken. Get a lawyer to do this if you don't already have one. You don't want the old realtor showing up at your closing and demanding a commission because the house was sold during her contract period. You need to be legally released from that contract before signing up with a new agent. (In NY, if she was signed up with you as a seller's agent and she walked, she would be in ethical breach of state guidelines and you could file a complaint for sanctions against her, including the loss of her license. Frankly, though, your time would be much better spent in ignoring her foul actions and focusing on the sale of your home.)
2. Ask as many people as you can for realtor references. We found word of mouth is best. Once you find a new realtor, don't sign up for more than six months (some recommend three months, but that wouldn't fly in my area). Ask him/her to sit down with you and go over comparable homes in the area. (Just a caveat: to make a quick commission, some agents will show up with comps that are less desirable than your home just to set a lowball price.) Also, don't trust the agent's comps. Find your own. There are usually lots of resources -- internet and otherwise -- to tell you what comparable homes have sold for in your area. Where I'm looking, the local tax assessor puts market values on homes that almost exactly match the most recent sale price, so that has been one of a number of sources for me.
3. If you have to, spend money for your own appraisal.
4. Don't assume that your home is worth less because the last appraisal failed the test. It's possible that 1) the appraiser was not competent and/or may have missed something, 2) your realtor failed to provide the appraiser with solid comps, or 3) a mistake was made on the appraisal. In fact, since the buyers have now backed out, maybe you could get a copy of their appraisal report.
Find a good realtor, do your homework and get your home sale back on track. Good luck!
Willow Wind has offered great advice, and I believe copsgirl is right (at least from my knowledge of bank loans / appraisals). It's possible that this buyer walked because she had to, since the bank wouldn't cough up the necessary amount of financing for the price agreed upon.
I suggest bringing the price down to closer the appraisal amount- because with other potential buyers, unless they're cash buyers you're likely to run into the same problem again.
Good luck and I hope you get more interest in your house soon!
Agreed. OP has to bring the price down to match up with comps in the area. If you dont, anyone else who makes an offer and gets an appraisal done will do the exact same thing - walk. Someone has to bring all that extra cash to the table if the bank will only fund what the house is appraised for. Banks arent going to do it, buyers would be nuts to do it. Plus the fact that it has sat for so long tells me its overpriced
1. Make sure that your contract with the old realtor is officially broken.
2. Ask as many people as you can for realtor references. Once you find a new realtor, don't sign up for more than six months. Ask him/her to sit down with you and go over comparable homes in the area. Also, don't trust the agent's comps. Find your own.
Agreed. Get a decent realtor, who should provide you with somewhat reliable comps. (Ours actually highballed our comps, I thought.) But do check them out on your own. You should have access to the MLS through your realtor, so look at any new listings once your house is on the market, since they're your competition.
And no decent realtor lets their client's house sit on the market--especially for a year--without some sort of reevaluation of why the house isn't selling: price, upgrades, cleaning up clutter, whatever. Potential buyers will avoid a house that's sat there for more than 3-4 months without a price reduction. They believe, possibly erroneously, that something is wrong with the house.
While I wasn't upside down on my mortgage, I took close to a $100K bloodbath in equity to sell my house last summer. It hurt! But that's what it took to get it sold. I got enough to change states and downsize. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet - if not upside down. Only you can decide if it's worth it to you.
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