Congratulations on the offer! I'm in agreement with you. I wouldn't bring anything up about the inspection in your counter offer. That sounds like a red flag, to me. I'd wait until after the inspection & see what the inspector has to say...then, negotiate further, if necessary.

Again, congrats!

Tricia

I wouldn't say anything about the inspection, bcs then doesn't that commit you to fixing it? If you don't say anything, then you can negotiate what, if anything, to fix once they've raised an objection. (It would let you get out if you started to worry that they were going to be at risk for not coming through)

And "lower my listing price by $5k" and "asking for $12k closing" is actually "$17k less money for you"--depending on your asking price, that's a big chunk of money off the price of your house.

I'd want them to roll almost all of that closing money into their mortgage through a higher price. And perhaps hint that their accepting that is part of what they do to prove to you that they will be ABLE to close.

The contract was a total bust. Looking at their financials, they couldn't afford a roadside vegetable stand! I had my brother (the loan officer) review and he said 1.) the committment letter was bogus because it was issued by the broker (illegal) and not the lender 2.) my brother knows the rep for the lender they are using and called him and he said there was no way in heck his company would approve this loan. First off, the income needed to be around $96k to afford the loan, she makes $35k, she didn't have 3 months reserves and her credit score was too low (guidelines have changed). She also claimed she was using her daughter's incomes but yet didn't put them on the loan, which of course you have to do.

Oh well..........it was exciting while it lasted. Although I did have to question my agent why she even brought this too me.

Maybe you need a new agent, but I would discuss this with her and/or her broker. As to Your agent suggesting that you put something in the inspection clause--who is she working for--you or the buyer. You need to clarify this not to prevent future problems.

"I did have to question my agent why she even brought this too me."

Your agent has to present every offer. You don't really want your agent making that kind of judgement call for you.

Mariend wrote: Maybe you need a new agent, but I would discuss this with her and/or her broker. As to Your agent suggesting that you put something in the inspection clause--who is she working for--you or the buyer. You need to clarify this not to prevent future problems. I know I've posted on here too much about my agent, my personal friend. I also question who she is working for. I told her I didn't feel comfortable with that clause and wouldn't sign that, that if someone asked for hefty repairs I could always turn them down, but I wasn't going to raise red flags from the get go.

Also, she told me yesterday that she had gotten feedback from several showings and that an agent suggested if I lower my price, he would bring me a buyer. Instead of pointing out to him that he could MAKE AN OFFER, she agreed. What the heck? With regards to this offer, I instructed her to let the potential buyers know I was willing to work with them, but they needed to have financing.........her response: "well, it's not like you have any other offers". I mean, geesh. I really can't stress enough to anyone reading the importance of getting an EXPERIENCED and BULLDOG type agent.

Susanjn wrote: "I did have to question my agent why she even brought this too me." Your agent has to present every offer. You don't really want your agent making that kind of judgement call for you I totally understand she must present everything. However, after we went through all the financing stuff and she wanted me to sign (which I didn't because they had NO financing), she admitted her broker (boss) even said this was bogus financing and wouldn't go through. So why didn't she tell me that? Instead, she came over with all the places for me to sign..........her need for a paycheck really shines through sometimes, IMHO.

I think DH's house having 2 full price offers in less than 24 hours was a bad thing in terms of her learning to sell a house. That was fluke, for sure and she didn't have to do any work at all. Perhaps she is thinking the same for my house? I don't know...........

Gee gardensgirl - you're having alot of bad luck!

I think your realtor is dropping the ball. Friend or not, she may be working for you, but she sounds extremely inexperienced and perhaps the BA who said he'd bring a buyer when you lowered the price was taking advantage of her inexperience.

When we listed our house in Flagstaff in a very hot seller's market and with very few homes available in the under $300K price range, we got an offer on the first showing. The potential buyer had been transferred to Flag with the railroad and his realtor was young and inexperienced.

They insultingly lowballed in a hot seller's market, asked for all the appliances (fridge/deep freeze/Washer/Dryer) and my Canadian satellite and they wanted a landscaping allowance. Our realtor said that it was obvious his realtor was extremely inexperienced and we countered at full asking, no appliances (except the range and dishwasher), no satellite, no landscaping allowance, but that we fully intended to finish the backyard fence. They rejected it outright.

We got a full price offer three days later which didn't ask for anything. We even asked the buyers through our realtor if they wanted to buy our W/D separate from the deal and they agreed.

Experienced agents are absolutely necessary. It can be difficult to get the experience if everyone followed this rule of thumb, but I wouldn't chance one with out experience.

Then, this also leads to friends working as your realtor. We will be selling our house here in Tucson soon. One of my friends put me on the spot and said "AND you're going to list it with WHO?" Me, getting the message knew she expected the listing.

I really like her and think she's very capable. She's highly experienced and deals mostly in higher end gated communities. We have already promised the listing to someone else. I felt really put on the spot. I don't want to use a friend solely for what you are going through because it could very well tarnish a good friendship.

I've felt so bad for you from the start. How long do you have a contract with her for?

I can't say I'm sorry enough....

Thanks for the empathy. I know I sound like such a whiny baby, but really, I can't stress how important a good agent is. They are worth their weight in gold. As far as hiring a friend, I really wouldn't do it again (and I know I shouldn't have done it in 1st place). I mean, it's much easier to be "demanding" to a broker who is working for you and doesn't "know" you if you know what I mean. They would never say they would do something and not do it, be late for appts., etc. like friend does.

I'm sure we are "losing" a few dollars (or thousands as DH says) by using her, but I really wanted to help her out and it's my own fault for not really thinking through how complicated a real estate transaction can become. And we have not just one, but three!

I do feel somewhat (but not totally) bad she is giving up part of her commission. I asked her why she didn't ask the other agent to do it, or at least split it, and she said she did but the agent said "no". I told her she should have said "okay, deal is off" (since we had already signed 2 termination letters anyway) and I bet that agent would have changed her tune. Live and learn I guess.

DH had the termite on his house today. He's NEVER had a termite problem, but the inspector found termite "tunnels" in his garage and carpenter bee holes in some wood door frame, so he has to pay for extermination now. Crazy..........