Recently, a seller/buyer of mine backed out of the perfect home for her. And it was 100% the right thing to do. The condo was a good price, great layout, wonderful condition and location, but it came with many obstacles, and finally one too many to make it a viable home. We had seen dozens of other homes and this one really suited her needs and wants perfectly. Here's how we tried to make it work and why we eventually bailed.
Obstacle #1:
It was nearly impossible to show. The condo was tenant occupied and they wanted exactly 24 hours notice. I tried giving 48 plus, but that was not good enough. I had to call exactly the day before/time before I wanted to show. I found this to be difficult, as my client was not sure when she could go. So I tried telling the agent on Monday that it would be "either Thursday or Friday" and I would let her know exactly when closer to that time. When I finally found out my client's schedule, it was a wee bit less than a whole 24 hours, and we were rejected for the showing, so we then had to wait about 3-4 days, which was also extremely hard to pin down with the agent. On Friday, I said, "can we go next Tuesday at 2?" and she said "call the day before." I said, "but I have you on the phone right now, can't we just set this up?" Finally, we made an appointment. Sheesh. It just shouldn't be this hard!
Obstacle #2:
The tenants had to stay in the house until the end of Feburary. In spite of their complete PIA showing requirements, the agent insisted that they were dream tenants and this would be an easy experience for my buyer. It was a big burden for my client to find temporary housing, but since the actual home was perfect, she tried to make it work, with my encouragement, afterall, nothing in life is perfect, right? So we agreed to let the tenants stay and rushed to find a sublet or short term rental to bridge the gap between her house closing and the end of February 11.
Obstacle #3:
We show up for the home inspection, and the agent apologises profusely for the mistake she made in the condo fee published in the MLS. It was not $465/ month, it was actually $625/month. Oh and this does not include electricity. So factor in a high of about $120 more a month when the heat pump is really cranked. This was quite a bit more than a small typo or forgivable mistake. That equates to about $35K in value if it were a mortgage payment. We talked about ways to make it work, asked the lender if the seller could buy down the rate significantly, talked about reducing the price. My client was shocked and disappointed, but wanted to try to make it work. Meanwhile...
Obstacle #4, straw that broke the camel's back:
Incomplete condo docs! I don't know why property management companies do not take putting together the resale package more seriously than they do. This building delivered in 2006, all sellers are underwater value wise if not mortage wise, and they can't give us current year financials? With an enormous condo fee like that, where is their money going? My client called with questions and was told to email. She and I both emailed for a current year statement, questions about a budget shortfall in 2008, asked for meeting minutes (there were NONE), and clarification on a $25 investor fee that was listed as tied to this unit. We NEVER RECEIVED AN ANSWER.
Well that was it, she, and I were both done. I could not in good faith continue to encourage her to look beyond the massive warts and pimples associated with this place. Even if we could have come to an agreement to make it work financially with the seller, there were just too many massive red flags. I do feel sorry for the seller, they were set to sell for $200K less than they paid in 2006, had been on the market for months, and these were the best terms they could come up with to sell? This is a perfect anatomy of how NOT to sell a house.
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