May 16, 2008

How It Works (Or Rather, How it DOESN’T)

Step 1. Sellers price their home "right" and put the sign in the yard.

Step 2. First potential buyers come and they "love it.

Step 3. Potential buyers come back for a second time and are "thinking of writing it up."

Step 4. Potential buyers disappear for two months. Perhaps they are super hero’s? Maybe hiberating? Trapped in a cave somewhere? Drove off a bridge? Stuck in a time warp?

Step 5. Home sellers spend a bunch of money upgrading things around the house: kitchen floor, most of carpet in house, etc. etc.

Step 6. Buyers come for third showing, stay for an hour, eat cookies, take pictures.

Step 7. Buyers disappear for almost two weeks. Perhaps their super powers were required somewhere else? Maybe a ground hog told them to go back to sleep for a bit longer?

Step 8. Buyers make low-ball, sucktastic offer that isn’t even in the realm of possibility, based not on comps (because it would be silly to base an offer on reality), but rather on the fact that they "want a counter-offer."

Step 9. Sellers’ realtor initially tells buyers they are way off base, but then makes a suggestion that sellers follow. Sellers give reasonable counter-offer to show "good faith" and that they want to work something out despite the fact that the offer buyers put forth does not show they are serious (and in fact shows they are dumb and perhaps blind).

Step 10. Buyers think about it for two days and then decide that their response is this: they don’t want to come back with anything at this time BUT they still want to keep the lines of communication open (in other words, if sellers are interested in GIVING away their beautiful home, they’re game and will certainly take it).

Step 11. Seller (aka BBM) tells realtor to take buyers offer, check and envelope and give it back to their agent. How’s that for a little "communication"? Good riddance.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but when sellers make a counter offer, isn’t it usually standard practice that the buyers counter back? Wait, let me answer myself. No, because apparently buyers want to just stick to their initial craptastic offer to show their true naivete and that they are perhaps jerks. Yes jerks.

I’m still feeling positive. Our other showing this week went very well and the buyer showed great interest. It’s going to happen, just not with wishy-washy-craporama-offer people.

On a lighter note, I won a $50 Gymboree gift card today. Yippee! It’s a sign of things to come.