Well, Campers, welcome to September and while the Powers that be decree that Summer will continue until September 22, it has been determined by our resident experts in Rhode Island, California and Florida that Summer ends on the last day in August.
Now being somewhat of a mathematician myself, I believe that if the temperature is in the high 90's then we are still in summer. And that seems to be the case, at least down here in Sunny Texas. Under those circumstances, summer here can cause Santa to deliver presents in a swim suit. I'm not sure what he wears in the frozen tundra of Rhode Island.
But, since it is Monday and my laptop is all warmed up, it's time to get on with the show.
As you regular readers (all 5 of you) remember, last week I had mentioned that our realtor had said he'd received an indication that an offer on our house was in the works.
Very exciting.
A family from Colorado was planning to move to Texas. They had horses and kids and were looking for a bit more land. Since we have a few more acres than they (30.9 > 3) and had horses (which we would be willing to convey) and a barn, we thought this might be a good match.
Yes, Beans, in addition to our house, the offer includes a three bedroom house and two short term, two bedroom rental cottages for tourists are included in the offer. So, they asked if we'd accept a contingency offer. We'd asked our realtor about that. He said they were usually given for 60 days to allow the buyer to sell their house and arrange movers and all the other "stuff" that moving entails.
Sounded reasonable to us and in fact we started looking in College Stations at a few houses. Found one we REALLY liked and were putting together a contingency offer on it. (Contingent on the selling of our house).
Unfortunately (you knew that something like this was going to happen dincha?), when the Coloradians presented their offer, the contingency offer was set to expire Dec 31. That was disappointing but maybe.
However, reading further in the offer...
The offer they made was 20% under asking price. In dollars, it was a quarter million under.
I wish I had planned ahead before I read that offer and come to an agreement with NASA to strap a satellite to my backside and pay me to take it into orbit. I'd be rich!
YGBSM!
Oh and meanwhile, the house we REALLY liked in College Station was sold.
So, back to square one.
Lesson learned, we're not going to look for a house until this one is under contract with a closing date established and paperwork signed.
AND...some money changing hands!
Yeah, I'm just a tiny bit irked! Ahhh...well, no sense pushing the blood pressure off the top of the scale. Better luck next time!
And to answer Beans question. St Joseph is buried right in front of the firepit.
Peace out, y'all!
juvat
Well, poop.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, have you done the bury-St. Joseph-in-the-yard thing yet? (statue of St. J, not actually St. J...) That's supposed to work.
And, of course, probably might mayhaps be a good thing, especially since the grifters from Colorado were asking seriously undervalue. Eh, screw them. Their loss.
Time for a Catholic Joke. I know I'm going to Hell because if I ever bought a Subaru then I'd have to name it "Bernadette." Wacka-wacka-wacka.... So going to Hell.
Beans, Post updated to answer your question.
DeleteOn the other hand, I may not be completely woken up this morning. I'm not sure I understand the joke.
juvat
Double LOL! Beans, that's a well preserved joke! Juvat, look up "Lourdes."
DeleteRe: St. Joseph. Might could be he was indeed looking after you.
DeleteOk, Beans has a VERY subtle sense of humor, and on Joe’ (good) advice, I looked it up on wikipedia.
DeleteLourdes is a town in the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
To quote Paul Harvey “ and that’s the rest of the story”
juvat
Joe,
DeleteLet’s hope so.
juvat
Well, in Real Estate terms Price is the first thing to look at, then if the price is low but the contingencies that can be negotiated same as selling price. The house we owned had been on market for a year. Standing empty. We offered half of what their asking price was. They said no but came down 15K, we countered. It took 2 months of back and forth to get both of us happy. I'll assume you are leaving the rentals furnished. Are they aware of that. That could be a negotiating spot, counter with a number you can live with and then have a number that rock bottom in your mind. Also ask your realtor about any foreclosures in College Station. Amazing what you can get for almost nothing. And yes, in your price range there are always houses. Good time to buy with prices stagnate. I love buying bank foreclosures. Bought one for their payoff figure. Sellers had to bring money to the table but my initial investment was almost zip. Sold it and more than doubled my investment. Good Luck. But you have an interest enough to begin negotiating. If your agent didn't suggest this I might be looking for new one.
DeleteAnd that wicked and twisted sense of humor will have St. Peter giving me "The Look" when I show up.
DeleteI got the inspiration for the thoroughly tasteless joke after watching the 1943 "The Song of Bernadette" with Vincent Price as possibly his most scary role, that of a bureaucrat. Excellent movie, well done, and, yes, Bernadette went through Hell on this Earth before shuffling off her mortal coil. Beans' Family Recommendation!
I agree, Beans. Saw it twice a year, 1st through 9th grade. Didn't really appreciate the acting until in my 30s, though.
DeleteVincent Prince does an excellent job in his portrail of a cultured, urbane slime ball. But that ending sort of rips your heart out. https://youtu.be/l_fArPP92EQ?si=6AwfnEJCsZAfZPTt
Vincent's character's ending was, well, darned sadly good. What does an atheist do when presented with overwhelming evidence of God?
DeleteAnd Bernadette's ending is very typical of saints. Suffer here on this Earth to be free of pain in Heaven.
20% under?! Talk about wasting your time juvat.....oh well, heckva way to learn the process. Can't blame you for being...uh....irked though, watch that blood pressure.
ReplyDeleteNylon,
DeleteAgreed. We've had 3 groups express "interest", of them 2, this one and the first one from California, both seem to be "grifters" more than legitimate buyers. Haven't heard from the third one in quite a while, so either he found a better deal, is putting together the paperwork and prepping to make an offer or is Grifter #3. I'm hoping for option 2.
juvat
Your agent should have a conversation with THEIR agent about wasting everyone's time with such a lowball offer. They didn't do their job advising the grifters their 'bid' was a slap in the face which was going to be rejected.
DeleteRick,
DeleteThat's kinda the way I felt, but based on a couple of comments further down, I'm going to turn off my Fighter Pilot shoot 'em in the face strategy and talk to my agent about what to do next. Which kinda also follows your advice, so thanks.
juvat
Sucks about the house not selling and losing the other one. You'll get through this, somehow!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know. However, patience isn’t one of my virtues. Guess I’m just gonna have to work on it.
Deletejuvat
Patience is for cargo haulers. You're a fast attack kind of guy and you want it quick and you want it now. Totally understandable. Plus now that you made the decision you want to, see statement above, attack it right the heck now.
DeleteOne of these days the entire real estate market will freeze solid because it will come full circle because everyone is waiting on contingency offers based on #1 being able to sell, but wants to buy #100 in the contingency chain.
ReplyDeleteJoe, you could be right. That would really suck!
Deletejuvat
I offered 20% less than asking on our current humble abode hoping they would meet me at 10%. It was not meant as an insult to the seller, but showed interest. They did meet us in the middle with all parties happy. I expressed to our realtor where I felt the price should be and he did his job and conveyed it to the seller. Don't chuck the offer, but bargain it to where you think it should be. Just my 2 cents, and worth exactly that.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ralph, good advice
Deletejuvat
At 20% the offer would have been a starting point and you have to start somewhere, as plus it is an offer! The market sets the price... From what I can see the days of counting the bids above the asking price are done... for now.
DeleteGood luck..
Rob,
DeleteWhile we would've loved an offer above the asking price (duh!), we had no expectations thereof. The quarter mil low ball shocked us. 50K-100K was the range we were expecting (being the "expert" real estate assessors we are (not)). So, we're going to see our Realtor in the next day or so and talk some turkey. We will need some return on our investment as we're going to be buying another house when we move. So...This fight ain't over til it's over!
juvat
In the housing game, (from what I see on House Hunters, as its been 3 decades since we last played with out own assets) it seems that low ball offers are not unusual. And, that sometimes eager or desperate sellers accept them. But, most of the time the sellers counter offer with something more rational. Sellers often bake in some extra in their price to allow for the inevitable haggling. Or, did you actually expect to get no less than what you listed it for?
ReplyDeleteSo, for an offer 20% under and 120 day contingency--- maybe counter with something 5% under and a 45 day contingency clause? With a hefty earnest money, non-refundable if not closed upon on time.
For you it's emotional and a home, one you built. For everyone else, it's just a business deal.
Good luck.
JB
Real estate agents may be charming people, but I doubt if they truly have the best interests of their clients firmly attached to their hearts and brains when the lure of hefty commissions may whisper in their ears to just make the darn deal so they get their money and run.
Sorry you lost the one you liked, but there are plenty of houses on the prairie.
Thanks JB, good advice that makes sense. I’ll talk that over with our agent and see what he thinks. (We haven’t actually responded to the “offer” yet)
Deletejuvat
We are currently "in the process" of selling ours, the one we've lived in since '98.
ReplyDeleteOur realtor says, "Drop the price some more n' it'll sell (maybe)."
Heck! The value of the timber on the property is worth almost as much as what we're asking.
Our realtor also tells us that we're currently in an extremely strong buyers' market; in our area a lot of really fine houses at really good prices are jes' sittin' there twiddlin' their thumbs.
Boron,
DeleteYeah, we've bought our property just about the same time you apparently did. (The only "timber" we have on the property is mesquite, good for smoking meat, not much else!)
Based on the advice all y'all have given us, we're going to go have a strategy session with our realtor shortly. See what he has to say.
juvat
Boron- Sell the timber & bank the money then reduce the house asking by "a little"?
DeleteSpend anytime in any kind of sales and you adopt the attitude, buyers are liars. For professional ass***** like me, that isn't a problem. For good, decent people who try to life a decent life (do unto others, etc.) it is a problem. Usually, a sale is made when the buyer is ready, which is seldom convenient for the seller.
ReplyDeleteThere is a method to negotiating as a buyer. Offer two/thirds the asking price and see what the seller will counter. As a buyer you may be willing to pay the asking price but want to test the seller. Mean? Yes. Way many people do business? Yes. As a seller, my rule is no cash up front, no conversation. Harsh? Yes. Weeds out the tire kickers and dreamers.
You are in a dogfight. Do you play nice in a dogfight?
Sarge,
ReplyDeleteOver 8 million hits, Well Done!
juvat
Most of which are spambots.
DeleteSigh ...
I don’t know, Beans and I have posted at least a quarter of that number, you’ve got at least half. The rest of the gang should have closed the remaining minus 1 % or so.
Deletejuvat
Blogger's statistics are like the government variety, catchy most mostly nonsense. DAMHIK.
DeleteSigh. That is the problem with contingency offers: they are so dependent on so many things not in our control. Mind you, looking for a new house is a lot more fun that selling the old one...
ReplyDeleteFrom other things I am reading, it is very much a buyer's market at the moment. That said, patience is a virtue (and I am no better at it than you are).
THBB,
DeleteYeah, I'm learning a bit about that patience thing finally
Thanks
juvat
Are the sellers offering a low ball offer because it's going to be a cash deal? Are they wanting a survey, has the acreage been staked. Septic report? Cash is king and if no bank or mtg company needed if changes approach for you. What Exactly are you leaving. You arrive at a price, everyone buying makes a low ball offer on first try. If they put money up then you have an actual buyer. Can you move if you haven't found a house? Are you willing to rent for 6 months? Do you have any machines or tools in your workshop you would be willing to negotiate in the purchase price? You may work it out eventuality but with money on the table counter and counter again. Last house I bought took 7 counters to arrive at final price.
ReplyDeleteAnon, all good points. It's been 27 years since I sold a house and that was in an up market in DC. Went off like clockwork. This isn't exactly those circumstances, I'll have to ponder a few of those questions and that good suggestion at the end.
DeleteThanks
juvat
Those savvy Trump kids having no problem buying houses with all that crypto.
ReplyDeleteIf you say so.
Deletejuvat
Reported to be 5 Billion. They deserve it with all that hard work and pulling themselves up by the bootstraps.
DeleteHow savvy is your realtor? If they low-balled you at 20% off, maybe they're hoping to pay 10% less? I don't envy your situation. Sorry about the beauty that sold.
ReplyDeleteOof... that sucks.
ReplyDeleteRemember, realtors are not your friends. They want a sale. No matter what happens, they make money.
ReplyDeleteCounter the offer - the fun begins. When we sold Santa Cruz there were way too many days of offers here, offers there. All seemed to have some secret screw the seller mechanism. It wound up OK, but I didn't like the "School of Patience and Wait and See."
Fuzz, D4
Fuzz,
DeleteFirst sentence is true, no doubt. But other than the Mrs, he's the only one on "my side" such as it is. In the month or so we've been for sale, we've had 5 groups do a walk through. He's said, given the listing price, that's a pretty high number of lookers. The guy from Colorado may still be interested and is looking for an offer for his property which, again, depends on the market. No FIRM offers. Patience isn't one of my virtues, but, I guess I'd better start practicing it.
Thanks
juvat