[sneezyone]

OK, so DH and I are selling our house ourselves. It's been on the market about 5 weeks - plenty of showings and lots of interest. Yesterday, I got two offers.

Offer A is 30K under list - a total insult in this seller's market. So I called and told the agent no dice unless your clients up the ante, considerably. Offer B is for 5K over list but they want us to cover all closing costs and prepaids (estimated to be $7k).

We feel like we priced our home more fairly and don't really want to accept less than the asking price but the buyers don't want to pay anything at closing.

So, should I:
a) ask the agent to bring her client's offer up by $2K to cover the anticipated closing costs,
b) tell the agent we will pay up to $6000 in buyer closing expenses, or
c) let go of our ideal sales price and not haggle at all.

[ermiller]

my advice... and I don't have anything to do with real estate, just comes from having moved a few times :

Definitely counteroffer.

I would suggest the up to $6000 in closing costs rather than an increase in offer price, considering they have already offered above the asking price.

My other thought is, will you have to pay any realtor fees if this offer came through an agent? Usually, at least here in MI, the seller pays the realtor fees. Or did you already build that in to your estimated fees/costs? If you do, then I would consider decreasing the amount of closing costs you are willing to pay to counter the fee incurred by the buyer using an agent.

That is just my advice Good luck and congrats on getting offers so fast! We've had our home FSBO for the last 3 months and nothing yet!!

Erin

[lmrod55]

I think it depends what you are willing to "live with"...

I don't recommend you go with option C! I am sure that they sent you this offer KNOWING that you guys would come back with a counter (especially if they are working with an agent!).

I too would recommend you cap the closing costs at 6K.

**NOT AN AGENT, SO WATCH OUT FOR MY ADVICE**

Good luck - ld

[sneezyone]

Well - I decided that the 2K difference wasn't really the problem (we're only paying the buyers agent - so 3%), it was the open ended nature of the "seller to pay all closing costs and prepaids" provision. So...being the kind woman that I am (and wanting to get this OVER WITH!) I agreed to pay up to $7K in buyer closing expenses and not a penny more! Now the buyer has some incentive to stay under that cap and we have some guarantee that our expenses will be limited. If their costs go over $7K, they'll jjust have to deal with it!

The next thing will be negotiating the close possession date. The agent hinted that to stay under the $7K they may need to close earlier than Dec. 10. Umm...hello! I am not going to rent the house back from them for 10 days at a rate higher than my current mortgage payment! So, we'll see. The agent is coming by the house tonight to hammer things out in writing.

[sugarbabysmommy]

Well, if they neeeeed to close by Dec. 10 to stay under the 7K cap (which I'm very curious why) then counter that you will pay your current mortgage prorated for the ten days you need to rent back.

[jstunme]

I was going to go with option B - capping the closing costs so I am glad you did that.

Regarding closing date - lol - remind the agent that the longer they go into December -the less closing cost there will be due to taxes paid by the buyer.

M

[sneezyone]

I think they want some additional concession from us in return for the capped fees - namely getting out sooner than we planned. But they, like us, are a military family and should understand that our govt. pack dates ARE NOT negotiable. We can't be out until the 9th and we won't be out until the 9th. I'm guessing they'll want the place cleaned too so I'll arrange to have the cleaning crew there on the 10th and they can move in on or after the 11th. That's the best I can do. They'll just have to suck up and deal. I asked for closing + 3 days for posession. That's hardly a huge imposition. They just want to be in asap since they're going out of town on the 18th. Not my prob, tho.


WOO HOO! I'm in the money....I'm in the money...err...DH and I are in the money...

[mlbsands]

Congrats on the sale.. also don;t worry about cleaning too much.. the house only needs to be "broom clean" and nothing more. They can make it spotless if they want.

Mandy

[pjkay720]

I'm from PA and used to work on the mortgage end of real estate. I would definitely counter offer. I used to see alot of sellers offer a seller's assist. Meaning you could counter offer and say you will accept but only offer to pay 3K of the closing. Then let them counter that if they want to. I certainly wouldn't in today's market offer to pay the full closing cost. I just read an article in the paper that said there are far more buyers than sellers right now and that might work to your advantage. Good Luck

[sneezyone]

The thing is, we're military. Lots of military folks like us can't afford a down payment or closing costs (we couldn't when we bought the place) but they can afford the monthly payment. So I felt a certain empathy for their position. They did up the asking price too so it wasn't like they were trying to rob us blind. How does that saying go...a bird in the hand is worth more than ten in the bush? They're well-qualified, pre-approved buyers. Barring any inspection difficulties, this should be a snap! I have to admit, the idea of leaving here check in hand is also VEEERRRRY appealing!