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Thread: Buying a house is so frustrating!

  1. #106
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Hintz View Post
    Will you PM it? Submitting an offer on a short sale in the next day or two, wondering what could go wrong, not what a perfect sale looks like.
    We had the bank attempt to foreclose the property prior to our closing date (on a short sale offer that they had approved). This forced us to move up our closing date. Fortunately it wasn't a problem because we had our loan and down payment cash in hand. IMO, this was a method by the bank to quickly force the sale to go through.

  2. #107
    We had to walk away from yet another house deal. The selling agent is known for his style of work and he's proven it once again. He convinced the elderly sellers it was not a good idea for them to lower the price and have us hire contractors to fix all the issues ourselves. He presented our agent with a counter offer last night. They will fix the bare minimum of what the first inspector listed, but he is unwilling to recognize all the serious issues the highly respected contractor and 3 roofers found and quoted. (We're not even certain if he showed them that info!) All that will do is put a few band aids on it and not deal with all the rot under & around the house and around the roof.

    We are not looking forward to yet another winter in this rental. The only changes we have seen on the market in weeks is a "new" listing of a house that sold 2 years ago. It was in much nicer condition 2 years ago, yet they are asking $30k more for it now. By the photos, the new owners (or renters) did not take good care of it.
    I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, "Well, that’s not going to happen."

  3. #108
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    Sounds like he really wants the nicest commission from this sale as possible and hopes the next offer doesn't find all the issues you found. Maybe YOU should show the elderly couple all the issues found? I'm sure they would just like to unload it and move on. How long has it been on the market?
    Wood: a fickle medium....

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  4. #109
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    Wouldn't the seller be legally obligated to disclose the rot issues to future potential buyers now that they know about it? The realtor is hoping to find a sucker I guess who will pay the asking price knowing it needs major repairs. Personally, I probably wouldn't pay $100,000 for structural repairs unless they were practically giving away the house.

    My own house purchase I'm wondering if spending $91,000 on repairs is really the right move, but there is no turning back now. The house did appraise for slightly more than I am paying for the house and repairs so that is good. I should be good to close on Sept 2nd.

  5. #110
    We would love to talk to the sellers, but we've been told that is frowned upon. I personally don't think the agent told them about all the issues. Legally they are obligated to pass on information, but there is always going to be some agents that have questionable ethics.

    We've been watching obsessively over the market for over 4 years now. Every time that agent has a listing, it is extremely overpriced and he puts virtually no effort in the listing. When he takes photos of the house (many times he doesn't even do that!) he will stand in one spot in the driveway and take about 3-5 photos as he rotates a little bit to take the new photo. His listings stay on the market for years. I don't know how he manages to sell the homes, but they will eventually sell. Apparently he's well connected to a law firm in the area and he's a long time member of a church that refers clients to him.

    They haven't changed the "pending" status of our listing so we're hoping that once the sellers hear that we backed out, they are going to question the agent. We know they were thrilled with us submitting the original offer and putting in the contract that they could leave personal items for us to dispose of to ease their move into senior housing. They were also thrilled to know that we intended this to be our final home and stay there until their age. We also feel fairly confident the wife had no knowledge of any problems with the house, but her husband did. There have been partial repairs done over the years. She was a grade school teacher while he apparently was a general contractor. If he told her he made repairs under the house, why would she doubt him or the quality of his work?
    I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, "Well, that’s not going to happen."

  6. #111
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    "Frowned upon" but not illegal! They could "accidentally" find out about the real condition of their home! hahaha Well, I hope things work out for you, Mike, and that this elderly couple starts asking questions or perhaps even contact you. You never know!
    Wood: a fickle medium....

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  7. #112
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    If I ever buy another home from a traditional seller I will insist on being able to talk to the sellers before I buy the house. I don't know why realtors never want buyers and sellers to meet except at the closing table.

    I met with my buyers the day before closing and showed them how a lot of things work in the house and also gave them a little operating manual I wrote up.

  8. #113
    LOL Chris. I actually told our agent that I would personally deliver the reports and quotes for repair to the wife. He gave me this look that said "I wish you would do it but I still have to work in this town!"

    We have not cared to meet any of the sellers on all the other homes we have submitted offers on. It wasn't planned this time either, but we looked at the house within hours of it being listed and they were surprised to have someone out so soon and didn't have time to go somewhere. The wife is a lovely woman and the husband seems like a nice guy but didn't want to talk to anyone because he didn't want to move into senior housing. (From what we have heard, he isn't expected to be around much longer due to health issues.)

    We refused to meet with our buyers of the house we sold. We left very detailed info for them on everything, including all the manuals and flagged all the property stakes with bright tape. The reason we refused to meet them is we left the house turn-key ready and spotless. New paint throughout, new carpets throughout, kitchen appliances spotless, etc. We didn't leave any form of trash outside or inside. Two days after they looked at the house and submitted an offer, we drove down to mow the grass. No one else had been inside the house since then. We had signs on the doors asking to remove shoes due to the new carpets. Upon inspecting inside the house, they had tracked in mud and debris all over the carpets and they were kind enough to bring their own toilet paper and leave the toilets looking disgusting. We were livid, but they were cash buyers with an inheritance to spend. Since then, they have turned the property & house into a total white trash dumping ground. When we talk with our old neighbors, they tell us what an eyesore it is to drive by every day and that they keep piling more and more debris outside.
    I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, "Well, that’s not going to happen."

  9. #114
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    Interesting. I did a google search on this topic and folks seems split 50:50 on whether or not buyers and seller should meet and talk and negotiate. Some said it worked out great and others said it was a disaster. We met and chatted with the sellers of the home we currently occupy (been here since 1999) and they were very nice and upfront and even left us a journal of the house that included all sorts of manuals and paint colors for various things throughout the place. It turns out that the lady of the house was a realtor and of course was representing it herself. We had a buyer's agent with us. Everything went perfectly smooth for us. Our next door neighbor worked for the title company that ran escrow! This is the first and only place we've purchased so we don't have a lot of experience here but I would be fine meeting the sellers of any future place we might venture into. It seems quite reasonable to me. I think I'd like to know a little bit about who previously occupied my potential future home as it might give me some idea what is in store for me. I guess the same goes for buying a vehicle although it is a different beast...somewhat.

    If you really think this is the place for you, Mike, I would make sure the couple gets the information they should!!! There is no law against it!!!!!!

    That is quite sad to hear about your previous place.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  10. #115
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    My house is all set to close for Tuesday as of yesterday afternoon. I got the HUD-1 statement already. I am pretty certain the house will close at this point. The contractor has already started ordering siding and some other stuff since it will take a few weeks to get. He can still cancel if the house doesn't close.

    The renovation work is scheduled to start on Sept 9th.

  11. #116
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    All right, Brian!!! *pops the cork on the champagne*
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

  12. #117
    Nope. No champagne yet! We were set to close 2 times on our house we sold a few years ago and things went right up to within an hour of closing and problems came up. We have learned to wait until all the paperwork is signed and keys have exchanged hands!

    Hope it all goes thru for you without a hitch on Tuesday!
    I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, "Well, that’s not going to happen."

  13. #118
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    Closing went just fine and I now own the house. I am heading over there to start working on the house. The contractor plans to start Monday.

  14. #119
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    Congratulations, Brian... I can only hope ours makes it to the same end.
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  15. #120
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    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

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