The people I sold my house to had nonsensical reasons

Global Courant

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I sold my house myself, so I dealt directly with the buyers and their broker. After the house inspection was completed, I was asked to give money from the prize for ridiculous things. I was armed with the information I needed to hold my ground and in the end they proceeded at our original price.

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I sold my house a while ago. Because I didn’t have an agent to represent me through the sales process, I had to handle every aspect of the deal myself.

Once I received an offer from the buyers I knew they would do their due diligence. Like most offers to buy a home, theirs depended on a satisfactory home inspection. However, after this inspection, they asked for money from our agreed price for foolish reasons.

This is what I did.

I armed myself with information

After the home inspection, the buyers asked for money from the property claiming there was a problem with some of the shingles on the roof. They also said they were not happy with some of the interior painting. They wanted thousands of dollars off the price of the property to solve these “problems.”

The problem with this is that my house was less than two years old and still had a construction warranty on the roof. There was no real problem with the roof based on my experience in the house, and the paint in the house was fine and no different than our neighbor’s interior paint.

However, I had to make sure I had the relevant information to respond appropriately. This meant I did my own due diligence. I got a copy of the builder’s warranty, I looked up similar homes that had sold and were for sale in my neighborhood, and I asked for a detailed copy of their inspection report showing these so-called “problems”.

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I also conducted an assessment of what comparable homes in the area had been selling. When speaking with the buyer’s real estate agent, I explained that if I provided the credit the buyers requested, I would be selling my home for tens of thousands of dollars less than comparable properties had recently sold for – for no real reason, since the problems that they claimed existed, did not exist at all.

I remained steadfast in talking to the broker

Although the real estate agent tried to push me back even after I approached him with information, I had the confidence to know that I was right about the condition of my home and I was also confident that I priced the home fairly.

i Also knew from what the real estate agent had said that these buyers really wanted to get a mortgage loan to buy in my particular neighborhood. And I checked other homes currently for sale and found that they had limited options.

Since I didn’t have a mortgage to pay off because I paid cash for the house, I wasn’t in a big rush to sell either, so I wouldn’t have been devastated if their offer fell through. So I essentially told the real estate agent that I would immediately put the house back on the market if they wanted to renegotiate the price — and I let them know that they had to release the inspection before the deadline unless they wanted me to move forward. proceed with house removal pending status.

The agent called me right back and said they would release the contingency.

If you don’t want to deal with these issues yourself, working with an agent may be your best bet

In my case, everything worked out in the end and my house closed on time. But this process shows how many problems can arise during the days leading up to closing, even after you receive an offer.

If you have the knowledge and ability to deal with these types of issues, selling your home yourself can save you money, as you don’t have to pay a commission to a sales agent (usually around 3%).

But you have to deal with some hassle — and sometimes realtors try to take advantage of you when you’re selling a house yourself, which I think is what happened here. So be prepared to protect your own financial interests and if you are not confident enough to do so, hiring an agent can pay off in the end.

The people I sold my house to had nonsensical reasons

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