One of my listings is about to close escrow next week. It’s a beautiful home on a view lot on the west side of town. Assisting this seller in buying the home in 2010 and helping her pick out the finishes, it’s hard to watch it sell. The seller is being very accommodating to the buyer and most everything has gone smoothly. This is not what I expected, for one reason only. The buyer is not represented.
The buyer called me the middle of April, just 4 days after the home went on the market. He asked if he could see the home. I asked if he was working with an agent. He replied, “No, I’d just like to see it.” My first thought was, he’ll see it and that will be that. But not so.
The buyer immediately told me that he and his wife walked by this home and the three next to it almost daily. Their walking path was at the rear of the home so they must have walked both directions toward the White Tank Mountains. I’d take that walk as well due to the views.
After revealing their walking path to me, he proceeded to say that he’d like to buy it. “Okay” I told him. I explained Agency and how that worked and he was fine with not being represented. It’s never been my policy to seek out these kinds of sales as it can turn all sideways in half a minute.
I proceeded with caution, explaining every form in detail. They both signed the contract electronically and off it went to my seller. She was pleased as punch as they had offered full price.
Fast forward to the appraisal. The home was on an over-sized lot with beautiful finishes and an attached casita. The seller has very good taste and the home showed well, not to mention it was spotless and smelled nice, too.
The appraiser was provided with the comparable sales, price of upgrades, and extra notes about how large the VIEW lot is with the view fencing, plus there were actually two parcels included in this sale.
Well, you guessed it. The home did not appraise at full price. The buyer sensed that the home was undervalued and offered to pay more than appraisal. We were actually $25,000 apart from list versus purchase price.
After much back and forth discussion, the price was set and we moved forward. Repairs were settled and we’re good to go. It’s been a rather smooth sale and I have to tell you, I’m a bit surprised at how easily everything has been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties.
This makes me think I should be considering this type of arrangement more often. If I were asked what the difficult parts of this transaction included, I’d say that emotions could have gotten in the way but they didn't because whenever one expressed frustration we discussed it.
The buyer wasn’t happy with the condition of the pool, even though it was being maintained. The pool company just didn’t do a very good job of it, and he knew his company could manage it better. Eliminating all emotions from responses and playing neutral ground helped both parties see the big picture. They relayed their emotions to me, but that is where the emotional roller coaster stopped. It’s almost the same as squelching two children from squabbling.
Moral of the story is that it’s not that difficult to manage both parties as long as you don’t let them manage your emotions and reactions. Thanks to both parties for a quick sale and for realizing that we all needed to look at the big picture! Keepin’ it Real!
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