In article , " CID wrote:

how can I : the buyer " be a PITA when I have offered my maxium to the
seller? I think its common cortesy to at least let the buyer know if
you are turning down the sale.

I agree; I don't think you're being a PITA, but I *do* think that you're in
danger of getting wrapped up in the idea of besting this seller in whatever
little game he's playing. Guess what: games like that have either one, or two,
losers; no winners. The only way to win the game is by refusing to play; i.e.,
walk away, and buy some other house instead.

Update,

guess what guys.

after my offer expired, out of the blues I am being told that the
sellers will take 197.000

If you don't have that in writing, you don't have that at all.

they waited two days to let me know this.

I will sit and think on it now. since, they did the same to me. what
erally ****es me off the most is the FACT they agreed at 195.

No, they didn't. You offered 195, and they did not accept in writing,
therefore they did not agree at that price. If they *had* agreed at 195, you'd
have a signed agreement. As Sam Goldwyn is reputed to have said, Oral
agreements aren't worth the paper they're written on.

If I were you... I'd find a different house to buy. Your last paragraph shows
that you're already thinking about participating in the game. You can't win.

Here's how the game is played: Based on this *oral* representation that the
seller will accept 197, you offer 197. You've lost the game already: that's 9K
more than you wanted to spend on this house. (Your initial offer was 188K, if
I recall correctly.) The seller will *not* accept this offer, though; instead,
he'll counter at about 202, figuring that if you've come up this far, you'll
probably come up a little farther. He might be right. You'll offer 199-nine,
and he'll counter at 201-five. You lose.

Some people just can't help but try to beat the other guy out of every nickel
they possibly can in any negotiation. Based on what you've described so far, I
think this seller is one of those people.

In a successful negotiation, both parties feel that they have a good deal (or,
if not a good deal, at least the best deal they're likely to get in the
circumstances). If you buy this house at anything over the 195 that was your
last offer, I suspect that you will not feel that you've gotten a good deal.

The only way to win the game is not to play.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?