I’ve talked about my house hunting excurisions before … but this latest one takes the cake! And if you don’t believe that the housing bubble has more air to lose, well, you just aren’t out there shopping.
My wife and I had a few places on our list to check out, and the first two demonstrate it all …
House #1 was advertised as a beautiful 150-year-old main section with a 1995 architect addition. 2 acres, blah blah blah.
And from the outside, it was a very nice place. But inside?
The kitchen was completely gutted. The only fridge was one of those mini units sitting on a butcher’s block. The bathroom looked like the inside of a 1950s insane asylum. Many of the floors had been pulled up with just plywood left. The water heater had leaked everywhere. The basement was wet even though it hadn’t rained in four or five days. And on and on.
Suffice it to say that this thing will need to sell for half of the asking price if it’s ever gonna move.
And house #2? Well, I couldn’t tell you.
That’s because — despite confirming with the listing agent — the seller wouldn’t let us in. He was reportedly “a nice guy, very motivated, willing to make repairs necessary, and wanting an offer” but when he opened the door he told our agent — in a Lurch-like voice, “There are no showings today” and slammed the door in our faces.
So there you have it. Crappy homes — in need of massive repairs — listed at exorbitant prices and conflicted sellers who supposedly HAVE to sell but aren’t even willing to open the door to negotiation.
Interesting times!
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
The last time I shopped for homes was 2004 in Michigan.
Half the sellers continued to behave as if there were jobs, instead of the layoff after layoff that was occuring (remind you of any other time?) and they went and bought a “dream” (nightmare) house they soon couldn’t afford, and their overpriced starter homes were sitting empty for months. Another group of sellers had borrowed 120% of “value” were becoming aware of how very much “value” is mutable. The you had a large, and growing, portion who were in over their heads and trying to make a short sale happen (Michigan started the foreclosure path long before anyone else noticed it). Oh yeah, the speculators too, all on the pipe, most with questionable taste in their “flips.”
So, I don’t envy you. Home buying in a good market is trying at best. Now you have people who owe too much trying to sell with fingers crossed for short sale, foreclosures that the bank would just as soon leave booked at inflated “value” and those homeowners on the verge of bankruptcy, holding out hope that Obama didn’t lie and free money will magically fall from the DC skies.
Good luck with that and keep us up to date on the search.
While it may be the buyer who determines the price, the person controlling the asset decides if the deal happens or not. Let me give you the other side of the equation.
I am a seller and a real estate broker. I am realistic as to market value. I have soiid comps showing value. My house is up to date and clean. It is very salable in my market.
I got an offer relatively quickly. It was presented by another agent and it was a cash offer from a woman. After we’d negotiated a price, we come to find out that the woman has a husband and now he wants to see the house. We’d given a lot of ground because it was a clean cash offer, and now the terms have changed. The idiot agent didn’t even know her client was married. I understand what this means. It means either (a) they’re going to back out during the option period or (b) they’re going to try to renegotiate. Thankfully, they back out because he doesn’t like the house. It was a complete waste of time. Fortunately, it was as much a waste of time for her as it was for us.
Now I am back on the market. Here’s what I deal with every weekend:
1. Last minute calls from agents to show now because their clients are only in town for the day. Invariably these calls come in at 4:00 PM on Saturday. I am a broker, so I understand that they’ve been looking all day and are tired and now want to look at my house, just in case. It wasn’t even on their list of homes to see, but now they’re desperate. No thanks. I’m having friends over.
2. Rude buyers who come in, use the toilets, the computer to check email, etc.
3. Incompetent agents who leave the lights on, the doors unlocked, fail to qualify buyers before showing, etc.
It may not be fun for buyers to deal with sellers but it’s no fun dealing with buyers who are unqualified, clueless and think that they’re going to get a house for nothing because times are tough and they watched some infomercial that told them how to get houses for free.
I understand your frustration as a buyer, but frankly after dealing with a few of your peers, I’ve decided to stay put. I don’t owe you folks my house and I have better things to do than make you happy.
Nilus Mattive Reply:
July 14th, 2009 at 10:07 AM
The particular deal you’re talking about does sound frustrating, and the agent should have known more about her client’s situation (or maybe she did and simply didn’t tell you to protect their bargaining power?).
Regardless, I don’t know that this is any different than the experience of anyone who sells things for a living …
There will always be returns, cancellations, tire-kickers, and offers that you consider less than fair. It’s just the nature of doing business, isn’t it?
Unfortunately, your business is selling houses, including your own. They’re bigger ticket items, and far more personal so the problems above are simply maginified and all the more annoying.
As far as the last-minute agent calls and such … I am 100% in agreement with you. I have worked with many agents during my hunting, and they often seem to wait until the last minute to make arrangements, show up unprepared for the viewings, etc.
And for all those reasons, I humbly suggest that many real estate transactions do not benefit from agents at all.
If anything, the presence of two additional “note passers” only creates additional complications, a 6% drag on the transaction, and LESS transparency in what is ultimately a highly individualized decision.
Couple other sidenotes:
1. I use the toilets at houses I view, sometimes out of necessity and sometimes to make sure they work. I don’t feel the least bit guilty about that. =^)
On the other hand, I would never touch someone’s computer.
2. Off the top of my head, I can think of three or four homes I’ve recently looked at that are all owned by licensed agents. They were all purchased in the last five years, and the asking prices are all 50% higher than what was paid. Hmmmmm.
3. Unlike you, many people cannot simply afford to stay put. And that’s why I disagree with the notion that — in this market — the person controlling the asset decides if the deal happens or not.
Of course, once the banks control the assets, you’re right.