And we lost the house....

Ugh. The seller's agents is a real jerk. As soon as he heard we were doing a seller's concession, he said he doesn't want to deal with that and told his clients to go to the next offer. Super frustrating, especially after we fell in love, and had the inspection.

I am so not in the mood to even start house hunting. It's too much. I hate the whole game of it. If I wasn't so sick of my apartment I'd just give up. Of course there are zero house available in the school district we want, and I just hate that when one does come out, it's like a war to see who gets it.

Sorry for venting, I am just so annoyed with everything. How do you stay positive, when it's so stressful!

Re: And we lost the house....

I don't understand - why would he care if you are doing a seller's concession, as long as it is on top of the price agreed upon and the house will appraise for that amount.

So sorry that you lost the house

Message edited 10/23/2012 3:07:16 PM.

Re: And we lost the house....

I think it's because he knew it wouldn't appraise for that. It will probably sell for the number we originally offered, of course he got us to go up like 15,000, because we loved the house, but since it probably is just worth what we were paying, it won't appraise more for what we need it to. Does that make sense, lol.

Re: And we lost the house....

Re: And we lost the house....

Right. So unless we pay closing costs, we most likely won't get it, and even then, it's hoping the house appraises for what we are paying. When I looked on My Nassau properties, we were paying 10k more than what that appraisal was

Re: And we lost the house....

Is that 'appraisal' a true indicator of how the bank will appraise the house though? That site doesn't look inside when they appraise. Good question for our resident real estate experts on this board!

Re: And we lost the house....

I'm so sorry you lost the house.

If it's true that the house won't appraise where you need it to, unfortunately the broker is doing the right thing by looking out for his client, especially if they have another offer. I lost a house because the seller accepted a more solid offer than mine - it sucks, but I understood why they did it.

Don't give up! You'll find your home!

Re: And we lost the house....

Sorry you lost the house! It is so disappointing, but I know (both from personal experience and professional experience) that buyers who lose one house often wind up finding one they like even better.

But as far as this house - Did the seller's concession not come up during the initial price negotiations? It should - - all of they key terms should be set forth when you make your initial offer, so that includes not just price, but things related to financing (e.g., total down payment, what percentage of down payment you'll put down at contract, whether you need a seller's concession, how fast you can close, etc.).

Unfortunately, a lot of agents don't understand how a seller's concession works. As long as the house will appraise for the total contract price (which will include the seller's concession), there is really no downside for the seller. Of course, it is one more thing to have to negotiate, and if a seller has a choice between a 20% down buyer who doesn't need a seller's concession, and a minimum 3.5% down FHA buyer who does need a concession, they will probably go with the first buyer who has stronger terms. But seller's concessions are common. I have worked on several sales with seller's concessions, and I haven't had an appraisal be a problem yet (but that has to be researched at the outset by looking at what similar houses are selling for in the area).

Question - Can you put less $ down and pay closiing costs out of pocket? Figure they will be 4% to 6% of your mortgage loan amount. Or could you take less than the full seller's concession if the appraisal may be an issue. In other words, instead of doing the max of 6% (assuming you are getting an FHA loan), maybe do a 3% concession and pay the rest out of pocket?

Also - are you sure the appraisal will be an issue? As I posted (and others did) on the other thread, my nassau property doesn't have much correlation to the true fair market value (real fmv is usually higher than what's on the site). Can your agent advise you whether the appraisal may be a problem, and if she thinks it won't be (based on closed sales of comparable homes in the area), perhaps she can explain it to the listing agent/seller. Or if the listing agent doesn't really "get" the seller's concession, perhaps he or she can call your mortgage lender to get more info or the attorneys can talk and work it out. If there aren't multiple offers and the seller wants to sell, maybe there's still a way to salvage the deal? It seems like there are some potentially incorrect assumptions being made...

Re: And we lost the house....

I'm sorry! It sucks and it's super frustrating. We were there on two different occasions. But, trust that you will find a home and look back and know that it wasn't meant to be. Goodluck in your hunt --- don't give up!!!

Re: And we lost the house....

Thanks. It's super frustrating, especially that we got so far in the process!

We are also looking in such a small area in such a tight price range, so there really aren't many options. We saw another house tonight, it was horrible. My son is in 7th grade, I hate to move him to a different school district, and since both my husband and I work in Manhattan, we don't want to go further out east. I wish it was easier to buy a house, lol

Re: And we lost the house....

Sorry! It sucks, this process is such a roller coaster I know you might get sick of hearing this but I honestly believe that it just wasn't meant to be Keep forging on, you will find your home

And we lost the house....

Sorry to hear you lost the house...we have been in this position twice. It feels terrible but you will find another house. Have you considered buying something in horrible shape and taking out a restoration loan? We considered this before we found the property we are currently in negotiations over.
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/203k/203kabou

Re: And we lost the house....

Posted by blustar214

I don't understand - why would he care if you are doing a seller's concession, as long as it is on top of the price agreed upon and the house will appraise for that amount.

So sorry that you lost the house

Message edited 10/25/2012 6:36:34 PM.

Re: And we lost the house....

We already have the mortgage ready to go, no we are not as strong, but it was either a hefty down payment or closing costs, we aren't able to do both. We will find the right house, I am sure. Found out the basement flooded in the storm anyway, so it was a blessing in disguise!