Offer #5

Yep…you read that right. We are really on to offer #5. For a recap of offers 1-3, go HERE. To see offer #4, go HERE. So what happened, you ask, to offer #4?

We submitted our offer with a punch list of items we wanted complete before closing. We had a meeting with our agent, the seller, and the seller’s agent last Thursday to walk through the entire list. We reached a verbal agreement with only minor changes from our list. Our agent was to draw up the finalized version so we could all sign off on it on Friday. One of the changes was that the seller was not going to start on the list until financing was secured and our earnest money was nonrefundable. Because of this we were scheduled to meet with our lender on Saturday to get things going. We signed the finalized contract on Friday and gave a deadline of Saturday for the seller to sign. Saturday came and went without a signature from the seller – his agent could not even reach him. We were unable to apply for our loan with our lender on Saturday. Sunday came and went – still no signature.

Monday (yesterday) we were told that they should have it signed off on by Tuesday morning. At this point Robert and I started to talk about two things. First, if the seller cannot manage to sign a piece of paper by a deadline, how could we count on him to complete a three page punch list by closing? Second, although we really loved the charm of the old house and the fun potential of living downtown in a historic neighborhood, we questioned whether it was really what was best for Leland and whether it was really enough space? After a few hours of discussion, we decided to move on with our search.

So…offer #5…takes us back to the same neighborhood as offer #1. It’s a 3 bedroom 2 ½ bath home in a nice subdivision. The house has a huge kitchen, an open loft area at the top of the stairs (a great playroom option) and a fenced back yard. It’s very close to downtown (where I work) and is also close to shopping. The community has a pool, walking trails, and playgrounds. And, it’s in a great school district – well actually all of the same school districts as offer #4.

So that’s all the good. The bad is that it is a foreclosure listed $30K - $40K over market value. (They actually have it listed for more than it sold when it was new in 2006).  The listing broker is an out of town broker with limited knowledge of the local market – so his pricing is really off the mark. We have also been told that there is already another offer. We put together what we think is a reasonable, but strong offer. Now, we wait.