IME people RARELY factor in the holding costs. It’s like a mental block.
Cb’s offer was 2% under asking, and they countered. So they can’t be more than $10K apart or so… cb is taking a risk not taking the counter and locking it up, over what appears to be a relatively small amount.
I’m surprised the agent didn’t kick in a little to make it happen, since they are getting both sides of the deal.
My Aunt was a house hoarder. Owned 5 when she died, 3 which were empty, one as long as 20 years. She only lived in two. My cousin put them all on the market and didn’t give a hoot what she got for them (within reason.) She was just glad to be done with them.
The $760k (now $699k) house is occupied by the elderly couple. They are stringing it out. However, they go to Arizona periodically to visit their kids. They have an agent in Arizona who has been showing them houses for 6 months. Both the La Mesa agent and Arizona agent must be sick and tired of it by now.
@notrichenough
I wish I could budge the $10k, but I just cannot. The profit margin on this one is slim and that would eat up a big chunk of the gain. I was counting on the listing agent to give a break to the Sellers to match up the offers. I asked the agent point blank if there was a sliding commission agreement if agent brought in the buyer. He said No. I was counting on there being a 1% break to the Sellers in commission from my offer. So this means that the listing agent is making a full 5% versus 2.5% if my offer is accepted.
You’d think the guy would even up the odds a bit to get my offer accepted. However, he is also representing the other financed offer.
I’m not sure if he has made it clear to the Sellers that they will end up on the hook to do the mold remediation at minimum $8k in order for the buyer to get the financing. I just cannot believe that these Sellers would choose $2k more gain (plus a world of headache getting through the escrow) over my slam dunk As Is quick close??? Once again, they are not taking their carrying costs into consideration. The other offer would be at least 30 more days in escrow, if not more.
I have no idea whether more offers came in from the Open House yesterday. No communication this morning yet
What a bummer. The higher offer is a PIA that I would not have chosen. Maybe they count on the other buyers eating up the cost of mold remediation plus some more?
Yeah, all cash + quick close + no contingencies + no remediation is worth a lot. Plus, I’d bet money that that $8K for remediation will turn into a much higher number when all is said and done. Ask me how I know… 
It’s worth something just to avoid the headache of managing that project.
I hope they come to their senses… maybe you can talk to the agent and make sure he emphasizes all that to the seller? Offer him the $500 in missing commission he might get if the full price offer goes through, not that that should be a big consideration considering he’s getting over $30K from this deal. And probably not legal, but that doesn’t stop the agents… 
cb, you’ve made a great offer, your agent has appropriately presented it, and now it’s up to the “children” to consider it. Hopefully one of them has some sense and will figure out what we’ve all figured out. There’s nothing else you can do right now.
Go have a margarita.
Realtors need to turn houses. A contingent house is a pita because realtor still have to deal with inquiries and possibly open houses. Hope this realtor knows that. And he can add to his list of achievements “my listings sell like hotcakes.” Well, that’s what a rational realtor would do anyway.
No news yet on my offer and the Friday 5pm deadline has come and gone. No news usually means there are other offers in the works and they are trying to finalize full signatures on the selected offer before they inform the losers.
AND, to make it worse, the listing agent called yesterday and wanted to “discuss” being the future agent for the resale. Luckily he didn’t start down the path of “I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread…”. I tried to let it hang and not answer, but finally had to explain to him my expectations regarding commission %, staging and marketing. He kind of backed off at that point. But I’m pretty sure he wasn’t too excited to push my offer after that. I’m sure more offers came in and who knows? Maybe one of them promised the relist.
Why does this keep happening to me with these pushy agents? I wish I could find a way to avoid answering or discussing this question until after they earn their commission and I’m in contract.
My experience in this is that if you try to make offers right on the money, some one will come and over bid yours. In this market, I have to cut the profit to buy in a project in hope that the market has moved on by the time I finish.
One experience I had in Berkeley was at 3:30, 30 min from closing the bidding, I called the agent to see if my bid is good or not, I bid 500K on a 450K listing price. The listing broker was excited about my call and my offer, so I was relieved. He never call back with confirmation. 15 days later, it closed at 650K. What a market!
Agent: “Can I list it for you after you fix it up?”
Cb: “You know, I hadn’t really thought about that, that’s definitely a possibility, we can probably work something about, but first I need to get the house and get it going before I can think about that. Why don’t you send me a potential marketing plan though.”
Later…
Cb: “Oh, sorry, an old friend of mine is an agent, I’m giving it to her.”
IOW, promise them anything but keep it short of a verbal contract. You have get down in the mud and get a little dirty…
Don’t engage in conversation about the future.
Just say “I can’t discuss resale until after I own this property.”
If the agent persists…repeat…repeat as often as necessary.
Well, it’s now 9:30pm here and I have not received any communication. I sent two inquiries via text and 2 hrs later I made a phone call which was not answered. It’s amazing how much he wanted to communicate when I was the only offer, but silence since the agent discussion.
I don’t know any agents that don’t leap on their phone calls;)
I have reviewed the comps in the same Neighborhood and think your offer is too low, regardless of the mold situation in the house. You need to raise the offer at least 50-100 k to get the project, that will give little margin for your resale. Unfortunately that is the current market in Cali. The 2008-2012 buyers market is gone and developer’s margins are low, you have to face the reality.
The price of this house is intentionally set low to attract bidding.
It ain’t over till it’s over. You just don’t know.
There is no way I am raising my offer $50k. I had the very best offer as of Thursday morning. But every day that goes by is a gamble.
I finally received a text back at 10pm last night. He is sorry that the sellers did not make their 5pm deadline. He is meeting with them at 10am this morning and will communicate after talking with them.
I pushed him and got info that 3 more offers came in yesterday, which is what I was afraid of. I expect that they will send counters back.
I am only giving my opinion, good luck all the way. Fingers crossed.
Ooooooo – that’s soon. At least this guy is talking to you.