Names and companies omitted to protect….me! There once was an agent with a high end listing, the sellers agreed to use the agent, signed, sealed and delivered in the dead of winter. The home he listed had many upgrades and amenities, and was marketed diligently by the agent. All was well but for one catch, the sellers needed to find another home, and the proceeds from the listing had to be rolled over to a new home. Door knocking, flyer’s, mailers,listing syndication, virtual tours, open houses oh my! The listing agent had many offers initially, but few were acceptable to the sellers. Until, one day a buyers agent called with an offer, and a price acceptable to the sellers! Joy and happiness rained down from the sky, everyone was happy. All seemed well, except for one thing, the terms…..
The buyers agent negotiated furiously with the listing agent, one counter turned to two, two to three, at last count was five counter offers!!! Untold hours were spent on the phone between the listing agent and buyers agent, who asked for everything from the absurd (when the buyer can fund the loan, written agreement that buyers deposit will be returned if seller cancels because they can not find acceptable housing (that’s a given), to the reasonable (reimbursement for appraisal and inspection fees if seller cancels). Both parties came to an impasse after three weeks, because the listing agent sensed a scam brewing. The sellers conceded to all of the buyers monetary concerns in regards to cancellation, but the buyers agent insisted that both parties have the same length of time for contingency periods. Bear with me for a minute, the sellers need to purchase another home and have a 17 day contingency period on their next purchase, while the buyer for the listed property has the same 17 day contingency period. Having said that he seller has a longer period of time to back out of the contract, and the buyers did not like that….so they left.
Fast forward 4 weeks, guess who’s back?????? The same buyer, who swears up and down that things have changed and they will concede on the contingency issue issue (the sellers agreed to reimburse the buyers on all fees and monies that buyer would lose if they cancelled). So, the skeptical sellers and listing agent agreed to give it another shot. Negotiations continued, the listing agent stipulated 3 days to get this in to escrow or else. Guess what happened?? The same issue arose again, the listing agent refused and ceased contact. Then the buyers agents boyfriend calls to intervene, and confirmed what the listing agent had known all along (with a little skillfull interogation)
THE BUYER WANTED TO LET THE SELLER ENTER IN TO ESCROW ON THEIR NEXT HOME PURCHASE, AND INCUR FEES AND TIME AND EMOTIONS. THE NEXT STEP WAS TO GRIND THE SELLERS DOWN ON THE PRICE, OR THREATEN TO BACK OUT OF THE CONTRACT!!!!
The good guys won in the end, home was purchased by a nice couple for all cash at 99.27% of list price 🙂
The End
Buying your first home? Selling your house? Looking to relocate? Give me a call, Carlos J. Amador at (562) 833-4292 or visit my website www.carlosjamador.com or www.yourfullertonhome.com for a no obligation free consultation
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