Is a difficult seller reason to walk away from a deal?

[dblackga]

Unfortunately, so many sellers have heard "it's a sellers market!" that they tend to lose all sense of perspective and are counting those eggs before they hatch. Who knows what this seller's financial position is? Maybe she is just an unpleasant person, maybe she's inexperienced in real estate transactions, too . . . who knows.

She will probably continue to be unpleasant -- it seems to be in her nature. But that's ok -- you aren't buying the seller, you are buying her house. She'll be gone.

The ONLY thing you might run into is if your appraisal hasn't been done, yet, and it comes in below the sales price. Your mortgage company will only loan you based on the appraised value, not the sales price, so if the house is $400,000, and it only appraises for $390,000, a couple of things may happen, depending on your contract:

1. You notify the seller, and the seller has an opportunity to review the appraisal.
2. They agree to reduce the price to $390,000 OR
3. You agree to still pay $400,000, knowing that you will have to come up with an extra $10,000 at closing, OR
4. You agree to a division of the difference, OR
5. Seller refuses to negotiate, and you walk away and get your earnest money back.

You may also run into issues if the appraisal and your loan confirmation aren't delivered on time. Many contracts have a specific date when the appraisal is due, and when the loan approval is due. Most sellers will agree to extend the deadline if necessary, figuring "a bird in the hand" is better than starting all over, especially since it's usually a bank delay, not the buyer's delay. But if the seller has a better back-up offer in their back pocket, they might play hard-ball and say, "Nope", thus leaving you between a rock and a hard spot, and be unable to negotiate any appraisal issues.

It has been my experience that first time buyers tend to ask for everything and the kitchen sink from the inspection report. They are taken aback by the red letters, "CAUTION - WARNING", etc., and suddenly feel they can't live without a GFCI outlet in the kitchen, where none has existed for 60 years. Or perhaps your seller is in severe financial straits and simply cannot afford to make the repairs. Who knows?

Deep breaths, Alex.

[cully]

I notice you said your agent was finally able to deal with the seller where, before, your agent could only deal with the seller's assistant. You mean like a sect/personal assistant and the seller has no agent?

At any rate, as other said, your appraisal will likely be the next point where something may come up; then your walkthru.

As far as the walkthru, you'd be more protected the more things you and your agent wrote into the contract to convey.

Don't be rushed on your walkthru. Take your time. Better the seller isn't there. Write down your expectations before you go and carefully check them. Bring your ipad or legal tablet to write down any issue so you don't forget.

At settlement, you can forget about the items you wrote down

or you can hold up settlement until those items are returned to the property...but consider your loan commitment period when doing that.

or you can see if they'll do an escrow.

Also, consider not having the movers scheduled for the afternoon after closing. If it works with your rental, wait till you close and funds are dispersed.

[Jkgourmet]

You guys realize that Alex, the OP, started this thread in 2013 right?

[cully]

Oh, man. You're right. I know c d encourages picking up on forums but this is where people take it too far....tooooo many years have passed.

[Spottednikes]

Safety items should probably be fixed...ie, exposed wiring. Not things that were within code when built like arc fault protectors in bdms, or two drains in pools.
Remodel expenses are not repairs and shouldn't be in there.
SomSomething like an oven or ac not working or a leak in the plumbing should be fixed. Asking for a toilet that runs to be fixed is pushing it on anything but a cheap first time buyer home.

[Piney Creek]

Even though an older post, this has been very interesting and educational.

I'll soon be on the seller's side, and one thing to remember is that before a house even goes up for sale the seller has probably already been badgered to make all sorts of expensive renovation changes. If you've already poured $20K into getting a house ready for sale, you're likely to be a little ticked off when a buyer wants more remodeling done (even though I'm sure these changes seem very reasonable to the buyer).

If I was in the seller's shoes, especially in a hot market, I'd probably say no and look for another buyer. Just my 2 cents.

[bookspage]

I know this is an old thread, but we got annoyed with a seller last year and walked away.

They wanted to water down the inspection contingency so we could do an inspection but they wouldn't fix anything. This was on a house that was not priced as a "fixer"

I think when you're the seller you need to realize that good buyers will walk if they get spooked or even annoyed

So don't do stupid things!

[David A Stone]

When I bought our house I specifically stated that minor things I would take care of and anything major I " would walk"


(the realtor made it clear the seller was not budging on repairs after accepting my offer )