One other thing occurred to me: If she pays the landlord to buy her way out of the lease and he re-rents before the tme in which her lease would have ended, would a tenant normally expect a refund from the landlord? If so, and if you provide the funds for the buy-out, then I think you should make sure the landlord refunds to you, instead of her. I'm not sure how this works as I've never been in the position your prospect is in vis a vis a lease. For all you know there's a tenant waiting for that apartment.

Good point, but if it's like dealing with insurance, they will say they can only refund to who has the lease.

Im going to ask about the water, septic, and termite issue.

I mentioned to DH that if we pay her lease she will probably be refunded a deposit of some sorts and we are going to put on the table to deduct any refunded amounts from her agreement to apply to the lease buyout.

Minibim mentioned lowering the price to $120k and if it appraises for $125K she would have $5K to work with to put towards cc and her lease- we asked and they said that was not an option we were told her lender will only allow the asking price -as long as it appraises for at least that- if she wants more it falls under another loan that she would have to try to get.

If you're offering the closing costs, consider stating that it doesn't include any prepays (her escrowed items) and doesn't include any points she may want to pay to buy down her rate.

Hi there I dont think the offer is too bad, although im not sure what area of the US you are in. But in CA we could only hope for a 95% offer. In regards to her financing, it can be one of many things. If she has good credit scores but is cash poor she may be qualifying under a "My Community" loan. They allow buyers to have as little as $500. Some programs will also allow up to 6% seller contributions, and also allow for the seller to contribute for the first 6 months of P&I. I dont think financially she is probably an ideal candidate, but if her credit scores are high, it is definately do-able. I would definately have your agent call the lender and speak with them about the lending that is in place. Good luck on the sale of your home. Its fantastic to have an offer on the table.

Wow! I wish I could put an offer on a house 6 months before a lease is up and expect the seller to pay my rent.

I think the buyout of the lease is ludicrous! I personally would not agree to that at all.

Closing costs, sans points and property tax refunds, OK.
New appliances - absolutely not. Throwing in the W/D is a good compromise.

Wow. I would like someone to buy me appliances of my choice also!!! Offering the washer and dryer is a good bargaining move.

In terms of the lease buyout, by the time you actually close, wouldn't there only be $1,000 on the buyout? And yes, demand that you get the security deposit and any return on the lease should the apartment be re-rented quickly.

Offer true closing costs and not a set amount which will give this buyer money in her pockets. Like someone said, she sounds really flakey.

Give her the blinds and the A/C which is no big deal anyway.

If she is qualified to buy, which has not been verified, this is a workable offer.

Update part 2- well we countered with paying up to $4k in closing costs, we'll pay her lease if she provides us with a lease agreement and it is legit, she can have the w/d instead of having matching appliances, mini blinds, and ac stay. We also gave her 10 days to have a HI completed- this will be for her benefit only- no credits or allowances will be given- (b/c she has asked for so much right off, we have zero $ to work with on any repairs that may come up from a HI) She also wanted to charge us $35 per day that we stayed in the house after closing and we did not agree to it (she wants us to buy out her lease) We did say that if we close on aug 30th that she could take possession on Sept. 1st- That way we have one day to load the moving van, i'm not going to have a van packed and loaded and get to the table and the deal fall through and have to unload a truck back into the same house.

She was supposed to counter within 24 hours- our REA called today and she wants to come back to our house on Tues. and if it meets her approval (she has seen it twice) then she will accept the counter. Mind you this will be 48hrs after our counter offer expires.

Our REA thinks this will end up going down the flusher- he said she seems like she is just looking for ways to get out of it. Selling a house really stinks!

We did say that if we close on aug 30th that she could take possession on Sept. 1st

In my area the buyer gets occupancy ON the closing day, and if the seller stays on they pay a daily rate, usually equal to 1/30th of the buyer's monthly mortgage payment.

She wants to charge you for staying in the house when you are buying out her lease? That is like paying double! Did you add a clause that if the lease is rented, you get your money back? This sounds like it will be money in the landlord's pocket.

Can't she just get out of it by rejecting your counter? It does sound like she's stalling.

How much time did you give her to provide a financing commitment?

I think you've been more than generous in your counter. My concern is her small earnest money deposit. She really has no financial stake to lose if she doesn't close, but you certainly do.

She was supposed to counter within 24 hours- our REA called today and she wants to come back to our house on Tues. and if it meets her approval (she has seen it twice) then she will accept the counter. Mind you this will be 48hrs after our counter offer expires.

Call your agent and say this was a firm counter and you'd expect her to view the house within the time frame so as not to tie anything up.

Our REA thinks this will end up going down the flusher- he said she seems like she is just looking for ways to get out of it. Selling a house really stinks!

If that happens, then it happened for a reason.

I don't understand why she needs to move in so quick for one, and may have thought to ask that she give her landlord notice, he advertises the apt, then she has a month to vacate. No need for the buy-out. I don't doubt your agent is right. Seems like she is testing the water...

I called our agent and said I would like to have a yay or nay on the counter offer by Monday at noon- he passed it on and her agent said she works two jobs and she wants to view the home again before commiting to the counter and the earliest day she can come out is tues.

So if we have to be out on Aug 30th-how do we work with closing on our new house (2 hrs away) after closing with her and end up having a house to go to by the end of the day? We have to close on ours in order to get the other but we don't want to pack everything up only to have the deal fall through at the last minute.

She also offered to wait until dec to put an offer back on (when her lease is up) if it was a problem for us to pay her lease- such a sweetheart this lady is- She also wants to meet with me and DH on tues to see what repairs we've made to the home and to let us know what she would like us to do-(we touched up trim paint, put a new sprayer on the kitchen sink, and a new sink in our Mbath and we're done)- dH better duct tape my mouth before she gets here :0

such a sweetheart this lady is-

That was sarcastic right? lol

I called our agent and said I would like to have a yay or nay on the counter offer by Monday at noon- he passed it on and her agent said she works two jobs and she wants to view the home again before commiting to the counter and the earliest day she can come out is tues.

Ok, if it's legit with the jobs then extend the offer time to say by Weds at such and such time. This will let her know you aren't playing games.

"She also wants to meet with me and DH on tues to see what repairs we've made to the home and to let us know what she would like us to do-(we touched up trim paint, put a new sprayer on the kitchen sink, and a new sink in our Mbath and we're done)"

What?! She wants to talk about repairs BEFORE you have an accepted offer and BEFORE an HI has been done? Who does she think she is?! I'd be furious.

God, don't you just love first-time buyers?! Such a pain. OK, I was one once myself, but I never asked for the moon! I qualified for a government grant that covered my closing costs and prepaids. I knew I'd be buying a "pre-owned" house and knew I'd have to make some cosmetic changes, etc. I never expected matching appliances, just working ones that were newer than the 1960s appliances I'd always had in apartments.

Wow...you must be REALLY tempted to tell her to walk. I would give her until 8 a.m. Wednesday and not a minute more for her third showing and say you must have a response to your counter by then too. She does sound very iffy. I'm afraid I agree with your realtor.

"She also wants to meet with me and DH on tues to see what repairs we've made to the home and to let us know what she would like us to do-(we touched up trim paint, put a new sprayer on the kitchen sink, and a new sink in our Mbath and we're done)..."

You're not seriously going to meet with her are you? All she needs to know will come up in the Home Inspection. Anything you tell her has the possibility to come back and bite you, no matter how inconsequential it seems. Also, I thought you were going "as is". I can't imagine wanting to hear her dictate to you all the changes she wants made. Someone that wants you to cough up money for matching appliances I would imagine wouldn't think twice to request new paint colors or countertops, too.

I would avoid meeting with her in person at all costs. Everything at the point needs to be going through your agents. Seriously.

Don't meet with her. Use her line about having to work! I think meeting with her will just muddy everything up.
Kathy G in MI

I agree with Kathy and jbspook. Do not meet her. You are paying agents to deal with her. Do not let her put you in an awkard situation.

Groomingal---What's going on with this?

Terrig- she will be here this afternoon at 4:30 to look over the house again and if it meets her approval (?) that determines her acceptance or rejection of our counter offer.

So everybody keep your fingers crossed she approves and we make a sale!

You have already "met her" more than halfway!

If she gets a chance to speak to you face to face, she will most assuredly use the opportunity to find chinks in your armour and either try to sweet talk you into more concesssions or brow beat you into giving her what she wants.

This is the part where your realtor earns their money. Make HIM deal with her.

I agree w/dreamgarden...your realtor really is your liaison. Make him/her earn that commission. Really, all questions and comments at this point should go from realtor to realtor. You shouldn't place yourself in the middle.

Good luck! I hope she accepts your counter offer!

Wow, what a piece of work. Before you start making yourself crazy, you need to see that financing letter. DO NOT meet with her. All those "little things she wants you to do" should be part of the contract.

I'll be extremely surprised if you end up actually have a closing with her.

After reading the entire thread, I'm stunned at all buyer requests. I'm especially not getting the "you have to be out by August 30th but I want my rent paid through December" demand. (Is she being tailed by a "Flip my House" camera?) I would echo everyone else's "DO NOT MEET" advice.

While I can totally understand wanting to sell your house, I'm not so sure I would want HER to accept the counter-offer. (Maybe you'll get to write it up in the Contentious Closings thread.)

"I'm especially not getting the "you have to be out by August 30th but I want my rent paid through December""

Just to drive home the insanity of that request, I'd respond to the buyer that I want immediate occupancy of the place she is leasing, since I'm paying for it. Of course that wouldn't fly, but it might show her what a dingbat she's being.

Also, the matching appliances thing is insane. What is to stop the seller from getting the absolute cheapest, lowest-quality, zero-feature appliances in black and having those installed? They would probably be worse than the used almond appliances that are there.

she's single, w/ no kids, and works two jobs. And she supposedly pays a very low (for the area) rent of $500.

They must be pretty low-paying jobs if she doesn't have any money saved up for a downpayment. Usually people who work two jobs are also pretty good at saving (partly bcs they don't have much leisure time to spend money).

That would make me worried she won't be approved for financing.

and definitely DO NOT MEET WITH HER. Your agent should deal with everything.

No extra info, at all. The house is as it is; her home inspection should tell her anything she needs to know. Repairs you've made? not her business. "little things she wants you to do"?

Not for a $124k house. Not for a $120k payment.

UPdate part 3 (i think)- Well we let our agent know that under no circumstance will we meet with her- if she wants he can be here to relay the phone conversation (filter out what shouldn't be said inadvertantly by us ;)

She was not able to make the appt. today- she was in a car wreck after work and had to take care of that and find another car (we expressd our concern and her agent got back with ours and said she is fine, just shaken up, her car took the damage though). Her agent told ours that she is very interested in our home, she would be sending a counter offer in by noon tomorrow. She wants to come back on Monday and see the house again and hopes that we weren't offended by her cancelling the appointment this evening. Due to her jobs monday is the earliest she can come back. Her agent was worried that we would refuse to deal with her but promised that she would send the counter back tomorrow and keep the ball rolling.

She is prequalified for the loan, they are still getting a good faith estimate for closing costs, and she has sent a copy of the lease agreement to her agent and he will fax it to our agent.

So what hope I had that she was using todays visit to back out has diminished- she seems very interested and I hope that all goes through well and we make a deal!

Being the skeptical person that I am; what coincidental timing to have an accident the same afternoon as your appointment.

Since she's your only offer, I would hate to totally dismiss her, but she sounds like this is going to make for a LOONNNGGG ordeal.

Personally, there is no way I'd pull the house off of the market for her until she had solid financing. Pre-qualified means nothing.

I hope that she doesn't have a new addendum to the contract of you paying to fix her car...

groomingal - I hope your status on the MLS is not contract pending or anything like that. At least then you can still continue to show the house. I hope this works out for you without you having to give up too much.

qdognj - ROFLMAO

"I hope that she doesn't have a new addendum to the contract of you paying to fix her car..."

That's exactly what I was thinking!

I agree with minibim...pre-qualified is nothing. Just about anyone can get pre-qualified. She really should have presented you with a pre-approval or approval letter from her lender as part of her initial offer. That's the standard in my area.

Now she is going to have to fork over more money to buy another car. If she hardly has any spare money now, how will she handle getting a car AND buying a home. Even if someone else caused the accident and she gets money from their insurance co, she still will only get the fair market value for her current car. If the accident was her fault, then she will have the deductible to pay(assuming she has insurance). She sounds so cash poor that even the deductible will cause her problems.

"I hope that she doesn't have a new addendum to the contract of you paying to fix her car..."

and give her a ride to work!

She sounds so cash poor that even the deductible will cause her problems.

You could be right, especially if it's in the higher $500 to $2,000 range.

Groomingal--Any news yet? Did she respond to your counter? Inquiring minds want to know!

Well we were supposed to have a counter from her yesterday- she never followed through-imagine that. She didn't say anything about the counter until after her wreck-we were laughing saying she probably wants one of our vehicles thrown in the deal. Our agent just left for a two week vacation and left his partner (brother) in charge of us. He is trying to contact her agent and set a 6pm deadline for today.

Another note, our agent has not had a showing for us in about 2 1/2 weeks, his brother has had us for a day and had 2 showings in 24 hours. We had to turn one down they wanted to come at 8pm-9pm-the kids get ready for bed then. They understood and set something up for this weekend. The other couple set an appt. for this morning and didn't show up. Anytime our agent has been gone or left his brother to work with us, we have showings galore!

groomingal -

IMHO, your potential buyer is stringing this one out. She basically wants you to pay for everything. OHH, she has no money for closing costs. Sorry, that's a "no go" in my book. Let the buyer finance her own closing costs. She has a lease, she pays it. You're selling "as is." She can deal with the appliances. She can have the blinds and the ac.

You have a deadline of 6 PM today. That's it - no more!!!!!! Be done with her!! I know the market is tough, but this one is not worth it.

Hopefully your agents brother will bring you a viable buyer.

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT

groomingal--really, really, really reconsider this offer. There are so many red flags going up here! Let her come back in November or so if your home is still on the market. It sounds like your counteroffer has expired anyway. I know it's a tough market in some areas, but this one sounds worse than no offer IMHO.

In my office, we have a little joke that if we want to suddenly get really busy, plan a few days off or a vacation! For some reason I can go a couple of days without any showings, etc. but the minute I hit the road for a vacation, my cell phone rings like crazy! Maybe it's just that realtor "myth" at work here with the brother! ; )

Well DH and I have decided she isn't worth the hassle. Of course we want to sell but she is putting us at the bare bottom already. We have talked about changing RE agencies for a few weeks now and this offer came up, but we have decided to cut the crazy lady loose and go with another agency. On a side note when we listed our house we were the 6th house on the street(a short one) to list- only 2 are still on market ours and a lady two doors down (her house is the original interior we have remodeled). We have not been getting many showings lately and about 85% are no shows. We are thinking that maybe with a new agency- it can bring in some new people and get us sold.

Good for you!! Ball is in her court if she really wants the house.

How did yours compare to those that sold? Interior, size, and price?

Lyfia- that's what we thought- if she wants it bad enough she can bend some.

In comparison we are a 3bdrm 2.5 bath townhouse with about 1650 sq. ft, largest yard on the lot- new privacy fence- and we have new hardwoods in the whole house, fresh paint, fixtures, etc.- The ones that have sold- 2 of them were 2 bdrm 1500sq ft-not updated at all. 2 were 3 bdrm 2.5 baths completely gutted and redone (priced 15K adn 20K more than us) We are priced $500 more than the lady with the outdated 2bdrm on the other side of us. Everyone sold pretty close to their asking price and we are priced at the lower end of our range. We just don't understand why we haven't sold and maybe a new agent and agency can open us to the market again.

If extremely similar properties have sold, and yours hasn't, definitely change REAs. Better yet, find out which agent sold the comps. Find out which company and realtors sold, and hire that one.

My REA just told me that August is slow, to hang in there, and wait for things to pick up in September.

In comparison we are a 3bdrm 2.5 bath townhouse with about 1650 sq. ft, largest yard on the lot- new privacy fence- and we have new hardwoods in the whole house, fresh paint, fixtures, etc.- The ones that have sold- 2 of them were 2 bdrm 1500sq ft-not updated at all. 2 were 3 bdrm 2.5 baths completely gutted and redone (priced 15K adn 20K more than us) We are priced $500 more than the lady with the outdated 2bdrm on the other side of us. Everyone sold pretty close to their asking price and we are priced at the lower end of our range. We just don't understand why we haven't sold and maybe a new agent and agency can open us to the market again.

When did these houses sell? I also wonder if there were a few buyers in this price range that decided not to continue looking for houses due to the news reports. I'd stopped looking for another house but just started going back out the last 2 or so weeks.

I think you have a good plan, maybe you need someone that's advertising more, but do you know what your current agent has done? Before switching, I would let the current agent show you your folder with copies of the advertising she's done. If there are no buyers, switching agents won't help.

If extremely similar properties have sold, and yours hasn't, definitely change REAs. Better yet, find out which agent sold the comps. Find out which company and realtors sold, and hire that one.

My REA just told me that August is slow, to hang in there, and wait for things to pick up in September.

How does one find out who sold what properties? This is something I would like to look into myself. Our contract is coming up for renewal, so we have to decide what we will do.

I may make a new post as this may help someone else... if people aren't following this post, they won't see the answer if there is one.

How does one find out who sold what properties? This is something I would like to look into myself.

Hmmm...That's a good question. We have one very active and aggressive agent who sends out a flyer every so often (once a month? two months?) that lists all the properties that have sold in the townhouse community with listing price, sold price, closing costs, # bedrooms/baths, and I think but I'm not so sure, the agency that handled the sale (this made getting comps for our townhouse extremely easy) But that wouldn't tell you the actual agent.

If you live in a very active (and nosy) neighborhood, you could just ask the neighbors. It's amazing how much people remember. When we were looking for agents, we noted the name of the agent for the townhouse that sold in one week for the asking price (all the neighbors thought the owner was NUTS for asking that price, but he got it). We also asked neighbors and friends for names. Oddly, almost everyone had a business card of someone (who knew?! I guess I should start carrying my agent's business cards).

groomingal,
In many states, the sale of real estate is public information and you can find out sales dates and prices by going to the city clerk's office. I am not sure if the agent's name is listed, I doubt it.

If you call in a couple of firms that work in your area and ask to see comps to your home, they probably will pull the MLS sheet on the recent sales. From there, you should be able to see who sold the homes. It is a little devious to use this method, but it should work. Just be sure to give the agent who gives you the comps an equal chance to get the listing.

Update!!!- Well she came back yesterday and has accepted our counter offer (a week later) and is supposed to let us know if she is getting a home inspection tomorrow and she has ten days to complete the inspection. so far we're still moving forward- wish us luck!

Best wishes, groomingal :-)

Good karma to you.
Kathy G in MI

Update!!!- Well she came back yesterday and has accepted our counter offer (a week later) and is supposed to let us know if she is getting a home inspection tomorrow and she has ten days to complete the inspection. so far we're still moving forward- wish us luck!

Good luck!

I'm pretty surprised to read this. I figured she was gone. Fingers crossed that she will do everything on time, although I wouldn't hold my breath. I guess if it gets done, late is better then not

Breaking News!
We tried to call our REA (well his brother he left us with) we found a house we wanted to see and wanted some more info on it- left 2 messages and never received any return calls. This was on Thursday- we needed to see the house this morning. So I called the listing agent- she was more than happy to show it to us. We liked the house- put our offer on- lady accepted- and we are on the go.

Until....we make the 2 hour drive back- hubby goes into work the p.m. and the brother of our agent calls to let us know our potential buyer fell through with financing. Wouldn't be so bad but he knew this as of Thurs.- he said fri. they set her up with a mortgage lender they work with and they should know something this week.

He also said she would want to move the closing date out a week or two if her financing is approved. I'm firm on not moving the date to accomodate her- we based our contract to close on the other house on the same date.

I think we are destined to just stay here- this will be the 5th house in a year that we've lost a contract on to buy and we have been graced with a buyer that is a complete PITA! I will be calling our selling agent and expressing my discontent over the lack of communication on their end.
Urgh, I feel better now that I got to vent. Thanks for listening :)

well we will know tomorrow is she able to obtain financing- she was supposed to meet the lender this evening when she got off work- so at least she is still trying. not holding my breath though....

groomingal - I hope it will work out for you even though it is looking like others said before that she wouldn't be able to get financing. Sux! BTW your agents sounds like they are not the best communicators either. What is so hard about keeping people updated on what is going on. The agent we used when buying our lot was great with just letting us know what was going on even if it was nothing he sent an e-mail to say so even unsolicited.