I share your relief- it is to your benefit that the sale fell apart, no question. I share your views on the value of a (good) realtor. We were on the fence about selling fsbo this past spring and ended up going with a realtor (30 years in the business- sold 72 homes last year) who didn't flinch at setting really firm boundaries with the bidders and buyers. It turned out really well for us (much higher than we had planned to list at as a fsbo) and we absolutely could not have moved that deal through to closing without her skills. I hope your sale next spring brings a deal that leaves you feeling a whole lot better, I'm sure it'll happen.

This post was edited by kris_ma on Thu, Aug 7, 14 at 14:29

Sorry to hear the deal fell apart... an agent can also act as an emotional buffer between the two principals.
So, why did they not go for the one year home owners warranty? And was the deal breaker the HVAC concern or the financing contingency?
Also, it is difficult to get a lender to commit to a loan too far in advance of a closing date. You might have been able to write up an addendum that said something to the effect that the financing contingency deadline is 20 days post executed contract no matter the timing on the loan commitment. If the financing fell apart, the deposit goes to the seller. At least you would collect the deposit.
Sorry for the delay in selling, but now you have more time to look for the area that you will call home in the Spring.

I am sorry things went this way, but if it's not meant to be, it's not.

I remember your previous post, and I find it interesting that the buyers let this fall apart given that they were so interested in moving in so their kids could enroll in school Aug 21. Now they're left in limbo and they will either put off moving for a year, or their kids will be pulled out of school to start somewhere else mid year. Seems to me a poor choice for them to make, given the furnace was still operating fine.

Good luck to you.

I think offering to split the cost of the new furnace and AC, leaving them to only pay 3k more was a bargain for the buyer. Too bad for them, but good for you that the sale fell through.Good luck with your sale next spring.

"Our house was not for sale by owner or through a realtor"

???? Confused. How was it for sale, then?

I would not be surprised if they came back in a day or two and asked if your husband's offer still stands.

I'm with Dee.

And Jewel, if you haven't seen her other thread... they (buyers) came knocking on their door.

I'm sorry your sale fell through. Blessing in disguise.

My husband and his ex have their co-owned home for sale. I could do a whole thread on NOT using a friend as a realtor. Another time ;-). They had an accepted offer that fell through yesterday also. Blessing there is, the "friend" realtor will now have to spend the bucks she should have on professional photography, a panoramic view, and a description befitting a 1.6 million dollar home.

Good luck to you whatever happens next!

Things were going well until our lawyers got into the mix but I do not want to put the blame on them - they have a job to protect their respective clients and my belief is their motivations were honest. The reality was something else, though. Of course the way I see it is their lawyer had his nose out of joint because he was not in the mix initially ;-) Not my fault he was out of the country!

dee and kirkhall - I think they'd chew glass before admitting they can't find a house as nice as ours but that makes me sound like one of those *endowment principal* sellers so I won't say that! He calls himself a 'recovering lawyer' and now sells corporate internet cloud stuff (or something). The reality is, he's a lawyer down to his toes, but pulls out the small town KS boy stuff when it serves him. He had my husband dancing to his tune until night before last - pushed him too far and questioned his integrity thinking he could shame him into concessions. DH's middle name is integrity. The guy shot his own foot. Until then we were willing to look for middle ground on whatever might come up. Ideally, negotiation allows everyone to feel they've won their important points and compromised in areas they can live with but after making our compromises on timing to accommodate their needs they wanted significant financial concessions and we drew our line in the sand.

Adaciafun we thought it was a beneficial arrangement for them also - there was no reason for us to 'screw' them but somehow that's what they thought. Or maybe they found something they like better, wanted a way out so asked for something outrageous knowing we'd say no.

kris_ma that's wonderful that your realtor worked so diligently and you were able to benefit financially. I have to say that's my one fear - that we will not end up in the same financial position as we would with this sale. That's not a good way to look at it and I know that - this sale didn't happen so what might have been shouldn't even be a factor in my head - but that's hard to let go.

ncrealestateguy I don't know why they didn't want the homeowners warranty but my guess is they figured there was a way to get money for a brand new furnace (and then some) out of us and then could live with the existing one till it died - perhaps 5 years down the line, perhaps 5 months. The deal breaker was our saying we would not kick 12k back to them at closing and their saying they would not accept our HVAC offer to split cost. Complete impasse. I've read and reread your post and am still confused. I understand a lender might not commit to a loan far out from a closing, but how far is too far? Will they commit to a loan 30 days from closing? 2 weeks? What's 'normal'? I am not clear on the addendum you suggest. And does a buyer EVER agree to earnest money going to seller in the event of anything other than out and out default? Not obtaining the mortgage is not default and in that case standard language (as I understand it) says earnest $ reverts to buyer. I can't imagine anyone ever signing to that but will ask here also. Had we been able to collect earnest $ if their deal fell through, that would have made us much more confident that we could recoup losses but it still wouldn't have changed the outcome. Just curious - is earnest $ percentage standard throughout the country?

Earnest is not standard throughout the country, and in my area, isn't a percentage....