DIYbanter - View Single Post - Am I getting Scammed.. ROYALLY? Putting an offer on a house

wrote:

am I correct to say that if they accepted my offer VERBALLY during
the
original deal, are they ethically or legally force to go through the
deal?

They didn't accept your offer. You were still going back and forward on
the price, at which time, they put your offer aside, and decided to see
what they could get at the open house, effectively saying "no" to your
offer. It may have been a tactic to scare you into coming up to $202K,
and that's perfectly within their rights. Sounds to me like they are
firm on what they want to get for the house, and won't take anything
less.

If the house has been on the market for a long time, it is likely that
they aren't in position to take anything less. They aren't desparate
enough. They can wait - however long it takes - for someone else to
come along and offer what they are asking.

If $195K is all you think the place is worth, and you're not willing to
come up to $202K, then walk away from this deal and don't give it
another thought. Or, if you really, really love it, then offer them
$202K. (ultimately $7K is really not all that much more, IMO).

When I was house hunting, there was one house that was in a similar
situation. According to my research, it was waaayyyy overpriced. I
offered a fair and reasonable price, and even backed up my offer with
concrete comparable analysis that showed that was all they could
reasonably expect in the market. They did the delay tactic with me too.
I walked away, because I didn't think it was worth what they were
asking. They were renting the place and had no reason to sell anytime
soon. They could wait it out for a buyer (ahem, sucker) to pay their
inflated price.

That house sat on the market for 13 months, during which time, the
renters moved out, and it sat empty through a harsh winter. At that
point I was a happy new owner of a nicer, bigger place for less than
what they were asking, but I still checked on occasion because I was
curious whatever happened to it.

It finally did sell, but for about $20K less than what I had offered,
or over $80K less than what they had originally wanted. I was later
told by my real estate agent that the pipes froze during the winter,
creating lots of damage, and a buyer swooped in and nabbed it at a
"distressed" price.

I'm not crying... but they probably are.

jen