Selling our house question(s) (1 Viewer)

[Beef Ravioli]

House went on the market Thursday (central oh), 35 viewings on Friday/Saturday. 30 more at open house Sunday. We have 15 offers and some way over our asking price, others over the price but willing to take it “as is”. We bought the house in 2011 as a foreclosure and redid most of it.

Concern #1 A few offers are 10-15k over asking. It’s a starter neighborhood in our city and I am concerned the house may not appraise for that amount. I hate to say yes to a high offer and go down the path for two to three weeks and their financing falls through. Any thoughts on this? 

Concern #2 I like the idea of “as is” and a bit lower price. I know of a couple of things that will probably get dinged in the inspection, but it’s the unknown that scares me. Would you take 3-6k less to get the “as is”?

 Thanks !

 

[ChiefD]

If the sales comps can support the higher price, then take it. 

 

[The Commish]

Seem to be in a good place.  I wouldn't worry about market support.  You seem to be in a position that if the higher price doesn't appraise it would be up to the buyer to figure that out or go with a lower price with no contingencies.  

 

[Foosball God]

House went on the market Thursday (central oh), 35 viewings on Friday/Saturday. 30 more at open house Sunday. We have 15 offers and some way over our asking price, others over the price but willing to take it “as is”. We bought the house in 2011 as a foreclosure and redid most of it.

Concern #1 A few offers are 10-15k over asking. It’s a starter neighborhood in our city and I am concerned the house may not appraise for that amount. I hate to say yes to a high offer and go down the path for two to three weeks and their financing falls through. Any thoughts on this? 

Concern #2 I like the idea of “as is” and a bit lower price. I know of a couple of things that will probably get dinged in the inspection, but it’s the unknown that scares me. Would you take 3-6k less to get the “as is”?

 Thanks !

Do you need to sell right away?  If you got that many offers you are in a position of strength, even if one of the high offers falls through it sounds like you will have plenty of others still looking to buy.  I wouldn't low ball yourself.

 

[Rattle and Hum]

Congrats. Depends on the price point but, personally, I would take 3% less to forego inspections and simply move on with my life. I would stay clear of FHA offers if possible. If you take an offer with inspections, put a cap on fixes in your counter-offer (say $2K). Anything over and you can cover with them reimbursing via adjusted higher sale price. Also, keep in mind it needs to appraise for enough to cover that potentially higher sale price. I'm not a licensed agent so this advise is probably worth what you paid.

 

[Zegras11]

You could send multiple counter offers back saying buyer must make up the difference If it does not appraise and require something like 10k non refundable earnest money if they back out. 

We have a multiple offer counter form here in Idaho.  Do you have one? It requires you to sign it when you send it over and on the counter you finally accept. 

 

[IvanKaramazov]

We just went through this a few months ago.  Each offer had to explicitly state whether the offer was contingent on the buyer qualifying for financing or contingent on the sale of the buyer's existing property.  Not sure if OH is the same, but if so, that should remove your worries about financing falling through.

With regard to the "as-is" part, you know your house better than we do.  My two cents is that if you think it's worth it for a little piece of mind, go for it.

 

[jon_mx]

Usually if the price is within 5% of what the market analysis shows, the appraiser can easily find something to justify it.  If you had 15 offers, the house should easily appraise out.  

 

[Zegras11]

Usually if the price is within 5% of what the market analysis shows, the appraiser can easily find something to justify it.  If you had 15 offers, the house should easily appraise out.  

Make sure your agent let's the appraiser know that there are 15 offers and most of them are over.  They usually call listing agent before they go out.  At least they do here.  

 

[jon_mx]

If it were me, I would take the highest priced offer from someone without any finance contingency assuming they want to close soon.  If you have real concerns about fixing stuff from the inspection, the 'as is' offer is a good one too, assuming it is otherwise a good offer.  

 

[Beef Ravioli]

We took an “as is” offer that was 10k over asking. There were several things we liked: local lender that our realtor liked, guaranteed some $ at closing to guarantee our agreed price IF the house does not appraise high enough. Realtor thinks she will get the appraisal because of a few comps, and all the offers that came in above our appraisal goal.

 Thanks for the suggestions! 

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Damn, I'm sorry I'm just seeing this now.

1st Question - There was no one who was CASH and willing to buy "as-is" that was at or near the top of what was offered? You'd think at least one of 15 offers would be like that. I may be stating the obvious but CASH means no appraisal.

2nd Comment - If there's that much interest, you can tell your buyer to pound sand if they make too many repair requests post inspection. Your leverage doesn't disappear after an offer is accepted. Anyone who was making an offer requiring an inspection you (your agent) should have been able to convince them to remove the request based on competition alone.

3rd Comment - You can ask all interested loan buyers who is willing to put up a cash guarantee against an appraisal. I do it on my listings that get multiples all the time.

4th comment - The previous comment is what allows me to accept the highest offer period, cash or loan. If a loan buyer really wants the house and they stand any chance of beating a cash offer, they need to pony up to remove the risk of appraisal. If the appraisal falls short the buyer pays the difference. I routinely get my sellers 2.5-5% more this way.

Key note: All of these things are really only possible if your agent knows how to and is willing to work the phones. I list everything on a Friday to get it out for the weekend crowd. Then I usually spend all Saturday and sometimes Sunday shopping these offers. I would have a field day with 15 offers. Heck, the eventual buyer would probably be throwing in an all expenses paid vacation for my sellers with 15 offers on the table.

 

[Beef Ravioli]

Damn, I'm sorry I'm just seeing this now.

1st Question - There was no one who was CASH and willing to buy "as-is" that was at or near the top of what was offered? You'd think at least one of 15 offers would be like that. I may be stating the obvious but CASH means no appraisal.

2nd Comment - If there's that much interest, you can tell your buyer to pound sand if they make too many repair requests post inspection. Your leverage doesn't disappear after an offer is accepted. Anyone who was making an offer requiring an inspection you (your agent) should have been able to convince them to remove the request based on competition alone.

3rd Comment - You can ask all interested loan buyers who is willing to put up a cash guarantee against an appraisal. I do it on my listings that get multiples all the time.

4th comment - The previous comment is what allows me to accept the highest offer period, cash or loan. If a loan buyer really wants the house and they stand any chance of beating a cash offer, they need to pony up to remove the risk of appraisal. If the appraisal falls short the buyer pays the difference. I routinely get my sellers 2.5-5% more this way.

Key note: All of these things are really only possible if your agent knows how to and is willing to work the phones. I list everything on a Friday to get it out for the weekend crowd. Then I usually spend all Saturday and sometimes Sunday shopping these offers. I would have a field day with 15 offers. Heck, the eventual buyer would probably be throwing in an all expenses paid vacation for my sellers with 15 offers on the table.

We had no full cash offers. Most of our buyers would be first time buyers or lower budget. We are in contract with an offer 10k over our asking price and “as is”. We also have a “back up” offer in place, if this one falls through. 

Wish you would have seen it earlier but we feel good about our situation at the moment.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

We had no full cash offers. Most of our buyers would be first time buyers or lower budget. We are in contract with an offer 10k over our asking price and “as is”. We also have a “back up” offer in place, if this one falls through. 

Wish you would have seen it earlier but we feel good about our situation at the moment.

I didn't mean to imply that you didn't do well because I definitely think you did. I wish I could have jumped in quicker just for the sake of maybe getting you a little bit more but you're in the 95th percentile of favorable sales as it is. I went ahead and posted because I'd love to help other future home sellers here with similar questions. If anyone wants to ask a question feel free to "@" or PM me.

 

[needanap]

Did you send out any counter offers or did you just accept one of the original offers?   I'd say if your agent did not recommend sending out multiple counter offers (California has this, not sure if Ohio does) or at least to explain to you why you might want to send out counter offers they did you a disservice.  

 

[Beef Ravioli]

Did you send out any counter offers or did you just accept one of the original offers?   I'd say if your agent did not recommend sending out multiple counter offers (California has this, not sure if Ohio does) or at least to explain to you why you might want to send out counter offers they did you a disservice.  

We countered with two of them. They both accepted. We are in contract with the one and the other agreed today to be the “back up” offer if our current offer falls through. Of course, they can back out any time if they want. We feel like our realtor did a great job.

 

[ChainsawU]

We feel like our realtor did a great job.

It's not over until you have the money in your hand. Once you get paid you'll know how good of a job they did.

I hate to say yes to a high offer and go down the path for two to three weeks and their financing falls through. Any thoughts on this?

Take the highest offer there is and cross your fingers LOL Do your research on the buyer and determine for yourself if you think they'll qualify for financing before you roll the dice though. To the bolded, why do you "hate" that? Are you in some sort of a rush to sell the house? Is that why you priced it so low and got all those offers above asking?

We bought the house in 2011 as a foreclosure and redid most of it.

How bad a shape was it in and what all did you guys improve? Did you do the improvements yourselves? How long after you bought it did you move in?

I know of a couple of things that will probably get dinged in the inspection, but it’s the unknown that scares me.

What types of things? Roof? Foundation? Why didn't you just get your own inspection before you put it on the market?

 

[needanap]

If you have not had a conversation with your real estate agent regarding disclosures, I'd recommend you completely understand your responsibilities when it comes to disclosures.  

 

[Beef Ravioli]

If you have not had a conversation with your real estate agent regarding disclosures, I'd recommend you completely understand your responsibilities when it comes to disclosures.  

We did, and I disclosed everything I knew about. 

 

[Beef Ravioli]

How bad a shape was it in and what all did you guys improve? Did you do the improvements yourselves? How long after you bought it did you move in?

What types of things? Roof? Foundation? Why didn't you just get your own inspection before you put it on the market?

It was not a complete gut but pretty close. First contractor I hired did terrible work and I lost 5-7k. Hired a second guy and he was great. I still ended up doing 50% of the work because of budget issues. 

The roof will probably get dinged. My contractor told me in 2011 I had 10-15 years left. So it now has 3-8 if that was correct. It has 100amp electrical box. Been fine for us but I figure the inspector will ding it. Our bathroom fan is not vented outside, just into the attic. How they did it in 1968. That’s about all I know of but I’m sure there could be more. 

 

[Beef Ravioli]

It's not over until you have the money in your hand. Once you get paid you'll know how good of a job they did.

We understand that this offer could fall through for various reasons, no matter what offer we took (unless it was a all cash offer, which we did not receive). We looked at various aspects of their offer and their lender. We decided to take their offer even though it was not the highest offer (highest offer was $4500 more) because there seemed to be less red flags. We should know within 10 days if we made the right choice. 

 

[ChainsawU]

The roof will probably get dinged. My contractor told me in 2011 I had 10-15 years left. So it now has 3-8 if that was correct.

Speaking of getting dinged, you guys had any strong hailstorms in the area since you moved in? There's a pretty cool site called hail strike dot com you can use to confirm a hail storm in your area. I used it once filling out a claim.

 

[Beef Ravioli]

Speaking of getting dinged, you guys had any strong hailstorms in the area since you moved in? There's a pretty cool site called hail strike dot com you can use to confirm a hail storm in your area. I used it once filling out a claim.

Just looked briefly but do you know how far you can go back and still make an insurance claim? 

 

[Franknbeans]

I get at least 3 different letters every so often saying they want to buy my house as is. Not sure what to think about them.

 

[ChainsawU]

Just looked briefly but do you know how far you can go back and still make an insurance claim? 

Not sure that it expires - I think it's the entire life of your policy. If you were insured when then damage occurred then you're able to submit a claim.

 

[Mr.Pack]

Sold my house last week. Didn't even put it on the market. Had one showing and they offered more than I was going to put it up for. It's a crazy market. 6 months ago we were going to put it up, but my wife had her hip replaced and has had complications, so we decided to wait until Spring. This was completely unexpected. Now we are gettign $10k more than we would just 6 mos a go. It's a nuts

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

It was not a complete gut but pretty close. First contractor I hired did terrible work and I lost 5-7k. Hired a second guy and he was great. I still ended up doing 50% of the work because of budget issues. 

The roof will probably get dinged. My contractor told me in 2011 I had 10-15 years left. So it now has 3-8 if that was correct. It has 100amp electrical box. Been fine for us but I figure the inspector will ding it. Our bathroom fan is not vented outside, just into the attic. How they did it in 1968. That’s about all I know of but I’m sure there could be more. 

Former home inspector for 11 years.....

• If the roof isn't leaking you don't have to nor should you fix anything. 
  
• Most home inspectors are awful and very few will tag your attic fan being vented into the attic. To be clear are we talking vented into the attic with a flue to a ridge cap or straight up just exhaust right at the fan with no flue? BTW, you should know for the future that a vent from a bathroom like that could cause mold in the attic. Don't make that mistake in your next house. 
  
• 100 panel box might get dinged but again, most inspectors don't know what they're looking at and might pass it if it inst labeled 100 amps. 
  
• If you have that many offers I'd imagine a few will drop the home inspection contingency. 
  

Don't hire your own inspector as others have recommended. It will cost you money, likely cause you to unnecessarily fix stuff or worse, you'll be notified of items that you would need to disclose that as of now, you're ignorant of. 

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Sold my house last week. Didn't even put it on the market. Had one showing and they offered more than I was going to put it up for. It's a crazy market. 6 months ago we were going to put it up, but my wife had her hip replaced and has had complications, so we decided to wait until Spring. This was completely unexpected. Now we are gettign $10k more than we would just 6 mos a go. It's a nuts

This all concerns me as we are planning on moving this spring and given the way the market is skyrocketing again, I wonder if we should sell and then rent for a couple of years until the market falls apart again. 

ETA - Congrats btw!

 

[Zegras11]

I get at least 3 different letters every so often saying they want to buy my house as is. Not sure what to think about them.

Just another way for agents to get leads.   Sometimes they actually have a buyer looking at that area that lost a bid there recently 

 

[ChainsawU]

If you have that many offers I'd imagine a few will drop the home inspection contingency.

If the roof isn't leaking you don't have to nor should you fix anything.

Don't hire your own inspector as others have recommended. It will cost you money, likely cause you to unnecessarily fix stuff or worse, you'll be notified of items that you would need to disclose that as of now, you're ignorant of.

Dang dude, you don't sound like a man I'd want to buy a house from. How many houses have you ever sold?

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Dang dude, you don't sound like a man I'd want to buy a house from. How many houses have you ever sold?

As a home owner, 3. My houses have all been in tip top shape. I was also a realtor so that number is significantly higher.

It’s not up to the OP to do the work of the buyer’s home inspector. If the roof isn’t leaking the seller has no obligation to preemptively fix it. The prospective buyer has to take into account the age of the housing components and make their own decision. 

If I were his home inspector I would flag every item he mentioned. I would let the buyers know that they should budget the roof replacement. The buyers can then request that the OP knock some money off the house, factor in the cost of the roof replacement, or walk. Given how competitive it is in his area they probably don’t have or will use that leverage. 

How many houses have you sold?

ETA- I’m by no means suggesting deficiencies should be hidden and if the OP knows something is majorly wrong he should disclose it but this is a business transaction and should be treated as such. 

 

[Beef Ravioli]

Thanks guys! Getting inspected this morning and the bank appraisal is being done today. My realtor said that is pretty fast to get this done. So, if it falls through (she does not think it will as the other realtor said her clients are very motivated, but you never know)we can start calling the other offers without losing to much momentum. 

Its kind of hard for me because I am a very big pessimist and assume the worst will happen. We shall see. Thanks @STEADYMOBBIN 22 for the professional input. 

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Thanks guys! Getting inspected this morning and the bank appraisal is being done today. My realtor said that is pretty fast to get this done. So, if it falls through (she does not think it will as the other realtor said her clients are very motivated, but you never know)we can start calling the other offers without losing to much momentum. 

Its kind of hard for me because I am a very big pessimist and assume the worst will happen. We shall see. Thanks @STEADYMOBBIN 22 for the professional input. 

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[needanap]

Did you disclose the bathroom venting into the attic?  As Steadymobbin noted, the moisture could cause mold.

Don't mean to over do questions on disclosures, but disclosures will save you in case you get sued.  I was sued, lasted 4 years and a 2 week trial, but thankfully I had disclosed everything, both major and minor, and we won.  Horrible experience you don't want to have.

 

[Mr.Pack]

This all concerns me as we are planning on moving this spring and given the way the market is skyrocketing again, I wonder if we should sell and then rent for a couple of years until the market falls apart again. 

ETA - Congrats btw!

Exactly what we are doing. Not buying in this market.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Did you disclose the bathroom venting into the attic?  As Steadymobbin noted, the moisture could cause mold.

Don't mean to over do questions on disclosures, but disclosures will save you in case you get sued.  I was sued, lasted 4 years and a 2 week trial, but thankfully I had disclosed everything, both major and minor, and we won.  Horrible experience you don't want to have.

So sorry it lasted that long. Even though you knew you were right, the sick to your stomach feeling is just horrible. I got sued (along with the realtor, mortgage company and title company) for $176k because the house had mold. The basement was covered with mold and I told her as much. She moves in and then says her kid is allergic to mold and that “we shouldn’t have let her buy the house.”   

We all won but the cost all of us thousands and it was just a horrible feeling of the unknown. I wanted to counter sue for my court expenses but my lawyer said it wouldn’t be worth it and it could reopen the entire case. Her lawyer was a complete joke. Reminded me of the dude from Seinfeld.

The OP isn’t an expert on houses so the bathroom vent isn’t a colossal issue but it might be something that’s worth fixing or disclosing mostly because you put it in writing on this board. HIGHLY remote that anything would become of it but as @needanap knows you can get sued over a ham sandwich and you still have to defend yourself. 

 

[ffjunk]

Thanks guys! Getting inspected this morning and the bank appraisal is being done today. My realtor said that is pretty fast to get this done. So, if it falls through (she does not think it will as the other realtor said her clients are very motivated, but you never know)we can start calling the other offers without losing to much momentum. 

Its kind of hard for me because I am a very big pessimist and assume the worst will happen. We shall see. Thanks @STEADYMOBBIN 22 for the professional input. 

Why is there an inspection if they are buying as is?

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Why is there an inspection if they are buying as is?

It isn’t, “as is”. He took an offer that has a home inspection contingency. 

 

[Beef Ravioli]

Why is there an inspection if they are buying as is?

It is “as is”, but they had the right to have the home inspection, so they know what they are getting into. Obviously, they could walk away or perhaps say “they were not anticipating this and that” and ask us to alter our price after the inspection. 

 

[Ron Swanson]

It is “as is”, but they had the right to have the home inspection, so they know what they are getting into. Obviously, they could walk away or perhaps say “they were not anticipating this and that” and ask us to alter our price after the inspection. 

That's "contingent upon inspection". "As Is" means they can't back out without penalty. 

 

[Ron Swanson]

I get at least 3 different letters every so often saying they want to buy my house as is. Not sure what to think about them.

Investors trolling for potential flips or rental properties.

 

[Beef Ravioli]

That's "contingent upon inspection". "As Is" means they can't back out without penalty. 

Hmmmm, I did not know this. Thanks!

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

That's "contingent upon inspection". "As Is" means they can't back out without penalty. 

No. It means they can have a home inspection but can’t ask the seller to fix anything. 

 

[Beef Ravioli]

No. It means they can have a home inspection but can’t ask the seller to fix anything. 

I talked to our realtor and this seems to be what we have.

 

[Zegras11]

That's "contingent upon inspection". "As Is" means they can't back out without penalty. 

no.

No. It means they can have a home inspection but can’t ask the seller to fix anything. 

yes.

 

[ChainsawU]

how long is the option period

 

[ChainsawU]

Investors trolling for potential flips or rental properties.

There is a company here in town who will get under contract with the seller at a rock-bottom price with the goal of reselling the contract to an investor at a nice chunk of profit, without ever putting up any actual money other than the option fee. It's a freakin' sick business plan.

 

[Beef Ravioli]

how long is the option period

10 days total. We should know mid week this week. 

 

[Ron Swanson]

no.

yes.

Except the seller even states in this thread that the buyer may ask for additional price consideration after the inspection. What leverage would they have to do that unless they can walk away with no to low penalty?

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Except the seller even states in this thread that the buyer may ask for additional price consideration after the inspection. What leverage would they have to do that unless they can walk away with no to low penalty?

Beef isn't a Realtor so he wouldn't necessarily know. In a later post he says he asked his Realtor and confirmed what we're saying. Because Beef listed his home "as is", hes not required to fix anything. The buyers can take it or leave it but unless they agreed to no inspection at all, something I do when I put in offers for houses because I inspect them myself (unbeknownst to the sellers,  ) when we view a house, they're still allowed to get the house inspected. 

The only leverage they have is if Beef is nervous and thinks he cant find another buyer or needs to sell his home quickly so he can hurry up and buy another house that's on the market. If the market is hot in his area he wont want to put in a offer on his new house contingent upon selling his existing house because the sellers might not accept that type of offer. 

With all of this said, the appraiser could flag something say safety related like a missing guardrail on the front step. 

ETA - The only way Beef would be able to keep the deposit is if the seller passed on the home inspection, financial  and appraisal contingency and then decided to pull out. Even then its best to just return the money and move on.