A Cautionary Tale: The $95,000 Refrigerator!

Declining market values are tough on everyone. And no one ever wants to believe their house is worth less than $xxx,000.00. 

So you've got an offer, and the negotiations are fairly close, and now, Mr. & Mrs. Seller, you've decided you've given ENOUGH!  And now the last counter-offer has come in, and not only is it still too low, but the buyer wants: the brand new pool, wood stove, washer/dryer, patio set, plasma TV or  _____ too! (You fill in the blank, we know, buyer's will ask for just about anything that's not nailed down from time to time!)You've come down on your price. More than once. 

Well, before you put up a stone wall that can't be broken down, I've just got to tell you about the $95,000.00 Refrigerator!  Back in the ‘90's when we had the last major downturn in the market, with a sustained period of declining values, I picked up an expired listing on one of the larger homes in my marketplace.  The seller's needed a change from the agent who hadn't gotten their house sold in over eight months on the market.  In the course of the listing interview, I discovered they had an offer on their home, but it never quite came together. 

It fell apart during the negotiations. Seems that seller had only recently purchased a new $2800 refrigerator, and planned on taking it with them.  The buyer wanted it, and wouldn't buy the house without it! The seller said absolutely not, and lost the buyer...

Fast forward another few months, and we have found a potential buyer - who of course wants the refrigerator - but it's amazing how a year later the seller's perspective has changed.  When they put their house on the market nearly a year ago, they had time. They had options. They didn't have to move...

Now they have committed themselves to the new job, and they MUST move,...and they still want to keep the refrigerator.  Now I can't blame them, especially since their sale price is now $95,000.00 less than the offer they refused to put together the previous year.

I must give credit to my Seller. They didn't make the same mistake twice!  They bit the bullet, as painful as it was, and sold their home WITH the refrigerator. But I can only imagine that even this many years later, they are wishing they had sold it to the first buyer!

So, Mr. & Mrs. Seller, before you get too determined that you're just NOT going to give in on that last item, I want to encourage you to carefully think through your situation.  There is no crystal ball in real estate, and as much as the market looks like it is stabilizing; nothing is really THAT certain. 

Chances are, once your move is completed, you'll be in a much better position to replace that item, and probably with something new.  You hired me to help you sell your home, and I want to help you make the best real estate decision possible. 

Because your home is such a large ticket item, a 1 or 2% decrease in value will probably exceed the cost of the item you're trying to hang on to.  Is it really worth it?