It's All About Motivation

....especially when it comes to real estate sales.
I wrote an offer this past weekend for good clients. The house was a bit dated, but in a great neighborhood and it had an attractive yard. The property was in its second month on the market.We read and approved all the documentation, and brought in a very strong offer....30% down, fully preapproved, and as-is (despite the fact that there was fumigation and extensive chimney work needed). It turned out that we were the third offer that had come in at the same price...a "coincidence" that should have told the seller something. He had remained firm at his high listed price, and any counter offers he made have showed almost no flexibility. Why? The house that is listed at $1.5 million is costing him only $1600 a month, and he doesn't need the money, in fact, he closed on a new home worth several million without the need to sell this one. I guess that he can afford to stand on principal. Dian Hymer recently wrote an article in the SF Chronicla entitled, "Sellers can be too optimistic on home price." She described sellers who had refused a lower offer on a house that eventually came off the market. When they offered it for sale a year later, they ended up with more than $100,000 less than the earlier offer. She advised that sellers look at their houses with a buyer's eye (and an appraiser's), and that they be honest with themselves about the property's flaws. Wishful thinking doesn't work.