The owner owes $389 and the bank bid $390 but the house didn't sell at auction? The owner is still involved because obviously they are still the owners and call the shots. If they didn't take $390 from the bank, what in the world makes you think they will take your offer of $300?

Thanks everyone for their insight. Our house finally closed yesterday. Of course you go through a lot of emotions, at least we did, (Couldn't wait for it to sell, then became sad at the thought of really leaving it...etc) but now that we've settled into a rental, we're happy to be done with the whole selling side of things. We also feel grateful to have had a sucessful sale in this market. Now that we are in the buyer's seat we still doubt WE would be able to make an intellegent decision based on one visit. Our needs/wants are a bit more unique than the average buyer though. If it were just my husband and I, I could see falling in love with something perfect for the two of us when I walked in the front door...in fact I did: We made an offer the other day on a home that I DID fall in love with on the first visit. I loved it when we pulled up and throughout the whole house. Had it not been an evening visit and we couldn't see most of the yard, I'm sure I would have talked my Husband into offering then and there. Come to find out, it was a short sale and in reality it was perfect for US, but not for our son. We convinced ourselves that we could make the modifications needed to make it work for everyone. Our Agent explained it could take months to hear back so we could offer and continue to look and pull the offer at anytime so we decided to go for it. We have since rescinded the offer when we realized no matter how much I wanted it, and modifications included it wasn't the right house for ALL the family members. I would have always felt it was a selfish decision. Since then we've gone back to another house we've been watching for a 3rd visit..... and now plan to offer on because it's a good compromise house for everyone. I guess it took 3 visits to convince me that I was doing the right thing by choosing this one. It's not that I didn't like it, it was just not what I had envisioned we would buy which was a forever dream home. I've realized it might not be possible to mesh what is perfect for me with the needs of my son. So, after that really sank in and I became ok with it, I feel good about this offer. It's a low offer (I think it's overpriced and part of the reason it's been on the market 10 months) so if we get it, we will be able to make the changes I want that would make me happier with it, and it is an AWESOME place for my son's needs. Wish us luck!

We just closed on 2 homes Tuesday. I'll summarize what happened with us. After looking for 7 months we found new construction in August. We bought a house that was already spec'd out, permits pulled, house had not gone up yet. February comes, house supposedly has 1 month to go. Get offers, couldn't work one, 2nd we were working when a 3rd came in. Accepted #3 due to type of loan, they pulled out during attorney review. Buyer 2 came back, wanted a 3 month close we said no. We wanted a 30 day close but met in the middle with 60. Attorney review, then inspection. They had 5 days to give us their fix list and didn't. Day 6 our agent calls to get the list. We fixed one safety related item (flue on new furnace) & was going to try to work on 3 things by getting estimates. If they were in a certain dollar amount we'd attempt to fix or credit. Buyer got married went on honeymoon, no contact for 2 weeks. After a misunderstanding by my agent (he thought we were fixing 3 things) we were then committed to doing something. At this point, we were called to closing on the new house and if we did not close would be charged almost $200 per day. A week before closing (which is now week 7) the buyers started making phone calls to contractors & township about permits. By a few days before closing at a few hours after business close at the start of a national holiday we get a call that they'd changed their mind about what was verbally agreed on. At this point we were being charged per day, had utilities scheduled to go off, daughter was signed out of school and we had most of our life packed. Tuesday morning the buyer walked through we were still being moved out. When hubby left for closing (I was still with movers) we still didn't know if we'd have issues or not. Since the title company already wrote up what they'd agreed to, it could not be changed without changing the close date. Thankfully they said ok. It's a domino effect. If either your buyer has issues selling their house or you have issues with the house you are buying one may not close when it is supposed to. Thankfully our buyer did not have a house to sell, but that could have worked against us as well. The amount of earnest money we had ($1,000) wouldn't have helped us much at that (closing day) point because we were on day 4 of not closing on our new house. It was also so small they could easily walk away while we'd lose our $15,000 deposit on the new place. Our new house would have gone on the market, and from what I understand, we'd get charged and price decreases so we had a lot to lose. As for being a buyer looking at a house with a contingency, I liked one house that was under contract (of course) but it didn't fall through. Since the type of house I wanted was very specific, I would have looked at one if I liked what I saw, if there was nothing special about the house, no. Why fall in love with a house you probably can't have? The other thing about earnest money, if you have anything more then a 30 day close and something happens, it's possible your selling season is over, which is what we would have probably been looking at had we not closed. Last year our market was from February until a few weeks after Memorial weekend. The young local couple who looked at our home yesterday (they are our 3rd 'lookers' if you count the 'crazy' no-shoes lady) are interested but didn't want to make a formal written offer until they knew we would consider a contingency that their town home sells first. They are listing it this weekend and I don't expect that it would take more than a month for them to get it sold. I told my agent that yes, we'd consider it as long as the offer was a good one. I don't see why not? It was a brief conversation with our agent, so I don't yet know all the ins and outs of such a contingency. But he did say that we could put a 30 day limit on it and make sure that they had mortgage pre-approval. He also said he'd take a look at their town home to evaluate it's sell-ability (but he didn't anticipate a problem with that since so many people are in need of housing here). If it was me, I would ask they list their house 1st and come back in a week or 2 after seeing how much action they get once listed. In most areas, condos and town homes are not selling. There was a post on citydata by one person who was listed about a year. If you go to the real estate section there, you can find lots of posts from others not able to sell. Ask your agent how desirable town homes are in their area. Good luck & congrats on receiving an offer. Sorry for the book.

Inreresting question! Im thinking of writing the owners of a house I wanted to buy a couple of years ago but didnt due to several factors including my mom being in the last few weeks of her life and some financial complications re: my current house. I still think of that place - I so clearly pictured myself living there and being happy. Of course now that finaances are straightened out and I'm ready to act - every house I look at I compare to THAT ONE, and none of them come remotely close. I thought maybe by writing the letter (and probably getting no response) that would help me move on. I suppose it's remotely possible they would sell after only two years but not really counting on it. There's also a small house we lived in when I was a child. The neighborhood has become quite beautiful, forested with large oaks, near several parks. My dad built part of it including a stone fireplace and Ive hd fantasies of how I would fix up the house and yard to make it mine. Would it be too creepy to say "I used to live in your house and want to live there again?" Part of the attraction is in fact that there are so many sweet memories there, but maybe I should just stick to "I used to live in the neighborhood"