TranquilMind Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Every time I sell a house, I go through this. I have a house right now that got two offers - one at and one over full price- within a day. House is utter perfection (but an older 60's house -there will always be some minor thing). I got a big list requesting repairs. I'm doing a couple of very minor electrical things that could be done anytime and one was completely obvious prior to the offer! One is an improvement, not a repair. No, I'm not further improving the house for you. You get what you see. Some they could do themselves, easily. Argh. Anyway, am I the ONLY PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE who buys a house and accepts its issues? I'm also buying right now and I asked for exactly....nothing. Anyway, mainly just venting. People are nuts. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I know what you mean. This whole thing of "give me a brand new old house in the exact color you expect me to like" is crazy. We have a beach house on the market (which is a different experience from selling a home-house) and the comments we get back are hilarious to me. You know how you want everything really clean? Well, one visitor said the place was "sterile." We laughed over that one--for one thing, that a house we own could ever be mistaken for "sterile" is a crack-up. The other comment we have had multiple times is that they wish it were more "cabin-y". OK, so get the house and make it more cabin-y. What does that even *mean*? And how will I know YOUR cabin-y from that other guy over there's cabin-y? I don't know--it's pretty interesting. The place is in tip-top shape, which means that when you go to the beach-house, you get to go PLAY, not refurbish, fix, repair, work your fanny off. Or maybe you do, for a weekend, so you can put up some cabin-y beadboard or whatever. It's odd. Me, I always liked getting "virgin" houses -- older houses that had not been mangled by someone else's bad taste (or even good taste that is not mine but now I have to pay for it). Hang in there. I hope your house (and my not cabin-y beach house) sell soon! And as is. :0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I tend to blame House Hunters for creating unrealistic, demandy buyers. 46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I think it's mainly a negotiating tactic. Maybe they are short on cash and need money at closing or something. Since one offered more than full price, counter with an offer that includes a budget for repairs. As an example--if you want 100K and they offered 105 plus you do repairs, counter with 105 and a 2500 repair budget (so your net at 102.5K is still over your asking price.) Obviously adjusted to whatever is a "reasonable" budget and what you're willing to do, costs in your area etc... We've done that with both buying and selling (I guess it seems pretty routine in our neck of the woods--on a townhouse we owned, there was supposedly some issue with the wiring, so we included a $500 repair budget for the buyer. With the house we currently own, the flooring in some rooms was in need of replacing, so when our offer was lower than they wanted, they countered but included a modest carpet allowance. We took the offer but never got around to changing the flooring...) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I agree about the negotiating tactic. And sometimes people can't afford to do *anything* after they get the mortgage, so they try to wrap stuff into the offering price and get stuff done before they buy the house. I get that, to some degree. When we sold our last house, the person who made the offer came back with a laundry list of Things To Be Done. (She was, herself, a real estate agent.) Our agent told us to do a couple of the requests, so that it wasn't a big slap in the face, but that we didn't have to come close to doing all of them. We had already made the house a fine place. And she bought the house; total extra expenditure on our part was $500; her requests all totaled added up to well over $15,000. I think it is important in negotiations to leave something on the table, but that is a two-way street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 when we bought a house long ago our realtor said it is reasonable that 'maintenance' stuff be finished before we closed. If the electrical box in a bedroom isn't working, they should have fixed it already, so you ask. If the gutters are bent and paint on roof edge is peeling off b/c of that, you ask them to fix it b/c it should have been done. But upgrades? no way. we had a house we were selling that I put in writing the gas fireplace did not work. It needed a new starter. Included local guy and $. They wanted it fixed before closing. They paid to have the repair done BEFORE closing. Sale did not go through. I mean, how hard would it have been to just wait a day until after closing? People are crazy. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Every time I sell a house, I go through this. I have a house right now that got two offers - one at and one over full price- within a day. House is utter perfection (but an older 60's house -there will always be some minor thing). I got a big list requesting repairs. I'm doing a couple of very minor electrical things that could be done anytime and one was completely obvious prior to the offer! One is an improvement, not a repair. No, I'm not further improving the house for you. You get what you see. Some they could do themselves, easily. Argh. Anyway, am I the ONLY PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE who buys a house and accepts its issues? I'm also buying right now and I asked for exactly....nothing. Anyway, mainly just venting. People are nuts. Our last sale went like this. Increased my grey hair factor 20%. What's worse, our buyer was working with a realtor who'd only previously worked for a builder selling brand new homes, so neither of them were realistic about the process with a previously owned by several families house. Got all bent out of shape because we didn't choose to sell a certain piece of furniture as part of the deal (which we have done before, but this one the kookoo buyer wanted wasn't a unique sort of piece). Closing day could not come soon enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 I know what you mean. This whole thing of "give me a brand new old house in the exact color you expect me to like" is crazy. We have a beach house on the market (which is a different experience from selling a home-house) and the comments we get back are hilarious to me. You know how you want everything really clean? Well, one visitor said the place was "sterile." We laughed over that one--for one thing, that a house we own could ever be mistaken for "sterile" is a crack-up. The other comment we have had multiple times is that they wish it were more "cabin-y". OK, so get the house and make it more cabin-y. What does that even *mean*? And how will I know YOUR cabin-y from that other guy over there's cabin-y? I don't know--it's pretty interesting. The place is in tip-top shape, which means that when you go to the beach-house, you get to go PLAY, not refurbish, fix, repair, work your fanny off. Or maybe you do, for a weekend, so you can put up some cabin-y beadboard or whatever. It's odd. Me, I always liked getting "virgin" houses -- older houses that had not been mangled by someone else's bad taste (or even good taste that is not mine but now I have to pay for it). Hang in there. I hope your house (and my not cabin-y beach house) sell soon! And as is. :0) Laughing. Yes, just make it more "cabin-y"! What the heck does that even mean. That is not a legitimate complaint. Yes, I am buying another house untouched since the 50's. It's awesome. I asked for nothing and will do what I want later. I've bought and sold enough to tell what has been upgraded and all of the important things have, like electrical box, (there is even a whole house surge protector!), plumbing, water heater, and HVAC. Good enough for me. There will be some imperfections and I will just fix them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 I tend to blame House Hunters for creating unrealistic, demandy buyers. This! I love House Hunters but if I see one more 20 year old couple complaining about the lack of granite and how the master or the closets are "too small" I'm going to scream. You should see the first house we lived in, you whiners! I had a pink sink and appliances, formica that was really bizarre , and a red floor. I decided to find it "charming". Master bedroom or bath? Ha ha. Not in those days, at least not in our price range. And it was good enough for us. 26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 Our last sale went like this. Increased my grey hair factor 20%. What's worse, our buyer was working with a realtor who'd only previously worked for a builder selling brand new homes, so neither of them were realistic about the process with a previously owned by several families house. Got all bent out of shape because we didn't choose to sell a certain piece of furniture as part of the deal (which we have done before, but this one the kookoo buyer wanted wasn't a unique sort of piece). Closing day could not come soon enough. Personal property is not even supposed to be included. That should be separate anyway! Realtors. Don't get me started. But I love my flat-fee but full and amazing service Realtor. She's better than all the big boys out there, and faster at getting stuff done too. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 when we bought a house long ago our realtor said it is reasonable that 'maintenance' stuff be finished before we closed. If the electrical box in a bedroom isn't working, they should have fixed it already, so you ask. If the gutters are bent and paint on roof edge is peeling off b/c of that, you ask them to fix it b/c it should have been done. But upgrades? no way. we had a house we were selling that I put in writing the gas fireplace did not work. It needed a new starter. Included local guy and $. They wanted it fixed before closing. They paid to have the repair done BEFORE closing. Sale did not go through. I mean, how hard would it have been to just wait a day until after closing? People are crazy. Everything is done. They just had some preferences. Not real safety issues. I wanted to respond, "Bite me". But I declined. ;) Yeah. Use some common sense, buyers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 We asked for only major safety things. We took on the rest ourselves. But....super hot market and it was clear that seller could walk away and find another buyer pronto. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Our last house had an attic that had a wood floor. It wasn't tall enough to be living space, but it was still useful. We rigged up a fan to blow the hot air out one of the two windows to create a cross draft. It was a standard fan that DH made a galvanized sheet metal frame for, to make it fit just right into the window. We plugged it into the ceiling fixture, and it worked great. It was hokey but totally safe. The buyers' final inspection required us to install this with new wiring above the ceiling and a separate switch by the window. I went upstairs and looked at it, and the closer I looked the madder I got. Finally I realized that since it was not really 'installed' per se, it was personal property. So we took it off, closed the window, and took the fan with us. It was perfect for that spot, and we had planned to leave it just to be nice. Sometimes being nice just doesn't work. Having said that, mostly I feel like a buyer might as well ask for what they want. They will not do better than that, but most sellers will stay in the game and make a counter offer. There is no reason not to try to get your best possible deal, although it can be counter productive in a quickly rising market--it can send people to a competitor who has a cleaner offer. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I've been shocked at how common this has become. I thought you looked at a house, decided how much it was worth, made an offer. The end. Unless something weird was found during the inspection. People need to get a grip, IMHO. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 We asked for a couple of things. I think they were fair. Leaky kitchen sink pipes and clean up all the garbage in the basement and around the house. They mostly cleaned up, but still left crap like dead plants. They didn't fix the pipe stuff so we negotiated $250 at the closing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 We've always gone through a negotiation process when we've sold a house. The potential buyer would ask for a few things to be done. Some we said okay to and some we didn't. Some we fixed and sometimes we dropped the purchase price a little instead. It was just part of the back-and-forth to reach a deal, and it's been that way as long as I can remember (I'm 52). No biggie. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Our last house had an attic that had a wood floor. It wasn't tall enough to be living space, but it was still useful. We rigged up a fan to blow the hot air out one of the two windows to create a cross draft. It was a standard fan that DH made a galvanized sheet metal frame for, to make it fit just right into the window. We plugged it into the ceiling fixture, and it worked great. It was hokey but totally safe. The buyers' final inspection required us to install this with new wiring above the ceiling and a separate switch by the window. I went upstairs and looked at it, and the closer I looked the madder I got. Finally I realized that since it was not really 'installed' per se, it was personal property. So we took it off, closed the window, and took the fan with us. It was perfect for that spot, and we had planned to leave it just to be nice. Sometimes being nice just doesn't work. Having said that, mostly I feel like a buyer might as well ask for what they want. They will not do better than that, but most sellers will stay in the game and make a counter offer. There is no reason not to try to get your best possible deal, although it can be counter productive in a quickly rising market--it can send people to a competitor who has a cleaner offer. This is how we "won" our 1880s obviously-a-fixer-upper farmhouse. The other bidders were asking for all sorts of fixes, improvements, and concessions. We bumped our offer from an xx9,900 up $100 to the round number and didn't ask for anything. The last house we rented had an attic fan that cooled the whole house down in 20 minutes in the dead of summer. It was wonderful! I have plans to put one in here (got the fan on craigslist; have a contractor coming to properly install it next spring when they fix the attic insulation). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Sellers can be unreasonable, too. For instance, our current home was built in the 1920s and had leaded glass (tiny panes) cabinet doors in the built in living room cabinet. The standard contract calls for sellers to repair all broken glass, so when we did our final inspection we called out the 2-3 panes of glass there--I'm talking jagged shards kind of broken--and the one exterior window that was cracked all the way through. They were also supposed to remove all personal property, so we also mentioned that we wanted them to take the swing set with them. It was very rusty, and it was just sitting on the ground--not installed or secured in any way. The seller was furious and yelled at us that we were supposed to take the house 'as is'. His realtor set him straight, but it was really a weird, confrontational moment. I never understood why he was so torqued. This was standard stuff; we weren't asking him for concessions or anything. It was ridiculous. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Every time I sell a house, I go through this. I have a house right now that got two offers - one at and one over full price- within a day. House is utter perfection (but an older 60's house -there will always be some minor thing). I got a big list requesting repairs. I'm doing a couple of very minor electrical things that could be done anytime and one was completely obvious prior to the offer! One is an improvement, not a repair. No, I'm not further improving the house for you. You get what you see. Some they could do themselves, easily. Argh. Anyway, am I the ONLY PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE who buys a house and accepts its issues? I'm also buying right now and I asked for exactly....nothing. Anyway, mainly just venting. People are nuts. No. You are not the only one. I never got this, either, and I don't get it with cars, either. We are hoping this will help us in our search for a house. We don't even like to ask our landlord for minor repairs that we can do ourselves without troubling her... much less someone who won't even live there. My concern would be that it would be an endless back and forth. Just offer what it's worth and be done with it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 The last house we rented had an attic fan that cooled the whole house down in 20 minutes in the dead of summer. It was wonderful! I have plans to put one in here (got the fan on craigslist; have a contractor coming to properly install it next spring when they fix the attic insulation). FYI--an attic fan just takes the hot air out of the attic. It sound like you had what's called a whole house fan. You'll want to know the term when you talk to the contractor. Ours functioned as an attic fan, and what it did was remove the hot air from the attic so that it was bearable space, and also so that the attic would not be a heat source for the interior of the house at night--radiating heat through the ceiling. We have a formally installed one in our current house and it's great. One other thing to know about it--the standard switch has only two settings--'on' sets the fan up to run whenever the attic temp exceeds an attic thermostat setting, and 'off' turns the system off. I asked our electrician for a third setting that allowed us to override the thermostat and just turn the system on for a period of time when we want it. That turns out to be far more useful and economical than the thermostat based system. It doesn't run during hot days when we're gone, but we can turn it on for a set period of time when we get home in the evening and then turn it off so that it doesn't cycle and wake us up at night. I considered a whole house fan, but decided against it because we have allergies and I didn't want to draw dust and mold and pollen into the house. Sooner or later we will probably break down and install AC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I tend to blame House Hunters for creating unrealistic, demandy buyers. This is exactly what I was going to say. I want to smack the people half the time for being so ridiculous in their expectations. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 The market where I live has been pretty hot for a long time. It's totally a seller's market. The house I am sitting in right now had 5 full-price offers the day it went on the market, 3 of them cash. We got the house because we not only did not demand anything but we also bumped up 1%, put in a no-inspection clause, and let the buyer choose the date of closing (2 weeks). So I guess sometimes it depends on what kind of market you are in, as to what you can ask for and as to what you are willing to give up. In a buyer's market, I would assume that there is a lot more likelihood of getting concessions. "Negotiation" varies by market. I have learned since we bought the house that it was a "flip" and that the flipper didn't get her money back and just wanted OUT so she could get the money for her next project. Fine by me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 We asked for only major safety things. We took on the rest ourselves. But....super hot market and it was clear that seller could walk away and find another buyer pronto. :) It should have been clear to this buyer that we can do the same thing. We have another buyer in the wings, hoping this first deal falls apart. However, buyer in wings is not as strong financially, so we are going to do a couple minor things under $100.00, and wonder why they didn't just take the house and do it themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 FYI--an attic fan just takes the hot air out of the attic. It sound like you had what's called a whole house fan. You'll want to know the term when you talk to the contractor. Ours functioned as an attic fan, and what it did was remove the hot air from the attic so that it was bearable space, and also so that the attic would not be a heat source for the interior of the house at night--radiating heat through the ceiling. We have a formally installed one in our current house and it's great. One other thing to know about it--the standard switch has only two settings--'on' sets the fan up to run whenever the attic temp exceeds an attic thermostat setting, and 'off' turns the system off. I asked our electrician for a third setting that allowed us to override the thermostat and just turn the system on for a period of time when we want it. That turns out to be far more useful and economical than the thermostat based system. It doesn't run during hot days when we're gone, but we can turn it on for a set period of time when we get home in the evening and then turn it off so that it doesn't cycle and wake us up at night. I considered a whole house fan, but decided against it because we have allergies and I didn't want to draw dust and mold and pollen into the house. Sooner or later we will probably break down and install AC. Whole house fans are AMAZING. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 House Hunters! I love watching it, yet I'm often baffled by the people's responses to the houses they see. The people on the show want their houses to look exactly like everyone else's houses. Doesn't anyone want something different?They all want open concept and ensuites and granite countertops and hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances. In 15 years, everything will be completely dated and everyone will be gutting their houses and starting over with something new.We didn't ask for a single thing to be changed on our 1949 bungalow with it's closed concept, goofy bedroom that you get to through a bathroom, and well, the list is long. But we find it utterly charming. And almost 100% of the people who come into my house think it's just the best thing ever--because it's different from all the other houses you see. Modest, but different.When we sold the last house, they did ask that a screen be repaired that had gotten torn when we moved out. He agreed to take $20 from us to fix it himself.Oh wait--he did ask that we paint a bedroom. We had painted the bedroom dried blood red and put sand in the paint for texture. It was terrible. We must have been watching too much Trading Spaces at the time. They were always doing odd things like that. We couldn't blame him for asking us to change it. We did. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 House Hunters! I love watching it, yet I'm often baffled by the people's responses to the houses they see. The people on the show want their houses to look exactly like everyone else's houses. Doesn't anyone want something different? They all want open concept and ensuites and granite countertops and hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances. In 15 years, everything will be completely dated and everyone will be gutting their houses and starting over with something new. ...snip... I know. If I hear the words "open-concept" one more time I am going to scream. Just wait until your dh retires and then tell me how much you love that "open-concept" house! :0) There's a big difference between a house with a good floor plan and an "open-concept" house--and I'll take the former every time. It makes for much happier home life and more festive parties, believe it or not, to have a few different places people can take themselves. Open-concept. The hardwood floors won't be dated if they do traditional stuff. I would put quarter-sawn honey oak on every floor in my house if I could afford it. It has worked for every house we have owned for 35 years. But there are a lot of "trendy" wood floors they are doing now and I think people will regret it. There. Off my soap box...because I am going to go fold laundry in front of HGTV. LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Lol. I didn't read the replies. When my lateness sold their house, they received many offers-all with requested repairs. They said no. The realities were like "what? ! No one ever says no." But they did. You get what you see. Nothing else 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I know. If I hear the words "open-concept" one more time I am going to scream. Just wait until your dh retires and then tell me how much you love that "open-concept" house! :0) There's a big difference between a house with a good floor plan and an "open-concept" house--and I'll take the former every time. It makes for much happier home life and more festive parties, believe it or not, to have a few different places people can take themselves. Open-concept. The hardwood floors won't be dated if they do traditional stuff. I would put quarter-sawn honey oak on every floor in my house if I could afford it. It has worked for every house we have owned for 35 years. But there are a lot of "trendy" wood floors they are doing now and I think people will regret it. There. Off my soap box...because I am going to go fold laundry in front of HGTV. LOL. They all want open concept for when they're entertaining. DH likes to say he wants closed concept for when he can't stand looking at other people and wants to be grumpy all alone. :) 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Oh--that's ANOTHER word: We want to be able to "entertain"--like what? Putting on clown suits? Do a little song and dance you just worked up on your lunch hour? Entertain. How about "hospitality"? or "have some people to dinner?" or something that you will actually DO. Entertain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Oh--that's ANOTHER word: We want to be able to "entertain"--like what? Putting on clown suits? Do a little song and dance you just worked up on your lunch hour? Entertain. How about "hospitality"? or "have some people to dinner?" or something that you will actually DO. Entertain. I always assume they say stuff like that because they know everyone they've ever met will watch it (because hey, even if they're jerks it's fun to see people you know on tv) and they want to seem like they're popular and have so many friends and plan on having classy parties every single day. I know people who haven't had a party since college, and I'd bet every dollar I have that if they went on HH, they would try to act uber sophisticated and claim they couldn't live without a large entertaining space. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 I always assume they say stuff like that because they know everyone they've ever met will watch it (because hey, even if they're jerks it's fun to see people you know on tv) and they want to seem like they're popular and have so many friends and plan on having classy parties every single day. I know people who haven't had a party since college, and I'd bet every dollar I have that if they went on HH, they would try to act uber sophisticated and claim they couldn't live without a large entertaining space. :0) It's about as much a case of my having heard the words "open-concept" and "entertain" on every single show, no matter the hosts. You know that weird sensation you get when you hear a word too many times, and suddenly you can't even remember what it means? THAT. That said, I really do miss my old house because we could have *everyone* over and it swallowed them up. No matter how many. It was so much fun to be HOSPITABLE. :0) Now, we've downsized so much, it's a little tough for US to walk around. NEVERMIND! I rearranged and painted my office today, and so maybe I can SEW. But it won't be entertaining. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 They just say that stuff on hh to have something to say, because it's fake. I know in passing a couple who did a hh ep and they'd already bought their house lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Our current house was a fixer upper. It had no furnace or water heater, the kitchen needed gutting and the bathroom had no sink or toilet. The realtor gave us a weird look when I told him it was the perfect house for us. Underneath it all was a 1920s bungalow with original hardwoods, original doors and trim, new windows, and a kitchen bigger than my previous home which was twice the square footage. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solascriptura Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 It's the HGTV generation. People think that everyone must live like a designer did the house and everyone thinks they deserve it at no cost. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 It should have been clear to this buyer that we can do the same thing. We have another buyer in the wings, hoping this first deal falls apart. However, buyer in wings is not as strong financially, so we are going to do a couple minor things under $100.00, and wonder why they didn't just take the house and do it themselves. Because they can negotiate you into doing it if they have the leverage. And if they are repairs, then that is a fairly normal request. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Our real estate agent told us to ask for a whole laundry list of things that never would have come to our minds. The sellers gave us half of us and then lowered the price some more. She told us we weren't making friends, we were negotiating, and that a longer list would make it easier to negotiate. The worst they could do, the agent told us, was say no. She also knew that we didn't have our heart set on the house and that the seller really needed to sell. If the buyer is willing to walk, the buyer might as well make whatever requests they desire. Emily 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 This is why we only sell houses "as is". If I was going to spend the time and money to fix up the house, I would have done it for myself. I price the house for selling in it's current condition so the buyer can do whatever they want *after they buy it*. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 We just went through a nightmare selling our house. Nightmare. And yes the stupid stuff they want changed. I'm sorry that you want improvements to the house that you can't afford. You already are admittedly at the top of your price range, wouldn't put a penny of earnest money down because you couldn't afford it, and tried to get $10k cash out of us, but no. No. No. No. I am never selling a house again and I'm really proud of myself for being an honest and realistic home buyer. Oh--that's ANOTHER word: We want to be able to "entertain"--like what? Putting on clown suits? Do a little song and dance you just worked up on your lunch hour? Entertain. How about "hospitality"? or "have some people to dinner?" or something that you will actually DO. Entertain. Weird. I can't like any of your posts. Just yours. Huh. But yes, I agree. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 They all want open concept for when they're entertaining. DH likes to say he wants closed concept for when he can't stand looking at other people and wants to be grumpy all alone. :) I always thought it would be a good party game to drink every time they talk about entertaining. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Oh--that's ANOTHER word: We want to be able to "entertain"--like what? Putting on clown suits? Do a little song and dance you just worked up on your lunch hour? Entertain. How about "hospitality"? or "have some people to dinner?" or something that you will actually DO. Entertain. You don't have a lot of dancers or musicians over, do you? It's threads like this that make me believe that if we ever sell this house, we won't look for a new one at the same time. Too much pressure. I can live in an apartment for a few months and take my time house hunting. How do people do both without losing their minds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 You don't have a lot of dancers or musicians over, do you? It's threads like this that make me believe that if we ever sell this house, we won't look for a new one at the same time. Too much pressure. I can live in an apartment for a few months and take my time house hunting. How do people do both without losing their minds. I've never had to live in a house I'm selling. I'm with you on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 I tend to blame House Hunters for creating unrealistic, demandy buyers. Yup. And I love House Hunters! I'm watching it (sort of) right now. But I do think it raises expectations to where people think the house should be just perfect for them and also a bargain price. "Reality" TV. *rolleyes* 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 They all want open concept for when they're entertaining. DH likes to say he wants closed concept for when he can't stand looking at other people and wants to be grumpy all alone. :) Love it! I want "closed concept," too! I like a wall here and there, ya know? I don't want all these guests that I'm (not aftually) having over every weekend to stare at the mess I made in the kitchen. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Love it! I want "closed concept," too! I like a wall here and there, ya know? I don't want all these guests that I'm (not aftually) having over every weekend to stare at the mess I made in the kitchen. Me, too! Several people have come over and, knowing we are renovator types, suggest knocking down a certain wall to open the kitchen to the family room. Heck, no! I bought this house precisely because there IS a wall there! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSmomof2 Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Every time I sell a house, I go through this. I have a house right now that got two offers - one at and one over full price- within a day. House is utter perfection (but an older 60's house -there will always be some minor thing). I got a big list requesting repairs. I'm doing a couple of very minor electrical things that could be done anytime and one was completely obvious prior to the offer! One is an improvement, not a repair. No, I'm not further improving the house for you. You get what you see. Some they could do themselves, easily. Argh. Anyway, am I the ONLY PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE who buys a house and accepts its issues? I'm also buying right now and I asked for exactly....nothing. Anyway, mainly just venting. People are nuts. I agree. I think it's all those HGTV shows fueling this trend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 If some things need to be fixed, I think the thing to do is consider the cost of fixing the item with the offer you make. So, if the house is priced like a comparable that was less than 10 years old and the house really does need updating in the kitchen the buyer should estimate the cost of repair and craft his offer with that in consideration. For example, if the buyer is willing to pay 150,000 for a house with no problems, but he thinks the house he wants gas a 10,000 problem then the buyer should offer 140,000. The seller can say this is a low ball offer and ignore it or he can start negotiating. It's kind of stupid to make the seller into the buyer's construction contractor fixing every nitpicky thing to the buyer's standard. That's just a waste of time for both buyer and seller. I can understand certain things being required to be fixed after inspection, but if the seller lists "as is" then there's no negotiating fixing stuff and once the offer is accepted that's it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 I know the house we live in (and have lived in for the past 19 years) would have many on HH gagging. I'll even admit there are plenty of things inside/outside that could use fixing up, plus, there's only one bathroom and we raised three boys here. Many would say that's not possible! The vast majority of things with the house were here when we bought it (and could have used fixing up then). But we prefer to use our extra $$ elsewhere. Long ago we realized we were in the "Perfectly Good House & Garden" category rather than the "Better Homes & Garden" category. It's ok with me if others gag or if future buyers wonder how we survived. Heck, when we bought the place we made our decision based solely upon the land that came with it and location. The seller asked us if we wanted to look at the house again. I turned to hubby and asked him, "Does it matter?" He agreed it didn't. We'd live with whatever was inside. To be truthful we updated the wiring, paint, some appliances and some floors prior to moving in. Since then we've updated windows and water pipes. But most floors need updating now (esp if they were original when we moved in) and it's still formica in my kitchen. My furniture is old too. The oven I use is likely the original from when the house was built ('30s). It pretty much proves that junkies scrimp and save to spend their money on their habit. We're travel junkies. We watch HH (International) to get travel ideas and retirement thoughts. :lol: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Ime, it's been caused by the realtor. Our current home is 30 years old. After we made the offer on it 8 years ago, our realtor prepared a three paged list of "repairs" based on the inspection. Inspectors will find the tiniest little thing to prove to homebuyers that their fee is worth it. Realtors will pushpushpush for everything to prove to homebuyers that their fee is worth it. I believe both are looking out for their own interests first, and that their clients' best interests are second. Dh and I are experienced homebuyers. We looked at the list, crossed all but about three items off, and told our realtor to fix it before presenting to the sellers. He was flabbergasted, but he shouldn't have been. He's been this route with us before. In the end, I believe we presented the lengthy inspection report along with our request for just a few items. We wanted them to see what the possibilities were and that our requests were extremely reasonable. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjand6more Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Love it! I want "closed concept," too! I like a wall here and there, ya know? I don't want all these guests that I'm (not aftually) having over every weekend to stare at the mess I made in the kitchen. Yes! I wanted a "closed concept" in our new house. We have 6 kids. I want walls. Walls=noise insulation.lol We just bought a house with rooms. I love it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Haven't read many responses but we've been buying and selling homes when needed for 16 yrs. Around 4 by now...onto our fifth right now as nd this time we are buyers. every time realtors tell us to ask for nearly every thing that comes up on the inspection and the seller will counter what is tolerable to them. So the realtors have a lot to do with it. It goes back and forth a little till an agreed-upon list flushes out. As sellers I'm ready for a crazy wish list to emerge, we counter what is tolerable and we all proceed. Right now we can afford twice the house we are buying and its a largely custom house so much has already been done and while our requests are a medium sized list, its simply all a part of the negotiation. I could afford to fix what I'm asking for. It's just a request. There are deal breakers on each side and that's usually where each list settles with maybe an extra or two. I think there are many reasons people request things but in the end I think it's just to see how much they can get the seller to agree to. And as a seller at times I figured it's just a part of the game. (Shrug) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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