SOOO Angry......(long)

We live in MD and have been trying to sell our house since August. Since then, we've dropped the price 30,000 and are now selling it at a price where we will walk away having made no money, as we refinanced it the current amount (300,000). The house and property (half acre) are worth approximately 350,000.

We've had this woman over the course of the past 3 weeks come to see the house four times. She didn't have an agent, so she's been working with our agent. She said she loved the house, and definitely wanted it because of the school district.

Our agent is a good friend, so I know he was very forthcoming about our situation from the get-go (moving due to job, no negotiating on price, past appraisal, past home inspections). She was even willing to forgo the home inspection (we've only been in the house 3 years, so an inspection was done then).

This week, she calls our agent to put in an offer and write up a contract. We were thrilled. He calls us that night and drops a bomb on us. She was signing the contract offer and when she got to the price, she says, "This is not what I'm offering...."

That woman offered 30,000 LESS. Exactly 5,000 less than what WE bought it for!!!! The work we put into that house makes it worth considerably more than our list price (we wanted a "quick sale" so we could get our lives back).

She KNEW what our final price was- we refuse to lower the price further (we don't HAVE to move- just wanted to be closer to work). She NEVER mentioned to our agent a lower price. It was even discussed that she would be able to buy the house outright due to the sale of her current home!

I am so angry I could spit. At this point if she tries to come back with a REASONABLE offer (i.e. list price), I want to tell her to blow it out her @ss for wasting our time (I know- cut my nose to spite me face). I know it's a "buyers market" but this is ridiculous....

Ugh, back to square one.....

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

Good luck to you!

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

I'm sorry you are frustrated, but in this market you really can't expect to get your full asking price.
I understand you lowered it since august, but that to a buyer, that means nothing. Did your r/e agent run comps? What are other houses in the area selling for?
I'm not saying you should accept the offer of 30K lower than your asking price, but maybe you should be willing to negotiate a little bit.

Message edited 2/15/2007 10:09:27 AM.

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

Just don't take her offer if you don't have to.

Some buyers will assume that there MUST be a reason why you sell and that you are desperate regardless of what you say.

Just tell her NOT to come back in your house!!!

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Message edited 2/15/2007 10:25:41 AM.

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

sorry I know it's frustrating- but as soon as you tell someone you HAVE to sell- you lose alot of power

I would have offered below asking price also

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Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

We may wind up just pulling it off the market and waiting til the market picks back up. We can't afford to go lower than the list price.

When we bought the house, it needed ALOT of work and is now updated and in move-in condition. Regardless, I thought we were being truly realistic about this (priced reasonably below at first, then lowered it to WAY below assessed value). Even the agent is puzzled by this woman's thought process.

When we refinanced to get rid of our wedding debt, I NEVER would have thought this would happen.....

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

Posted by Porrruss

We may wind up just pulling it off the market and waiting til the market picks back up. We can't afford to go lower than the list price.

When we bought the house, it needed ALOT of work and is now updated and in move-in condition. Regardless, I thought we were being truly realistic about this (priced reasonably below at first, then lowered it to WAY below assessed value). Even the agent is puzzled by this woman's thought process.

When we refinanced to get rid of our wedding debt, I NEVER would have thought this would happen.....

Message edited 2/15/2007 10:42:41 AM.

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

I can understand your frustration. I would be really annoyed to and i wouldnt want to deal with her even if she did come back to the table with a full price offer. However, I agree, you don't want to cut off your nose to spite your face here. There is a lot of money at stake.

The point of the post was not really to discuss the current trend in the housing market or how she should price her house. It was to say that this woman wasted a lot of her and her realtors time when she knew that they weren't going to accept an offer less than full asking price. If you know the score when you are looking at a house, you shouldn't just assume that the sellers are playing games.

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

Posted by Porrruss

We may wind up just pulling it off the market and waiting til the market picks back up. We can't afford to go lower than the list price.

When we bought the house, it needed ALOT of work and is now updated and in move-in condition. Regardless, I thought we were being truly realistic about this (priced reasonably below at first, then lowered it to WAY below assessed value). Even the agent is puzzled by this woman's thought process.

When we refinanced to get rid of our wedding debt, I NEVER would have thought this would happen.....

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

Posted by kerrycec03

Posted by Porrruss

We may wind up just pulling it off the market and waiting til the market picks back up. We can't afford to go lower than the list price.

When we bought the house, it needed ALOT of work and is now updated and in move-in condition. Regardless, I thought we were being truly realistic about this (priced reasonably below at first, then lowered it to WAY below assessed value). Even the agent is puzzled by this woman's thought process.

When we refinanced to get rid of our wedding debt, I NEVER would have thought this would happen.....

So, honestly you don't "really" need to sell? I know its hard, but usually you don't just ask for $xxx with no room for negotiation, seriously I too would have offered less. I would get it reappraised. If your realtor isn't stressing this, then you gotta look at your realtor again. I know I would be EXTREMELY turned off by a seller who says "This is the price, and I'm not going any lower". You were once a buyer, so you can relate. I'm not saying this woman is a little crazy, but I can totally understand where she is coming from. I think you, DH and your realtor need to sit down and discuss how low you can go (maybe even bring the house up to 305K, expecting 299K. That's another thing, list it at 299K, not 300K. I know its so minor, but it does change things.

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

I would actually bump the price up a bit so the buyer would think there is room for negotiation. That way you know how much you can go down.

Most buyer will not buy a house for the asking price, regardless whether it's a steal or not.

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

I'm not sure if this is avail to you in your area, but what if you took it off the listing for 30 days and then relisted it for a price that is btw what you're willing to accept and what you're not willing to go below.

As many of the girls stated, most homebuyer's will not pay asking price - there are instances where it does occur, but for the most part, it doesn't have.

I know I bid on two homes where the owner's refused to come off asking and the house was sitting there for 6 months and one had the audacity to increase his home listing when we put our offer in.

I do agree - this woman did waste your time, but you do have to be careful with what you say in front of certain buyers b/c they may read more into it than you realize.

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

Thanks for all the suggestions ladies. I'm going to talk to DH this afternoon about talking to our realtor. I hated the idea of lowering it to this price as I knew it gave NO room for negotiations.

I suppose the thought process of our agent is that it would be snatched up at this price since it's priced low for the area/school district. He's insisting that the house recieved the most hits on the website in January and that it will happen soon, but I'm getting tired of this feeling of limbo...

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

Posted by lululu

Posted by kerrycec03

Posted by Porrruss

We may wind up just pulling it off the market and waiting til the market picks back up. We can't afford to go lower than the list price.

When we bought the house, it needed ALOT of work and is now updated and in move-in condition. Regardless, I thought we were being truly realistic about this (priced reasonably below at first, then lowered it to WAY below assessed value). Even the agent is puzzled by this woman's thought process.

When we refinanced to get rid of our wedding debt, I NEVER would have thought this would happen.....

So, honestly you don't "really" need to sell? I know its hard, but usually you don't just ask for $xxx with no room for negotiation, seriously I too would have offered less. I would get it reappraised. If your realtor isn't stressing this, then you gotta look at your realtor again. I know I would be EXTREMELY turned off by a seller who says "This is the price, and I'm not going any lower". You were once a buyer, so you can relate. I'm not saying this woman is a little crazy, but I can totally understand where she is coming from. I think you, DH and your realtor need to sit down and discuss how low you can go (maybe even bring the house up to 305K, expecting 299K. That's another thing, list it at 299K, not 300K. I know its so minor, but it does change things.

See, I disagree with this, although I am sure I would be the only one to disagree. I hate the negotiating game. If I was dealing with a seller that said this is my lowest and final asking price, I would appreciate that. I hate thinking about the fact that perhaps if i offered even less the buyer would have come down a little more...... I guess I just look at it differently though.

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

I'm sorry that this woman seemed to be playing games with you. It is so frustrating!

I always like to leave some room to negotiate when pricing houses because the general buyers out there like to feel as if they are getting a "Deal"

I'm not sure how MD works - but maybe now that spring is on the way you should price it slightly higher giving you the power to negotiate.

Some houses can be priced perfectly and it just takes longer for them to sell for some reason. There is a buyer for every house though so try not to get too bummed!!!

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

Message edited 2/15/2007 11:49:48 AM.

Re: SOOO Angry......(long)

I don't think anyone thinks she should sell it for less then what she paid for it

but how would the potential buyer know what she paid?

it's hard to have to resell after only 3 years and esp if you re-fied and did work to the house- it's no where near enough time to recoup expenses, closing costs, and everything else

and since the market became a buyers market it's even harder

the tables have turned now- plenty of sellers jacked up there prices during the peak of the market- they didn't just give there houses away- it's a bussiness transaction

I would never offer asking price in a buyers market, I would never pay sticker for a car and I would buy anything at macy's or bed bath and beyond with out a coupon

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