Should I worry about my house deal falling through?

[asoctoberfalls]

PDQ.

We are selling our house and building a new one. After 12 DOM, we got two offers. Neither was for full price, but both were pretty strong. The one we ended up countering was offering about 7k less than asking (asking price 189,900) but was willing to let us rent back until our new house was done in December, which was very attractive to us. They were also pre-approved for the mortgage. Our realtor knows their realtor very well and says she is good. (They are not in the same office). He also knows and is comfortable with their lender.

In their offer, they included an escalation clause that said they were willing to top any other offers that came in, up to 201k. This wasn't necessary, and we ended up countering and settling on a price 3k less than asking, which we are happy with.

Their realtor told us it took then HOURS to sign the offer, which I found odd. They had 10 days to do the inspection and ask for contingencies, and they needed to request an extension because they couldn't get it done in time.

The inspection was last Thursday, and it went very well considering the house is 85 years old. There were a ton of minor issues, but they only asked for 3 repairs, none of which should be very expensive. Our realtor said we should do 2 out of the 3. He didn't think the 3rd made sense.

The buyers met with their realtor for HOURS this weekend to go over the inspection. I asked our agent if they were getting cold feet, and he said he was concerned about that as well considering they take a LONG TIME to make any decisions or to sign anything. Their agent insists they're just cautious.

My big fear is that they will back out and then we will miss the selling season, which grinds to a halt in October. We aren't scheduled to close until November because of the rent back clause.

Would you guys be concerned? They haven't yet responded to our repair concessions, which makes me nervous yet again.

If it matters, I Facebook stalked them, and they're in their 40's and are from a warm climate. They're worried about the winter, and a lot of their issues focused on the furnace (which I'm not worried about...we have replaced the blower and the heat exchanger in the last 7 years, and it runs very well).

[arch01]

Meh, I wouldn't be overly concerned. We took awhile to sign our final offer and also went over the inspection line by line. If they're moving from a warm climate, there are some differences in systems, typical wear, etc. that they may not be used to that they wanted to have a thorough understanding of.

[asoctoberfalls]

Wow, sorry for the novel.

TL;DR version: our buyers take forever to sign things and make decisions. We have a delayed close, and I'm afraid (as is my realtor) that they're skittish and are going to back out. Do you think this concern is valid?

[asoctoberfalls]

Sept 16, 2014 6:09:04 GMT -5 @simpledog said:

I think it's valid but we just had this happen, so it is fresh in my mind. Ours backed out the day inspections were due (12 days after the offer). It sucks but I don't really know what you can do. Did they accept your response to inspections? Are you at the point where they would lose their deposit? We are about to go to settlement on our next offer, and while I can't relax fully, getting through inspections helped.

Good luck, and I hope it works out.

They haven't responded yet to our response. They would lose their earnest money, but it was only 1k (which is typical around here).

Why did your buyers back out?

[asoctoberfalls]

Sept 16, 2014 5:55:35 GMT -5 arch01 said:

Meh, I wouldn't be overly concerned. We took awhile to sign our final offer and also went over the inspection line by line. If they're moving from a warm climate, there are some differences in systems, typical wear, etc. that they may not be used to that they wanted to have a thorough understanding of.

This is what their realtor said. They apparently almost never used their furnace at their previous house. The thing they asked for that we balked at was replacing the plenum on the furnace because it was rusted. Not rusted through, just rusted. They initially asked for the ducts to be cleaned out, but they called as we were reviewing everything and said it wasn't necessary.

[arch01]

Sept 16, 2014 6:47:48 GMT -5 asoctoberfalls said:

Sept 16, 2014 5:55:35 GMT -5 arch01 said:

Meh, I wouldn't be overly concerned. We took awhile to sign our final offer and also went over the inspection line by line. If they're moving from a warm climate, there are some differences in systems, typical wear, etc. that they may not be used to that they wanted to have a thorough understanding of.

This is what their realtor said. They apparently almost never used their furnace at their previous house. The thing they asked for that we balked at was replacing the plenum on the furnace because it was rusted. Not rusted through, just rusted. They initially asked for the ducts to be cleaned out, but they called as we were reviewing everything and said it wasn't necessary.

Also keep in mind that a long distance move often causes pause with every "big" step-it's a lot of emotions. 

I hope everything goes through for you!! Buying/selling is super stressful. We almost lost the buyer on our house over a tiny piece of wood rot on some door trim. He wanted the entire jamb and trim replace, we offered to patch and seal it. That wasn't acceptable to him. The realtors ended up splitting the cost of the replacement. 

[UnderProtest]

How much would it be to replace the plenum? Is it worth that cost for peace of mind? We sold our house in NC and it is very state specific about how/when buyers can back out. We had over a month where they could back out for absolutely no reason. They actually asked for an even longer time, but we pushed back. During this time is when we had the inspection and out of a 20 page inspection report they wanted EVERYTHING fixed. We were quite nervous pushing back and saying no to a majority of the inspection notes. They took awhile to accept our inspection fix negotiation. BUT, it all worked out and they did not back out. Good luck.

[lys]

Would fixing the plenum give them more confidence in their purchase and you more peace of mind the deal with be completed?

[dirtyred]

If one of their big worries is the furnace plenum, then replace it! It doesn't matter if it makes sense to you, it worries them and if you won't replace it, that probably worries them more.

[sjh722]

Sept 16, 2014 8:04:45 GMT -5 dirtyred said:

If one of their big worries is the furnace plenum, then replace it! It doesn't matter if it makes sense to you, it worries them and if you won't replace it, that probably worries them more.

Ditto. Fix it and be done.

[imojoebunny]

I don't agree with the others. If a buyer is going to back out over something so small as a cosmetic issue with the heater, they will find another reason. A good realtor on their side should be able to calm their worries about things that are not really things.

I also would not fix anything, but with give money in lieu of repairs. That way, if they don't close, your not out something another person won't care about.

[msmerymac]

Some people are just really picky and indecisive. They do have a lot to lose, since they're the ones spending 6 figures. In theory, you don't care WHO you sell your house to as long as it sells, whereas they are probably very concerned about making sure they get a house they like that won't be a headache to fix or maintain. And, of course, they probably just have that annoying can't-make-a-decision-without-handholding personality. Good luck!

[aurora]

I don't think taking hours to go through the inspection report indicates they're likely to back out. They may just want to make sure they understand everything. Needing an extension may be due to inspector availability. Sure, they may back out like all buyers might, but these items wouldn't make me more worried than usual.

[asoctoberfalls]

Sept 16, 2014 8:16:54 GMT -5 imojoebunny said:

I don't agree with the others. If a buyer is going to back out over something so small as a cosmetic issue with the heater, they will find another reason. A good realtor on their side should be able to calm their worries about things that are not really things.

I also would not fix anything, but with give money in lieu of repairs. That way, if they don't close, your not out something another person won't care about.

That's actually what I'm concerned about - them agreeing to everything but then backing out because they get nervous. They seem like the nervous type, but I'm not (at least not in this situation), so it's hard for me to put myself in their shoes. We are willing to fix everything they asked for, but if they're going to let the deal fall apart over the furnace plenum, then I'm worried what else may cause them to back out. I'm just not sure I'm looking at this right. I think the fact that my realtor is worried they may flake concerns me more than anything else, because he is level headed and very calm.

Thanks for all your thougts! It definitely seems like they are cautious buyers, which isn't bad. I just hope that cautious does not translate to fickle.

[ddi741]

When I sold my condo I had to meet with the buyer. She was rediculously cautious because she had put offers on 2 other condos and they fell through at the last minute. She needed to hear from me, that I was really moving. We also did a walk through with our realtors together to answer some questions (my favorite being 'was I going to take the switch plates with me?')

It could just be that you have very cautious buyers and are going over everything since it's such a huge investment.

[sjh722]

If it makes you feel better, in nine years of selling houses, I have never had someone back out for cold feet after the inspection was done and seller agreed to repairs. Some people are just extraordinarily cautious and go over everything with a fine tooth comb.

Cold feet, in my experience, usually comes up right to before or after the inspection, and they come up with a list of 25 unreasonable things to repair to justify walking.

I hope your experience reflects this. Good luck!

[asoctoberfalls]

Sept 16, 2014 8:36:21 GMT -5 ddi741 said:

When I sold my condo I had to meet with the buyer. She was rediculously cautious because she had put offers on 2 other condos and they fell through at the last minute. She needed to hear from me, that I was really moving. We also did a walk through with our realtors together to answer some questions (my favorite being 'was I going to take the switch plates with me?')

It could just be that you have very cautious buyers and are going over everything since it's such a huge investment.

I would totally do this! But it's probably not a good idea since I would probably over share and offer to fix things they didn't even ask for LOL.

[moolarkey]

Are they first time buyer? First timers usually take more time to look things over and we're all nervous when buying but first timers especially so.

[everafter07]

They just sound cautious to me.

[asoctoberfalls]

Sept 16, 2014 10:36:11 GMT -5 operagirl said:

I don't think you should worry, but I probably would have agreed to fix all three in your case. My buyers were young first time home buyers with a realtor mom, who was showing off. I cried when the no big deal inspection resulted in three pages of requests. None were much money and only one was necessary (gfi near stove). I agreed to 60%. Buyer later said they just threw everything out there to see what would stick.

That said, I would want the fastest closing possible even though I'd have to store everything and move twice.  

I know! That's what I wanted to do! The inspection was 48 pages long with a ton of minor issues, and I would have gladly agreed to everything they asked because they've been very reasonable and easy to deal with. My husband wanted to listen to our realtor, so we are following the realtor's lead. We did the same thing on the initial negotiations - followed his lead. And so far, everything he's told us has been spot on.

ETA: I called a bunch of places and only one had short term rentals. The minimum was 3 months at $2200/month. I just don't know about that. But I do want to close sooner rather than later!

[asoctoberfalls]

Sept 16, 2014 10:48:06 GMT -5 moolarkey said:

Are they first time buyer? First timers usually take more time to look things over and we're all nervous when buying but first timers especially so.

I don't think so; they're in their 40's. But they have never lived in a cold climate, so they're cautious when it comes to HVAC stuff.

I really wish we has just agreed to what they asked. I don't want them to think we are unreasonable or difficult. But I'm torn because I do trust our realtor. Man, this is stressful!

[julygal]

We were recently those buyers, and we aren't first time buyers. We were cautious and slow to respond for a couple of reasons.
1. We realized we loved the house, we were emotionally invested, and we wanted to make ourselves slow down. We didn't want to later have remorse that we got caught up and overpaid, missed an important warning sign, etc. We took hours and sometimes would even sleep on it before responding. It was all within the allowed timeframe, so we took that time to think it through.

2. The first time we bought, we got nailed with the housing recession and spent many years with an underwater mortgage. A few years ago, we almost had to relocate and researched short sales since our neighbors were selling for almost half of what we had paid just 3 years earlier. The experience made us gun-shy on real estate, because after living in a home for 7 years, we just barely came out on top. We don't trust the housing market to avoid another recession and it made us very cautious when taking on a new more expensive home.

We signed in August and our seller wanted a 3 month close, which we liked because it gave us more time to sell our current home but worried us because so much can change in 3 months. I think it is normal to have the concerns you're having, because we totally have had moments of, "October is so far away! So much can go wrong! What if our seller finds a way to back out? What if we lose our very stable jobs and lose financing?" The process is stressful and drawing it out seems to have magnified it for us. Now that we are almost to October a lot of those concerns are beginning to subside.

Good luck.

[asoctoberfalls]

Sept 16, 2014 11:22:15 GMT -5 julygal said:

We were recently those buyers, and we aren't first time buyers. We were cautious and slow to respond for a couple of reasons.
1. We realized we loved the house, we were emotionally invested, and we wanted to make ourselves slow down. We didn't want to later have remorse that we got caught up and overpaid, missed an important warning sign, etc. We took hours and sometimes would even sleep on it before responding. It was all within the allowed timeframe, so we took that time to think it through.

2. The first time we bought, we got nailed with the housing recession and spent many years with an underwater mortgage. A few years ago, we almost had to relocate and researched short sales since our neighbors were selling for almost half of what we had paid just 3 years earlier. The experience made us gun-shy on real estate, because after living in a home for 7 years, we just barely came out on top. We don't trust the housing market to avoid another recession and it made us very cautious when taking on a new more expensive home.

We signed in August and our seller wanted a 3 month close, which we liked because it gave us more time to sell our current home but worried us because so much can change in 3 months. I think it is normal to have the concerns you're having, because we totally have had moments of, "October is so far away! So much can go wrong! What if our seller finds a way to back out? What if we lose our very stable jobs and lose financing?" The process is stressful and drawing it out seems to have magnified it for us. Now that we are almost to October a lot of those concerns are beginning to subside.

Good luck.

This was so very helpful, and it makes a lot of sense. Their realtor even told us it took them hours to sign the initial offer because they didn't want to overpay for the house, but the wife in particular really loves it. The buyers want to close right away, as they're in a month to month rental right now. When they were making their offer, they knew there were other offers, so they asked what they could do to make their offer more attractive. Our realtor told them a delayed close with a rent back would help.

Right now I just feel like they've made all the concessions and we've made none. If I feel like that, I can only imagine they do too. This is one of the reasons why I'm a HORRIBLE negotiator. So we are really relying on our realtor here.

We do take great care of the house, and always have. We have absolutely no intention of hiding anything or damaging anything or screwing them over in any way. But, they have no way of knowing this because they don't know us.