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We live in SC in a 55+ community and put our house on the market at a low price for the area. The house sold in 3 weeks and we are now under contract. The buyers gave us a bargain offer and had us throw in about $5,000 worth of household appliances such as the washer and dryer and all the window treatments which are worth that amount which we accepted at the time. The buyer had the house inspected and found the HVAC needed repair or replacement and 18 really picky things such as changing a battery, trimming bushes and burned out light bulb.since then the HVAC a/c unit broke but the buyers still want to go through with the sale and we need to repair that or replace it. Also we needed to pay for reinspection. Now we are talking even more money to spend on an already bargain priced home.
The realtor has either either not returned phone calls at all or slow about it and got the inspection report on Thursday but never gave it to us until 3:00 pm on Monday since she went away for the weekend. We tried the calling the broker on Sat. Morning and he never returned our call. We complained verbally about the communication problems between the agent and ourselves and that did no good. She wanted us to give her answers on everything by 9:30 the next day. So we agreed to most of the repairs. We felt rushed and with little help from them.The realtor insulted us and so we fired her and the broker (who also would not return phone calls) is now doing the sale.
The problems we are having is that we have lost all faith in our real estate broker - he is clearly working to get the sale through and ignoring our wishes. we just want to get out of this nightmare. They are stepping in and making promises from our sales contract for repairs if we wont agree to them to get the buyer to buy. I have never experienced anything like this. We have lost all faith in him. We indicated that the buyer is not a good fit for our house and he used intimidation tactics like we wont get another sale for a year or we will probably be sued.
Can anyone help us make sense out of this and what to do next? No way do we want to sell for the low price or throwing in all the other stuff and repairs , etc. and we are so upset with the broker, we don't want to even talk to him anymore. He is arrogant and intimidating. Further we could never find a house in our community to replace this one for what we are selling it for. Can we get out of this nightmare?
In situations like this, I think it's appropriate to ask "How would you feel about this if you were the Buyer?" Look at it from their perspective. You've signed a contract to perform and it sounds like your biggest issue is simply Seller's remorse. Still, read your contract again and take it to a real estate attorney to review the contract provisions. While you may be on the hook to fix the HVAC A/C unit, the "18 really picky things" may present the negotiating roadblock you're looking for.
Seller's remorse? Hardly. It sounds like the OP was not given help in negotiations, particularly of repairs. If the house was sold at a bargain price, only necessary repairs, like the HVAC, could have been agreed to. If the buyer did not like that, then find a buyer who would. And who was ever heard of the seller needing to pay for a second inspection? Usually the buyer will just pay his same inspector a small amount to come back and observe that the agreed repairs were performed.
This poor buyer certainly got a dud agent, assuming the story above is complete. On the other hand, the OP may find relief in just finalizing the sale and not needing to possibly go through the whole process again with finding another buyer.
Again, it depends what your contract says about a second inspection. If you have contractually agreed to do a second inspection, than let him pay for it. Tell him YOU will select the inspector though.
If you've not contractually agreed to do a second inspection, than refuse it.
Your best advice though is to see an attorney immediately to understand what you have agreed to do. Right now the actions of the agent and broker are irrelevant. Deal with it later as their actions will not help you get out of this contract. Find out what your contractual obligations are and any ways you can get out of the sales contract without penalty.
You don't have to agree to anything just because the buyer asks for it. But once you DO sign an agreement, you are obligated. If you gave them a bargain price, don't sign any request for fixing anything else.
It's hard to comment without more specific information such as dates. If he got inspections after hours on Thur getting them to you Monday is slow but not dreadful or ignoring you. IMO getting a call from you on a Sat and calling you back on Monday is reasonable if he's out of town and you knew that.
You say you felt rushed but most contracts, and I don't know where you are in SC, have a required time frame for response. The one we use in Columbia requires a response within 5 business days or buyer can cancel. If the AC broke after inspections, again with the Cola contract, you are required to fix it because the house must convey in the condition as when it was contracted.
I hear that you aren't happy but there really isn't enough critical information provided to offer you an educated response or suggestion. I guess if you have questions schedule a meeting with the agent and his broker to do a recap.
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