Tomorrow

Tomorrow was Originally Posted on March 9, 2004 by lavarock

I have been talking with my real estate agent a bit recently. I have received an offer on my house for sale on the mainland. You would think this would be good news, but today was about the last straw.

Because I did not have time to fully fix and update the place, I was convinced to list the house for less than I thought it was worth. Sure, the agent had comprable prices and justifications for the listing price, but she assured me this price fairly reflected the condition of the place, compared with nearby houses which had been updated, etc.

So I get this offer for a lot less than the listing price AND they want money for closing and money to replace the carpets and this fixed and that fixed. The whole time I’ve been fixing things in the house and paying too much for repairs that I’m not sure are necessary. Because I’m thousands of miles away, I have to pay for things that I would normally fix myself for less or free.

In the meantime, I agreed to give them thousands towards closing and thousands to replace carpeting, etc.

So then I get a counter offer from this buyer today. they have gotten the house inspected and there are a number of things wrong. I have not seen the list so have nbo idea what things there are. My price is supposed to reflect these things though.

Now I am presented with 6 or 8 things that are “hot buttons” for the buyers. The toilet downstairs doesn’t work. It turns out it is turned off due to a slight leak. That is a 5 minute fix with a wrench. The buyers want a plumber. There is a spot on the ceiling that has probably been there for 12 years. They want somneone to investigate it to see if there is a leak. There is a piece of plywood (about 1 square foot) which is up under an eave and has a discoloration or mold on it. They want it replaced and the mold investigated. There is a kickplate (a small piece of wood) that they want replaced. This is something you get at Homne Depoit and pay a buck or two for and glue in place. A 5 minute fix! Tweo window panes have cracks in them. They want me to replace the glass. I think you are getting the idea. These are not major issues!

There IS a major issue that concerns them. There was a nail popped on a valley on the roof. It caused water to rot a 2×6 and caused water to drip into the garage. I fixed the nail pop and all was well. The agent had me fix it by calling a roofer. They listed all the shingles there and told me “code” is to place a large sheet of metal flashing there and then reshingled. The buyers want $750 to have their roofer inspect the whole roof and verify it is ok.

When the agent called today, she was hoping that I would just agree to have these things done and their signed contract would be approved by me and all would be fine.

WRONG!

I told her in no uncertain terms that I would NOT be fixing these things. That I had already dropped the price to offset things like these. I agreed (and later had misgivings) that I offvered a final $1300 for the buyer to take the house “as is” with any repairs needed and go to closing. I think they may not do that. If that is the case, that they walk, I will take the place off the market, go back and do the repairs myself and update the kitchen, remove the wallpaper and so on, myself. THEN I will have the price reflect the updates and relist it.

I believe that the problem with these buyers is that they are 1st time buyers, they are buying a house above their means and have no idcea what owning a house involves. If they are makming an issue out of cracked windows and cannot replace them or hire someone to replace them themselves, they have no business buying a 5 bedroom house! They appear to be wanting a house free of problems and probably deserve a house free of problems. I am hoping folr a buyer who understands the difference between big and small issues.

I should hear the results of my decision tomorrow. I actually hope that they decide to walk away. I feel I have already given away too much profit on this deal and would rather go back and fix these things and relist the house for tens of thousands more.

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On a second issue, I sent some information to the leaseholder of the new property in Hawaii. I will talk with a representative tomorrow and hopefully find if it looks good for me to work out the problems with my mortgage company and thinjgs that have to be done on the property.

Tomorrow I have to go fix a PC that I worked on Friday that is not yet running smoothly.

Tomorrow I am sscheduled to show a neighbor a farm and how that owner does his pulping.

Tomorrow I am scheduled to meet with a gentleman who wants me to market his coffee for him.

Tomorrow there is a meeting which concerns taxes and the farm.

Tomorrow there is a winter storm watch for the Big Island (yes, we get winter here). We probably will get a bit of snow up at the observatories.

Tomorrow!