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Buying a home, no agent involved. Advice needed.

18,304 38,677 June 29, 2015 at 09:48 PM in Chat
OT is fine ... so long as it makes me laugh.



Okay, so the seller called about the house we want and she made an offer. It's slightly more than we were willing to offer, but not grotesque. She said she will split the cost of whatever the title company charges to research the title and will also split the attorney's fees. She absolutely, positively refuses to use an agent. She said if we hire one, we have to pay 100% of her commission.

I told her we needed to talk it over, get some estimates from the title company and see what hiring an attorney will cost. I realize we have to pay for an appraisal and the inspection. Actually, at this point, do we even need an appraisal? Huh We had an appraisal done by a licensed realtor when we were there a few weeks ago. The owner wasn't happy with what the realtor said so she's decided to go with an appraisal she got last July because it's higher.

Have any of you ever bought a home without using an agent?

Can a real estate attorney handle everything?

Are RE attorneys cheaper than RE agents?

At what point in the purchase do you hire the attorney?

Even if we pay her asking price, she's taking a HUGE loss. MASSIVE! I realize that's not our problem but we do want to be kind. We know our original offer is above the appraisal we got but we want the house ... she needs to sell the house ... and we're not assholes.

Any advice to offer?
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Joined Aug 2007
heartless
> bubble2 9,236 Posts
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noungning
07-24-2015 at 01:42 PM.
07-24-2015 at 01:42 PM.
hug Man, when time gets rough it's just really bad!

UGH, I'm in a situation with my house right now too, I need to get some siding replaced, they want $10,000 what the fark will they be replacing it with? Some antique wood and 10k gold nails?! Annoyed
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Joined Dec 2008
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> bubble2 8,330 Posts
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tn_native
07-29-2015 at 11:40 AM.
07-29-2015 at 11:40 AM.
Quote from MsGal :
I called the appraiser and he said the report was not finished yet but should be ready in the morning (Friday).
Did you like what the appraisal said?

How are you today?
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Joined Jul 2008
You can call me "Al"
> bubble2 18,304 Posts
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Original Poster
MsGal
08-02-2015 at 12:28 PM.
08-02-2015 at 12:28 PM.
Update:

We agreed to a price a few days ago.

Today she EMAILED me Annoyed to say she wants to wait and sell in January.

Done. Sooooo done.

Blowup
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Joined Jun 2006
Jambi-rific in Seattle!
> bubble2 31,436 Posts
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Zoe Moon
08-02-2015 at 01:30 PM.
08-02-2015 at 01:30 PM.
Quote from MsGal :
Update:

We agreed to a price a few days ago.

Today she EMAILED me Annoyed to say she wants to wait and sell in January.

Done. Sooooo done.

Blowup
QPLR, and Comfort
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Joined Dec 2005
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> bubble2 8,887 Posts
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dealgate
08-02-2015 at 01:58 PM.
08-02-2015 at 01:58 PM.
IOW she has another interested party and is giving them a chance to make a better offer.
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Joined Jul 2008
You can call me "Al"
> bubble2 18,304 Posts
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Original Poster
MsGal
08-02-2015 at 02:20 PM.
08-02-2015 at 02:20 PM.
Quote from dealgate :
IOW she has another interested party and is giving them a chance to make a better offer.
I don't know who it could be. It's not on the market, there is no FSBO sign in the yard, she has no realtor, she lives several states away and can't show it, and besides us, there are only a couple of snowbirds that rent it each year. Dontknow
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My name is Walter
> bubble2 6,360 Posts
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marg_fan
08-02-2015 at 02:35 PM.
08-02-2015 at 02:35 PM.
Quote from MsGal :
Update:

We agreed to a price a few days ago.

Today she EMAILED me Annoyed to say she wants to wait and sell in January.

Done. Sooooo done.

Blowup
Maybe it is yet another sign to walk away. Hide

Email her back saying your offer will drop $5,000 (or more) for every week you have to wait.

Oh, and take care of that other thing. The stress can't be helping. Comfort
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Joined Dec 2005
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> bubble2 8,887 Posts
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dealgate
08-02-2015 at 02:57 PM.
08-02-2015 at 02:57 PM.
Quote from MsGal :
I don't know who it could be. It's not on the market, there is no FSBO sign in the yard, she has no realtor, she lives several states away and can't show it, and besides us, there are only a couple of snowbirds that rent it each year. Dontknow
Who knows she sounds a little mentally disturbed. The woman I bought my house from was mentally disturbed as well and it was no picnic I know. It was kind of a FSBO too in that she was a real estate agent and was selling her own house. My agent almost reported her to the RE board for some of her actions during the sale. It was always a mystery what would happen next. I was 1/2 convinced she would not show up for closing (she was selling supposedly because she could not afford to live there anymore) but my agent assured me if that happened he would make sure she lost her license - she showed though and no closing issues. Funny thing we all thought she was having financial problems but she walked away with over 1/2 of what I paid in her pocket - over $500k!! She also ended up saving me $1500 in closing costs at the table when she found her title insurance policy which meant 50% reduction for me. The closing company was not happy! F them!
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> bubble2 4,292 Posts
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fsyowad
08-02-2015 at 02:57 PM.
08-02-2015 at 02:57 PM.
Quote from MsGal :
Update:

We agreed to a price a few days ago.

Today she EMAILED me Annoyed to say she wants to wait and sell in January.

Done. Sooooo done.

Blowup
This is so f,,ed up. When one door closes, another may open.
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Joined Nov 2004
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Autumn | Staff
08-02-2015 at 04:37 PM.
08-02-2015 at 04:37 PM.
Quote from MsGal :
Update:

We agreed to a price a few days ago.

Today she EMAILED me Annoyed to say she wants to wait and sell in January.

Done. Sooooo done.

Blowup

Good grief. Everything I read about her is like a textbook example of now Not to try to sell your house. I swear, wtf is her deal?


I hope all of the other things going on in your life get better. I've been thinking about you hug
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> bubble2 31,436 Posts
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Zoe Moon
08-02-2015 at 05:44 PM.
08-02-2015 at 05:44 PM.
You just never know about people and what's going on in their heads. The guy we bought our house from did everything half assed and never finished a single project on the house. He was also fond of cutting holes in the sheet rock and nailing molding with way too many nails, then never finished any of it, left all the holes and the nails in the molding exposed. I tried counting all the holes and got up to around forty-something and lost count. Just discovered yet another big hole just last week, behind a drawer in the master-bathroom, no clue why he put that hole there, no pipes or wiring are near there. Crazy

Edit: And recently DH found a wire hanging in the garage with the bare wire exposed, it was stuffed into a hole in a rafter in the garage. The wire was 240v and hot. EEK!
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Last edited by Zoe Moon August 2, 2015 at 05:50 PM.
Joined Dec 2003
Benevolent Dictator
> bubble2 31,979 Posts
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The Raddish
08-02-2015 at 06:19 PM.
08-02-2015 at 06:19 PM.
Quote from Zoe Moon :
You just never know about people and what's going on in their heads. The guy we bought our house from did everything half assed and never finished a single project on the house. He was also fond of cutting holes in the sheet rock and nailing molding with way too many nails, then never finished any of it, left all the holes and the nails in the molding exposed. I tried counting all the holes and got up to around forty-something and lost count. Just discovered yet another big hole just last week, behind a drawer in the master-bathroom, no clue why he put that hole there, no pipes or wiring are near there. Crazy

Edit: And recently DH found a wire hanging in the garage with the bare wire exposed, it was stuffed into a hole in a rafter in the garage. The wire was 240v and hot. EEK!
Didn't you have the house inspected before you bought it?
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Joined Jun 2006
Jambi-rific in Seattle!
> bubble2 31,436 Posts
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Zoe Moon
08-02-2015 at 06:28 PM.
08-02-2015 at 06:28 PM.
Quote from The Raddish :
Didn't you have the house inspected before you bought it?
Yes we had the inspection done but their stuff was still in the house. The guy had a bunch of machinery in the garage, he had a home business. Instead of flipping off the breaker when he moved out he just stuck the live wire into a hole in the wooden rafter.
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Joined Jan 2004
Here's to the future
> bubble2 25,137 Posts
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Iaaaiws
08-02-2015 at 07:27 PM.
08-02-2015 at 07:27 PM.
Quote from Zoe Moon :
Yes we had the inspection done but their stuff was still in the house. The guy had a bunch of machinery in the garage, he had a home business. Instead of flipping off the breaker when he moved out he just stuck the live wire into a hole in the wooden rafter.
He may have been trying to kill a spider that went into the hole. If he was trying to kill a spider with electricity I would give him a pass on that.
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Joined Nov 2004
The April Fools Day Joke
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Autumn | Staff
08-02-2015 at 07:34 PM.
08-02-2015 at 07:34 PM.
Quote from Iaaaiws :
He may have been trying to kill a spider that went into the hole. If he was trying to kill a spider with electricity I would give him a pass on that.
Iagree
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