Selling my house-are the buyers bluffing?

[planner]

We received an offer on our house. We didn't love it and told our agent that we would accept it with the understanding that there would be absolutely no repairs made. Buyer had an inspection and now they want repairs. Part of me wants to say no because that was the deal and part of me wants to say yes to get this over with. Dh says we should wait until the very last minute to say no because the seller is moving from out of state and they will be homeless two weeks from our deadline. He feels they will be desperate to have a place to live and will agree to take the house as is. I'm not sure but I would estimate repairs to be less than $3,000 on a house that is 500k+.

 

We are not desperate to move. We like our house and neighborhood. We just want to be closer to the private schools my kids attend.

 

I feel the buyers knew we would not make repairs and they are changing the negotiation. We expected them to walk away if they were dissatisfied with the inspection report.

[Slartibartfast]

I would say no, the deal was "no repairs" and without waiting. I don't think it would be nice to wait until the last minute.

[fraidycat]

Just reiterate no repairs. If you're not desperate to move, I'd not go through the hassle of selling and moving unless it's really worth it. Like a "can't refuse this offer" kind of situation.

[Annie G]

They're probably thinking it can't hurt to ask. And since you're not in any real hurry to sell at the price they offered, you can say no thanks and put the ball back in their court. They knew the terms when you accepted the offer.  

[datgh]

Tough call.  I guess the question is how long has your house been on the market?  How much interest has there been in it? We sold my Mom's house last year.  After 8 weeks we were ready to entertain anything because only one person had looked at the house so far.  If you aren't having much traffic then the question would be are you priced right? If that is the case then coming down a few thousand would be reasonable.  On the other hand if there is a lot of interest I might hold out.

[planner]

House was on the market just under 2 months. Tons of showings. We are priced 100% reasonable. We had another offer for this same amount but the buyer had some potential performance issues and an extended closing date we didn't want to deal with. Getting another offer at this price is just a matter of patience.

Tough call.  I guess the question is how long has your house been on the market?  How much interest has there been in it? We sold my Mom's house last year.  After 8 weeks we were ready to entertain anything because only one person had looked at the house so far.  If you aren't having much traffic then the question would be are you priced right? If that is the case then coming down a few thousand would be reasonable.  On the other hand if there is a lot of interest I might hold out.

 

[Arcadia]

If they are relocating from out of state, they would usually be helped with housing whether renting or buying. So they won't be homeless as your husband thought.

Hubby and I hate repairs as none of us are great at home repairs. We rather buy a new development which has the developer warranty or just rent an apartment if we relocate. If we had liked an old house, we would have wanted repairs done and would have negotiated or walk away.

Since you are in no rush, I'll just wait.

 

ETA:

I would rather stay in a hotel and enjoy the housekeeping help then buy a house and deal with overseeing repairs and a repair cost that may be much higher than estimated.

[prairiewindmomma]

What does your purchase contract say? If your purchase contract (which should've been written before inspections) says no repairs, and you aren't desperate to sell, then stick with your as is price.  It was part of the consideration.

[Butter]

Asking for repairs or some sort of concession after an inspection is not unusual.  But if you don't want to make the repairs being asked and you don't think these are repairs any buyer would ask for, and you don't mind waiting for another buyer, say no.  The potential buyer can decide if they want to walk or if they really want the house.

[planner]

Yes, but they won't have a home. They will have to get a hotel or rental. The buyer has stated she doesn't want temporary housing because she has young children. She wants me to get out early and rent to her.

If they are relocating from out of state, they would usually be helped with housing whether renting or buying. So they won't be homeless as your husband thought.
Hubby and I hate repairs as none of us are great at home repairs. We rather buy a new development which has the developer warranty or just rent an apartment if we relocate. If we had liked an old house, we would have wanted repairs done and would have negotiated or walk away.
Since you are in no rush, I'll just wait.

 

[Carol in Cal.]

Have they said that they won't take the house if you don't do these repairs?  No, they have just asked you to do them.  Just say no and they will probably take the house anyway, given that the repairs are so cheap.  They might ask  you to drop the price by 3K to pay for THEM to do the repairs after the purchase is completed.  You can say no to that, too.  They are just negotiating.  It's not a bluff or a dare.  It's just business.  Stay calm; I guarantee  you that THEY are calm, with that little to fix on a house of that value.

[prairiewindmomma]

I used to think that most potential buyers are reasonable fair people. Recent negotiations have caused me to reconsider my original belief.  Carol in CA is correct; especially on a 500K house.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Was the house listed "as is"? or was it listed "contingent on inspection"?  

[TranquilMind]

We received an offer on our house. We didn't love it and told our agent that we would accept it with the understanding that there would be absolutely no repairs made. Buyer had an inspection and now they want repairs. Part of me wants to say no because that was the deal and part of me wants to say yes to get this over with. Dh says we should wait until the very last minute to say no because the seller is moving from out of state and they will be homeless two weeks from our deadline. He feels they will be desperate to have a place to live and will agree to take the house as is. I'm not sure but I would estimate repairs to be less than $3,000 on a house that is 500k+.

 

We are not desperate to move. We like our house and neighborhood. We just want to be closer to the private schools my kids attend.

 

I feel the buyers knew we would not make repairs and they are changing the negotiation. We expected them to walk away if they were dissatisfied with the inspection report.

Did your counter offer (or initial listing) state in writing that Buyer was purchasing the home as-is, or that no repairs would be made?  Verbal agreements are not enforceable in real estate.  They don't care if you *said* it.  Buyers ask for the moon these days, in my experience (recently sold a couple homes).    Seriously...I had a buyer ask for "repairs" to be made to a "defective smoke alarm."  It needed a battery.  Ridiculous. 

 

What you do is simply respond on the Counter Offer form that no repairs will be made (should be a box to check for the agent).  If you are feeling generous and want to make the deal happen, state, "Seller will pay $500 to Buyer in lieu of repairs." 

 

You are not desperate.  Don't act like you are.  I'd make one counter and then walk.  You don't have to move. 

[Catwoman]

Honestly, $3k is a small amount for you to spend on the repairs if you want to get the house sold, particularly since the next buyer will probably ask for the same concession after their inspector finds the same problems.

 

Do you suspect the buyers are looking for an excuse to cancel the sale, or is it more a matter of you wishing you had waited for a higher offer from someone else? (I'm not criticizing you for that, if you feel as though you accepted a too-low offer and now the people want you to reduce your price even more.)

 

If you don't care if you sell the house to the family and don't want to spend the $3k, politely reiterate that the house is being sold as-is and that you won't do the repairs and let the chips fall where they may.

 

I do think it would be very mean of you to wait until the last minute to respond to them, though.

[plansrme]

Somewhere, your buyers are posting on an internet message board, "Buying a house; seller says 'no repairs.'  Are they bluffing?"

 

But I agree that if your contract says "no repairs," then you don't do the repairs; but do the decent thing and say so immediately.

[Greta]

$3000 is only 0.6% of $500,000. Either way - for you or for the buyers - this is practically negligible. So it's totally up to you whether or not that is worth cancelling the deal and waiting for another offer. I suspect that if you say no, they will go ahead and buy the house the pay for the repairs themselves, because that's what I would do. Seriously, $3000 is nothing on that kind of purchase!

 

But I will say that I think it is extremely unfair to them, and manipulative, to wait until the last minute to tell them. Please inform them as soon as you've made the decision.

[Carol in Cal.]

I don't think it's either fair or unfair or right or wrong to wait to tell them.

Rather, it is strategic negotiating, which is exactly what they are doing.

 

Something to consider, though--this is a good time of the year to sell a house.  I don't think you should let it appear to be 'sold' right now.  So if it were me I would want to get the house back on the market pronto if they back out.  Also, the longer the house is on the market the more 'stale' the listing gets, so you want to move along sooner rather than later.  IOW, why wait and have the home maybe stay on the market for two more weeks? 

[Catwoman]

Somewhere, your buyers are posting on an internet message board, "Buying a house; seller says 'no repairs.' Are they bluffing?"

 

But I agree that if your contract says "no repairs," then you don't do the repairs; but do the decent thing and say so immediately.

:lol: I was thinking the same thing!!!

[Tsuga]

We received an offer on our house. We didn't love it and told our agent that we would accept it with the understanding that there would be absolutely no repairs made. Buyer had an inspection and now they want repairs. Part of me wants to say no because that was the deal and part of me wants to say yes to get this over with. Dh says we should wait until the very last minute to say no because the seller is moving from out of state and they will be homeless two weeks from our deadline. He feels they will be desperate to have a place to live and will agree to take the house as is. I'm not sure but I would estimate repairs to be less than $3,000 on a house that is 500k+.

 

We are not desperate to move. We like our house and neighborhood. We just want to be closer to the private schools my kids attend.

 

I feel the buyers knew we would not make repairs and they are changing the negotiation. We expected them to walk away if they were dissatisfied with the inspection report.

 

Some people push every boundary and negotiate everything. Such people drive me crazy but they can appear quite normal in other parts of their lives. I don't know what makes them do it. "You said x and definitely not x+1, but what about x+1+0?"

 

I say just don't take it and say no right away.

[Wabi Sabi]

Asking for some repairs after having an inspection is pretty typical. $3k seems like such a small amount to quibble over when you're talking about a house in this price range. FWIW, even if you decide not to do the repairs and this buyer passes, I'd be prepared to face the same issue again with any future prospective buyers. 

[QueenCat]

Did the contract say "no repairs"? Nothing said verbally really matters. On the price point you are talking about, I'd either do the repairs or take off $ to make sale go through. I wouldn't lose the offer on that amount.

[zoobie]

They're probably just asking to see what you'll say. You don't have to agree to all of the repairs.

 

1. Counter with increased sale price that factors cost of repairs

2. Pick one of the bigger items and do it, just to get it closed

3. Say no to all

4. Do all of them

 

What does the realtor say? Usually they'll talk to each other and feel each other out. I'd probably do #2 if my realtor said it would get things done. Not having the stress anymore would be worth it to me.

[Greta]

One thing I did not consider when I posted: if these were things that came to light from the inspection, then aren't you going to be negotiating this again with the next potential buyer anyway?

 

I know that as a buyer, if anything unexpected came up during the inspection, I would consider that grounds for additional negotiations. When we bought the house we're living in right now, for example, the inspector found termites - not something we noticed just walking through! And by state law, that's something that the seller has to take care of.

 

Of course, some inspectors can be overly picky, and I have no idea what sort of repairs your inspector said the house needed. Do you think the next buyer would want these same repairs done, or is this a "no big deal" thing to most people?

[planner]

I'm definitely doing one repair because I live here and I think it's important to MY safety. I'm calling on it first thing tomorrow. I'm considering another. The rest I will price out.  The no repairs was verbal but it really doesn't matter because I can stick with that and they can choose not to accept it just like they could choose not to accept the inspection as acceptable. The repairs are probably about $3000 but that's not the only separation in price point we have. There's the separation between comp pricing and the offer. I have to factor it all, not just the $3000. If this buyer decides to pass, I have the benefit of their inspection to help decide an acceptable future offer. I'm really not worried about selling the house. I have a bottom line and I'm not really going to stray far from it just to make a deal happen. There will be another one or I will happily stay here. I can't lose. I will be happy either way. 

[Carol in Cal.]

Some people are really and seriously nuts when negotiating.

Our prior house had an large attic that was not to code but it did have a wood floor, a regulation size stairway up to it, and kind of hokey walls and ceiling (a little low).  We juryrigged a fan into one of the windows of it so that we could blow out the hot air at the end of the day (it always cools off here at night).  The fan was plugged into an outlet on the light fixture.  OK, hokey, but this was not legal living space--IT WAS THE ATTIC.  The buyers gave us a list of whines about the house to talk us into dropping the price.  One of them was that they would need to properly reinstall the fan.  OH BS, I thought.  I took the fan out and we took it with us.  Problem solved.  Jerks.

[OneStepAtATime]

Sounds like you are in a pretty strong position, OP.  I would definitely get any agreement in writing, though.  I mean everything in writing.  If you end up having to move on to another buyer and "as is" becomes an option again, absolutely get it in writing.  

 

FWIW we did this with a house, put an "as is" clause in, because we absolutely did not have time to work on repairs and had low-balled the house anyway to reflect that we knew it needed repair and to sell more quickly.  We did our own inspection before we ever put the house on the market and shared it with them freely.  They also did their own inspection which matched ours pretty closely.  They KNEW what they were getting into when they signed the contract with the "as is" clause.  Not two weeks after closing the buyers were calling and asking for repair costs.   Thankfully, "as is" was VERY clearly stated.  Several times.  In writing.

[planner]

Sounds like you are in a pretty strong position, OP. I would definitely get any agreement in writing, though. I mean everything in writing. If you end up having to move on to another buyer and "as is" becomes an option again, absolutely get it in writing.

 

FWIW we did this with a house, put an "as is" clause in, because we absolutely did not have time to work on repairs and had low-balled the house anyway to reflect that we knew it needed repair and to sell more quickly. We did our own inspection before we ever put the house on the market and shared it with them freely. They also did their own inspection which matched ours pretty closely. They KNEW what they were getting into when they signed the contract with the "as is" clause. Not two weeks after closing the buyers were calling and asking for repair costs. Thankfully, "as is" was VERY clearly stated. Several times. In writing.

I guess I don't understand people. I can't believe the audacity of asking for repairs after closing. We had someone buy our house and complain about the electrical months later. She called a few times until dh told her not to call again. After that, I only gave my email as contact info for the last house we sold.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I guess I don't understand people. I can't believe the audacity of asking for repairs after closing. We had someone buy our house and complain about the electrical months later. She called a few times until dh told her not to call again. After that, I only gave my email as contact info for the last house we sold.

We had a Realtor threaten to sue us because of plumbing issues after the sale.  Fortunately the plumber had done a lot of work for us (on various rentals) and knew how well we took care of houses.  He signed an affidavit for me after he looked at his records to show that it had been well maintained.  We had a real estate attorney but he was a bit spineless so I threw out his letter, wrote my own much more strongly worded letter threatening legal action against the other Realtor who was harassing me by calling at times like 5 am, threatening to sue him personally.  He stopped pushing the suit against us and the buyers (who really had been pushed into it by him, I think) faded into the woodwork.  All that to say that some people are money grabbers.  And some have unrealistic expectations.  The furnace in our current home failed the week we moved in.  Talk about inconvenient and very bad for us financially.  But we didn't try to get the money from the previous sellers.  We knew the furnace was old when we bought the house.  Things like that happen.  

[gardenmom5]

I doubt they're bluffing.  the buyer's *agent* probably think you're more interested in selling than you are.  ime: agents can give bad advice.

 

It's up to you if you accept the offer with their new demands or repeat that you will do no repairs the house is selling "as is" and their offer is rejected.

 

generally an offer is only good for a 24 hour period or so. there should have been a deadline as to when the offer was no longer valid.  honestly, you don't even have to respond to them again if you don't want to.  you told them your conditions - they didn't like them.  next.

 

we weren't in a huge hurry to sell my mom's condo - and turned down three offers before we got one we liked. 

[Catwoman]

I'm definitely doing one repair because I live here and I think it's important to MY safety. I'm calling on it first thing tomorrow. I'm considering another. The rest I will price out. The no repairs was verbal but it really doesn't matter because I can stick with that and they can choose not to accept it just like they could choose not to accept the inspection as acceptable. The repairs are probably about $3000 but that's not the only separation in price point we have. There's the separation between comp pricing and the offer. I have to factor it all, not just the $3000. If this buyer decides to pass, I have the benefit of their inspection to help decide an acceptable future offer. I'm really not worried about selling the house. I have a bottom line and I'm not really going to stray far from it just to make a deal happen. There will be another one or I will happily stay here. I can't lose. I will be happy either way.

Sorry to sound clueless, but I don't understand what you mean when you talk about "the separation between comp pricing and the offer."

 

If you are saying that comparable homes are selling for higher prices than this buyer offered, why did you accept the offer? It makes sense that the buyer would have wanted to get a good deal on the house, but if you thought the offer was too low, I don't understand why you didn't counter at a higher price.

 

Whatever the case, you accepted the buyer's offer and I think it would be unethical to lead them on and let them think they were getting the house if you don't really plan to sell it to them.

 

Is this really about the $3k in repairs, or is it mainly that you are regretting accepting a lower offer on the house and are looking for a way to get out of the contract so you can sell it to someone else for a higher price?

 

I'm not trying to be snarky here; I'm just trying to figure out your motivation.

[gardenmom5]

okay - rereading. since the repairs were not part of the original agreement - tell them now you will not pay for repairs (future - make everything is in writing).  if they want to continue, fine.  if they retract, you move on.

 

dd's seller did their own inspection and because this is a VERY HOT market, we used it.  (there were three offers in the first two days.)  

[Arcadia]

I'm definitely doing one repair because I live here and I think it's important to MY safety.

The potential buyer might think it is important for her children and her safety too. Besides she might need a mortgage and some banks might pick on the inspection.

[planner]

Sorry to sound clueless, but I don't understand what you mean when you talk about "the separation between comp pricing and the offer."

 

If you are saying that comparable homes are selling for higher prices than this buyer offered, why did you accept the offer? It makes sense that the buyer would have wanted to get a good deal on the house, but if you thought the offer was too low, I don't understand why you didn't counter at a higher price.

 

Whatever the case, you accepted the buyer's offer and I think it would be unethical to lead them on and let them think they were getting the house if you don't really plan to sell it to them.

 

Is this really about the $3k in repairs, or is it mainly that you are regretting accepting a lower offer on the house and are looking for a way to get out of the contract so you can sell it to someone else for a higher price?

 

I'm not trying to be snarky here; I'm just trying to figure out your motivation.

There is a difference between comp prices and the offer. We did counter back and forth a few times. We told them fine, we'll sell at X but don't ask for anything else. They came back asking for the washer and dryer. We initially said no but our agent accidentally included them in the listing even though we told her not too so our agent is reimbursing us for them.

So, we've told them multiple times not to ask for more. Once, they got more. This time they'll get at least one repair because I am repairing for my benefit. Undecided on the rest. I don't regret the offer price. I regret being nicked and dimed when we were very clear there were no nickels and dimes to be had. I have no intention of telling them they can't have the house but I may tell them they can't have the repairs and that's my legal right. I also have the right to research repair costs before making a decision. That's due diligence. I also have the right to respond to the requests in the time frame they gave me. The buyer asked me to take my home off the market for 10 days. They used their full allotted time before requesting ammendments to the contract. Why am I terrible for considering doing the same thing....using my full response time granted to me? I don't think they're terrible for leading me on for 10 days that they wanted to buy the house without asking for repairs. I'm just wondering if they'd walk away if I say no.

[bettyandbob]

Did you put your acceptance in writing with a statement "as is"?

 

If "as is" was in writing, then you restate that and do nothing more.

 

If you did not put this in writing, then you are still negotiating. No one is bluffing. You need to make it clear negotiations are finished and the house for that price is as is.

 

If the buyers back out because you follow your dh's plan, waiting for a new buyer may be harder because your agent may feel you are the ones playing games. $3000 in repairs on a $500K house is nothing in the long run.

[Guest fuemangsh]

I don't think it would be nice to wait until the last minute. 

[LisaKinVA]

The contract says no repairs. That is what the parties agreed to.  If they want to re-negotiate for repairs, that's a different ball of wax.  I wouldn't wait, though.  It's not kind.  

 

I would tell your realtor, no repairs.  And, let your realtor know that if $XXX more were offered as part of the sale price, you would be willing to make X, Y or Z repairs (in essence, increase the sale price to reflect the cost of the repairs.  This would allow them to take out a little bit more for their mortgage, if they don't have cash-on-hand for the repairs.  I'd only do *necessary* repairs to the function of the house, though.  Another alternative is to point them to a home warranty as part of the package deal (which would replace things like dishwashers, water heaters...major appliances and such).  We did that with a house we purchased, and in the first 3 months, the range, dishwasher AND water heater went out. (It was an older home, and everything in the house was original).  

 

Just options.

 

 

[plansrme]

I am not really sure what you are asking any more. Your mind seems pretty made up. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

[The Girls' Mom]

After the housing market bubble popped, buyers started asking for the moon, and many realtors were responsible for encouraging crazy requests.  It is a totally different market out there today than it was 15 years ago.  (I remember having to look frantically at houses the day they went on the market, putting in offers the same day, and having to offer thousands OVER the asking price just to get a chance at getting a house!)

Anyway, neither of you are being unreasonable in this case.  It is just part of the process.  I think in our country we just aren't used to the whole negotiating/haggling over price thing and it makes us uncomfortable.  

 

 

[livetoread]

I don't think anyone is being unreasonable, but your buyer is negotiating to get the most she can. $3000 is a large chunk of change, even though it doesn't seem like much in this context. Paying it would be worth it if you were in a time crunch (you aren't), if you were facing little interest in the house otherwise (you aren't), or if you were going to have to drop the price based on the inspection.

 

I think making the one repair is more than reasonable. Then make it very clear to your realtor that's it. Psychologically, the longer the negotiations go on, the more concessions people who want it more are willing to make. So who wants the deal to go through more, you or her? Even realtors aren't immune to this and may push for more concessions just to get it to go through. Like someone said above, the only one really looking out for your best interests is you.

 

I have never heard of taking your house off the market for a time too. Is that common in your area? It puts the seller at a real disadvantage and unless it is expected there, I would refuse to do it anymore.

[ThisIsTheDay]

I guess I don't understand people.

 

The fault may be more with your buyer's realtor than with the buyer herself.  It has been our experience that inspectors come up with every nitpicky little thing possible in order to justify their expense.  The realtors will then use that as a "fix list" to present to the sellers.

 

I think it's crappy.

 

We bought our current house for a steal.  Following the inspection, our realtor came up with something like three pages of things that needed to be fixed and was going to present that to the sellers. Dh and I said no and only listed two or three things that were important to us (including radon remediation).  It was easy for us to direct our realtor, as we've done this several times before.  Many people just do what their realtor tells them to do.

 

I'm with you, having the list is good, because those may be things you'll need to disclose to any future potential buyers.  But she's the one desperate for a house, and you're not desperate for a sale. 

[Greta]

I also have the right to respond to the requests in the time frame they gave me. The buyer asked me to take my home off the market for 10 days. They used their full allotted time before requesting ammendments to the contract. Why am I terrible for considering doing the same thing....using my full response time granted to me?

Absolutely, if you need that time to research repair costs and make a decision, then use every moment of it! I must have misunderstood, but I thought from the original post that you were saying you would wait until the last minute just to deliberately put them in a tough spot to force a decision. Those are two pretty different scenarios, to me. I realize they aren't different legally, but the motivation is different. I just hate these sorts of negotiations (major purchases like cars and homes). So I shouldn't have expressed an opinion since my view of it is different from most people's. Anyway, you're absolutely right, and I was wrong, you have every right to use all the time. I apologize.

[gardenmom5]

Realtors hate it when the seller refuses to fix things. A loss of a contract is a loss of money for them. No one is really looking out for you, here, except you. Hold your ground, but let them know now that you were serious about no repairs. Be careful, though, you're giving too many instructions verbally. You've got to get all of this stuff down in writing.

 

I think I read earlier in the thread that the buyer was wanting in the house early. May I just advise that you do not allow them into the house early, before they actually own it? Once they are in, you will have no legal way of getting them out other than eviction proceedings, which can take months. There is no way for you to know if the story she's feeding you is true or not. Don't even let them move stuff in early. Wait for the paperwork to be signed at the closing.

 

We had the realtor of the buyer of our townhome call one month after the closing, because the buyer wanted us to fix the dishwasher!!!

 

:iagree: they can also start finding lots of other things they want repaired - and won't close until you repair them.

 

 

if these buyers want everything in pristine working order - they should buy a new house or one that was flipped.

 

your agent should put everything in writing - and I would hold it against the agent if they don't.  while you can verbally agree to things - do not sign *anything* if it doesn't include everything in writing.

 

one other thing to be aware of - with an inspection report, if the bank doing the mortgage gets a copy, there are certain repairs they will require in order to close. you still have the right to refuse to do the repairs - but the buyer's might not be able to get a mortgage.  because my daughter had the seller's inspection report as well as a reputable contractor's list of estimated costs of repairs - she didn't let the bank know there was an inspection report.  (it was a very, very, hot house.)

 

also, inspectors are human, and they can miss things.  there was a small (empty) trash can under the kitchen sink . . . well, behind it was AN ELECTRICAL OUTLET. UNDER the sink.  next to a water source.  dd was having work done after closing, and that just got added to the list.

[gardenmom5]

I just want to add one thing about price .. . prices vary so much from market to market that while $500K in one market might be luxury - in another it can be a starter home.  or anywhere in between.

[Plateau Mama]

Even in an as is sale it's still common to ask. When we sold our house the guy was a nut job. We agreed on a price and said we weren't fixing anything in the inspection. When the inspection came he wanted all kinds of things. Our realtor said, pick 2-3 thing you are willing to do. It will make buyer happy. We did. And he kept asking for crazy things, wanting to walk thru the house etc. finally we said, we will fix x & y but if you ask for anything else the deal is off.

 

So, in your case, since you are fixing one item no matter what, tell the buyer you will fix x and that's it. They will be happy you made a concession and you aren't really out anything because you are going to do it anyway.

[flyingiguana]

It's really up to you whether you want to sell the house for that price with those fixes.  Has nothing to do with the previous agreement-- whether verbal or in writing.  Because the negotiation is in your court right now.

 

Except if the repairs are things the state or city requires from the seller before the sale can go through.  Your realtor should know if that's the case. (eta -- or her mortgage company.  Even then, you still don't have to sell for that price with those repairs unless you decide it's a fair offer and as good as anything else you can get)

 

Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about whether the buyers are playing a game or not, and whether that should make you angry.  The only question is whether you want to sell the house for that price and those conditions.  Or if you want to wait for a buyer who will give you more.

[shawthorne44]

$3000 is still $3000.   Would you flush that down that toilet?   Or stick it in a drawer and forget about it?   No?   So, don't just hand that amount over to the buyers.  

 

I'd tell your realtor that you irritated that they even asked, the answer is No, No, No.   

[flyingiguana]

We bought a foreclosure.  The bank was selling it as is.  There was no negotiation on fixing anything.  If we'd tried the bank would have just said sorry.

 

So if banks can do it, so can you.  But then you miss the sale.  If it's a sale you wanted, then it's your loss.  Doesn't really matter what loss it was to the potential buyer.

 

I'm not saying you're doing this, but I think there is a tendency in these negotiations sometimes to try to punish the other party for what seem to be tricks they're playing.  They may or may not be tricks.  If they are, they may be due to the realtor (there are scummy ones out there).  But whatever they are and whoever is doing them, you just need to make the decision that's right for you without worrying about how it affects the other party or whether you've "won".

 

Renting out to one or the other party before or after closing is actually not that uncommon.  However, you do have to be fairly convinced that you won't have to serve an eviction on her.  WHY can't you make the closing earlier?  If she's breezing into town needing a place to live, that isn't exactly your problem.  Although it might make the deal fall through if she finds someone else who will let her rent before the closing.  Again, though, if you're not comfortable with it, then don't do it.

 

If you are going to rent to her, I would sign an actual lease and do all the usual background checks that landlords do.  If she's got some messy prior history, you want to know about it.  And probably avoid her as a tenant. 

 

If you feel you need legal help to do that, then make sure you add that into the cost side of your decision sheet.

[flyingiguana]

And I'm assuming your house is effectively off the market right now because all the realtors know there is a potential sale in the works.

 

So I wouldn't wait to say no on the repairs.  Then they either accept the house as is or you get back on the market quicker.

 

Or, if you're still not thrilled with their offer even WITHOUT the repairs, I suspect you might be within your rights right now just to say the whole deal is off.  So you can await another offer.  (The realtor will advise against this because they don't want to spend any more time on showing your house.  But ... it's not really their decision either)

 

I don't see much advantage to you to waiting to say no on the repairs.  If I were in your position, I would just tell them your decision and move the process along.

[Tammyla]

I would get back to the buyers quickly, letting them know you are doing the safety repair.  That may be their must have and the other two their hopefuls.  

 

Bluffing, whatever who cares?  All that really matters is do you want this sale.

I'm definitely doing one repair because I live here and I think it's important to MY safety. I'm calling on it first thing tomorrow. I'm considering another. The rest I will price out.  The no repairs was verbal but it really doesn't matter because I can stick with that and they can choose not to accept it just like they could choose not to accept the inspection as acceptable. The repairs are probably about $3000 but that's not the only separation in price point we have. There's the separation between comp pricing and the offer. I have to factor it all, not just the $3000. If this buyer decides to pass, I have the benefit of their inspection to help decide an acceptable future offer. I'm really not worried about selling the house. I have a bottom line and I'm not really going to stray far from it just to make a deal happen. There will be another one or I will happily stay here. I can't lose. I will be happy either way.