Don't put your house for sale if you aren't going to sell it!

[MSWR0319]

I am so annoyed and need to vent! It's petty, so I don't want to vent to friends. We have been looking for a lake house for awhile. Found the perfect one yesterday. It was list FSBO. Absolutely perfect. It was an older couples' house who had decided to spend the entire year down south vs doing 1/2 and 1/2. We put in a solid offer (even allowing them to stay in the house until they go back down south because one of their concerns was moving quickly), fully expecting a counter only to get a call back that they decided they weren't ready to sell yet and were going to take it off the market. They were going to have a family meeting before deciding for sure. Ugh! I had already mentally moved in. Their son was handling the offers and was also there when they showed us the house. I think he's the one with the bigger issue than the owners. I just want to scream at them DON'T LIST IT IF YOU AREN'T WANTING TO SELL!! End of pout.

[Simon]

That is crazy frustrating! There is a local house for sale that is listed at the owners minimum price point. They refuse to negotiate on anything at all. I don't know what their agent is doing advising them, but we have heard from several would be buyers about their frustration that the sellers won't negotiate on anything at all.

[NCGrandma]

You're not alone! When my family was house hunting this Spring in a super hot market (many houses were under contract within a day or two), there were a few houses that kept bouncing on and off the market, with a different realtor each time. Some were obviously seriously overpriced and needed lots of work, and very hard to schedule a showing. One has been under contract several times, then magically back on the market without ever selling. After many months, my family finally found something nice in their preferred neighborhood, but the process was very frustrating and discouraging.


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[specialp]

That is definitely BP worthy. What a way to waste everyone's time and mental energy.

[PZMommy]

I'm so sorry!!

That happened to us when we were house hunting awhile back. It was an older couple who wanted to downsize. They actually accepted our offer, and about a week later called our agent to back out of the deal saying they decided to stay in their current house. Our realtor said since we had a contract we could have forced the issue or sued them, but it really wasn't worth the time or hassle. We ended up with a smaller house than what we would have liked, but it is a much better location.

[MSWR0319]

I'm so sorry!!

That happened to us when we were house hunting awhile back. It was an older couple who wanted to downsize. They actually accepted our offer, and about a week later called our agent to back out of the deal saying they decided to stay in their current house. Our realtor said since we had a contract we could have forced the issue or sued them, but it really wasn't worth the time or hassle. We ended up with a smaller house than what we would have liked, but it is a much better location.

This is actually what I was worried about too after we looked at it and I could tell that the man was emotionally attached. So I guess it's good that we didn't get that far!

Thank you for commiserating! I don't think we'll find anything as nice, but hopefully something else will pop up. They told us the amount they had it listed was the same as what a realtor told them she would list it for. So the lady told us there was wiggle room because they wouldn't have to deal with commission and then DH said the son cut her off and said that he had to look out for their best interest. Our offer was exactly what they would have received after commission plus allowing them to stay in the house until they left at the end of the summer. I just wonder what people are thinking sometimes!

[khm]

This is actually what I was worried about too after we looked at it and I could tell that the man was emotionally attached. So I guess it's good that we didn't get that far!

Thank you for commiserating! I don't think we'll find anything as nice, but hopefully something else will pop up. They told us the amount they had it listed was the same as what a realtor told them she would list it for. So the lady told us there was wiggle room because they wouldn't have to deal with commission and then DH said the son cut her off and said that he had to look out for their best interest. Our offer was exactly what they would have received after commission plus allowing them to stay in the house until they left at the end of the summer. I just wonder what people are thinking sometimes!

People kind of lose their minds with real estate. There are so many emotions wrapped up. Especially in your case! Older couple, son involved, etc.

The first house we ever put an offer in on was a woman who was getting married, selling her house really made her sad. It also was FSBO, which I'm all for, but I do think sometimes a guiding professional would be a good thing for certain sellers......

She was horribly insulted by our totally typical offer (of very, very slightly less than list). So, we moved on. A week later, after she vented her emotions I guess, she contacted our realtor and said she'd accept our offer. We'd already offered and accepted on a different house. Turns out, she really lost out on not selling to us because she ended up listing with a realtor and selling for a decent amount less than our offer (plus realtor fees).

All that to say, keep an eye, they might end up getting a handle on their emotions and you could go at it again. Clearly, don't bank on it, keep searching, but you never know.

[Corie]

What ended up happening with your husband accepting the promotion and you guys having to move? I've been wondering about that!

[MSWR0319]

What ended up happening with your husband accepting the promotion and you guys having to move? I've been wondering about that!

After countless days of very emotional conversations, we decided to stay put. He told his boss we are not relocating until the kids are done with school. He won't lose his current job or anything like that, he just won't get offered any big promotions. Anything more than what he has now will take even more time away from his family which doesn't work well when you have two young kids, so it's really not a loss in my mind. He kept saying he'd coach the kids teams and get involved if we moved down there, which I reminded him that he doesn't do that now, so why would that change, especially when you're living 30 minutes away from where you'd work and the commute time would be much higher than the 5 minutes it is now. In the end, he admitted that he liked the lifestyle (living on a lake) more than the actual thought of moving, which is what I really thought was a big driver. He said that if he didn't take the job he'd like to buy a lake house on one of the lakes around here so we could go there on weekends. I agreed to that, and here we are! Nothing we do ever seems to be easy