[sdgrrl]

[quote=HLS]If Svelte is correct that it has fallen out of escrow twice,
you need to try to find out why.
As a Realtor, representing the buyer, I would be a pit bull.
As a mortgage broker, I find it odd that the property fell out of escrow twice in a short period of time; It’s not likely that 2 different buyers had their loans rejected in such a short period of time.

Inspections by good inspectors are done quickly. The guy I use usually finishes his report within 12 hours of inspection.
It’s possible that 2 buyers cancelled because of their inspection, not their loan. It takes much longer to get through the loan app, file set-up and in front of an underwriter, especially right now as underwriters are swamped.

A buyer is not obligated to provide the inspection report to the seller, and buyer can back out for ANY reason.
Seller cannot back out or cancel transaction.

IF the inspection report was provided to seller through the listing agent, they can no longer ignore/pretend not to be aware of any defects/problems/items that need attention.
Disclosures & transfer statement must address these items clearly. Even if it was a rental property, seller can no longer say that “We didn’t live there, not aware of any problems”

If you proceed and ever found out that they knew things that were
not disclosed to you, you would have a strong lawsuit against seller, listing agent and/or listing agent’s broker.

They can play games with listing price, they can lie about having other offers. they CANNOT lie/mislead about known problems without possible severe consequences.

Your agent should be telling you ALL this and putting pressure on the listing agent to disclose why it fell out of escrow twice.
It’s sad if you have to ask you agent to do this.
That’s mediocre service at best, which is all most agents offer.[/quote]

Hi HLS,

Very good to know about the seller’s own inspection and action I can take if they hide items which need repair. Our agent heard from the listing agent and the home was built in the 40s. So its almost an 80 year old home and no repairs. Again we love the home, but I’m also not going to be someone’s b*tch. Sorry for the language, but that is the only thing that came to mind.

We are growing weary of our agent. I don’t think she has it in her to really fight fair, but be a shark when she needs to. We have already discussed if this deal falls though we will go with another agent. Who knows, maybe we come back after working with someone else.

“They can play games with listing price, they can lie about having other offers.”

That is my hunch as well. I asked my realtor today why they only chose us and one other buyer. We aren’t special, I just think our offer was high.

I told my agent today if they don’t pay for the closing cost we are out. We are paying way over the listing price. We will see what happens.

[sdgrrl]

[quote=PCinSD]Don’t do anything until BG gives you legal and marital advice. Many of us have her on retainer.[/quote]

Again, I have read BG’s posts for some time. I read the other thread she is posting on and there were some standouts:

“Do people really want to attempt to raise young families in sub-1000 sf home with stairs and little to no yard?” Is that really what today’s homebuyers will “settle” for:

Um yeah. To a degree. Many young home buyers in pricey cities are realistic about what their buck will buy nowadays. The places some of us grew up in is not feasible in today’s market. Just the truth.

Also, many people in their 20s and 30s don’t want all the space and the work which comes with it.

“I honestly believe that many millenials (now working in their fields) can save a downpayment and buy a regular house. The $64M questions are, do they actually want to save for a downpayment and will they actually buy a house they can afford which will serve them (and their possible future families) for many years to come”:

Not sure which millennials you know, but $100k to drop on a down payment is not within their reach when they are still in their 20s. I am GenX and am in my 30s. If they have young children and are spending $800-$1500 on daycare it is even more unreasonable. My guy is a veteran and if we wanted to we wouldn’t have to put any money down.

Unless parents have stepped in, buying and selling is occurring for my friends parents and not them for the most part.

Overall I ignore her posts, but today these caught my eye even though it is business as usual.

[sdgrrl]

Hi Flu,

As I told svelte, it is nice to hear from one of the oldies.

Yeah, the rigidity of the sellers is extreme. I put in an offer of $385k with the seller paying the closing cost. We made the offer and may not be the chosen one, but if we are we will still think hard before going all in.

I do like the home and the mortgage is something I am comfortable with. Our income may put us in a higher bracket of middle class; nothing more though.

The $5k credit, I thought, “Ooh, thank you for your generous counter offer.”. Feel the same as you. Mix that with no repairs will be done and you feel more hesitant and that you are really getting the short end of the stick.

[sdgrrl]

Hi svelte,

I hope you are well. Back when I first joined I remember you as part of the community.

When I was a newbie the market hadn’t crashed yet and George W was President. We were all part of the crowd who saw what was coming. I remember realtors hopping in on the threads saying we had no idea what we were talking about. Ahh, the good ole’ days.

I was definitely part of the high strung political crowd and my demeanor and others is something I learned from. Don’t post like you know everything.

Thank you for weighing in. Hoping to see SDRealtor as well.

Yeah, it feels fishy. They could have listed it at $350k. Dropping it to $299k with the intention of a bidding war doesn’t sit well with me. There would have been plenty of bidders at $350k.

It does make me feel a bit better that the house in your view is priced well based on the area and other things.

I do like the house though and it isn’t at our cap price.

Not sure what you will think of this, but I countered at $385k with the seller paying the closing cost. There is one other buyer they are accepting offers from. Of course I can’t read their minds, but I imagine it being something similar- who knows.

If this house falls through I may change realtors. I friend of mine married a realtor and I thought he was pompous and too much of a stereotypical alpha male. When I was thinking of other realtors he came to mind.

The market is tough and our realtor is sweet, but I don’t necessarily want a sweet realtor. I want someone who can be nice when the situation calls for it, but I want a barracuda otherwise.

Thank you for your input. I am going to read it a few times.

Sincerely,

-S

[sdgrrl]

I have been on here since 2006 or 2007. I am used to BG and her ideas about finances, the housing market, the psyche of people in a general sweep. Such as lumping all of GenX as people who think society owes them something. I am GenX and definitely don’t feel this way and neither do my circle of friends.

Nothing new 🙂

[sdgrrl]

Just heard back from the seller:

Home has termite clearance (we need this for a VA loan – very good thing!)
– Seller wants a 12 day investigative period (normally 17 days). They do not want to do any repairs so what you find is what you get. Or, you cancel and move on.
– Seller does not want to pay closing cost – however is willing to give credit for needed work (like landscaping) ($5,000). We would do this on a request for repairs form at the time of the counter offer so it is in writing.
– Seller will pay for home warranty for 1 year upgraded.
– Since seller is doing home warranty – as a house warming I will do rebate to you now of $450.00.

The above will go out to you and at least one other offeror. They will be asking for best and final offer price.

[sdgrrl]

There are views all around of the mountains. Not sure how much that counts.

[sdgrrl]

[quote=CA renter][quote=scaredyclassic]I have a dream I don’t believe in.[/quote]

Expand. :)[/quote]

Waiting impatiently- haha

[sdgrrl]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=flyer]There will always be some winners and some losers in every generation, so, even though we can all generalize about the fate of a particular generation, there are always exceptions.

Some of us BB’s will have extraordinary, financially rewarding lives–some won’t. Some Gen Xer’s will have extraordinary, financially rewarding
lives–some won’t, and on and on. That’s the way life is.[/quote]

We are talking about the general demographic trends, not individual cases.

It’s not looking good. Japan will be interesting to watch. The boomers did incredibly well. They saved and own houses free and clear. What about the younger generations?

I believe life can take a different path for the worse because of demographic, economic and political cycles. Of course, there will always be exceptions.[/quote]

Japan is an experiment in motion and the cultural impact between the Boomers and Xers are alarming. I’m sure many of you read about the large percentage of Japanese who have no interest in sex or romantic relationships- the figure was something like 40%. The government is worried as their is a huge elderly generation being supported by a younger workforce who feel little security and aren’t really reproducing.

The X and latter generations saw their parents work the same job for 30 years, slowly earn respect as they aged in the workforce and have a decent life.

Today’s Japanese by and large feel I think more insecure than we do. Their culture puts such emphasis on success that I’m not surprised many become video game obsessed hikikomoris.

It will be interesting watching it unfold.

[sdgrrl]

[quote=FlyerInHi]ah, dreams… easier said than done.

I’v been fairly lucky compared to most people. So I’m thankful. But lots of people more talented than me don’t have what I have.

Sometimes dreams should stay dreams — something unattainable. It’s not really helpful to tell people to live their dreams. It’s oftentimes destructive.

Look at the people in LA trying to become actors, screenwriters, etc… most of them will end up, old, poor, and rejected, perhaps addicts who will die early in bad health. I know such a person.

It’s easy for the few who make it to say they lived the lives of their dreams.

People should understand their own limitations and live within their means. Or at least, through family or personal perseverance, to setup a nest egg to guarantee a baseline standard of living before, or while pursuing their dreams.

Telling people to live their dreams, no matter what, is a recipe for disappointment.[/quote]

I think much of this depends on the person. Some people for good or bad- just are not phased by…what is the word? Upward mobility, security, leaving a legacy.

Some would rather be a waiter at 45 and acting the occasional extra role than be tied to a desk.

For the dreamers, those that think they will make it. Have the Oscar speech all ready- yes, at some point if it doesn’t happen it’s time to move on. Those are the people who crack, burn and fade.

I blame Disney.

[sdgrrl]

[quote=UCGal][quote=sdgrrl]

Flash forward to my hubbie- he invest in his 401k to the max, but the numbers still don’t make us feel comfortable. My income goes to savings as well, but it will take a great great deal of work to have the retirement my GF and FIL have had.[/quote]

As someone who’s a boomer by the definition above, but not by other definitions… (I’m 52 – my parents were born AFTER the greatest generation, dad served in the Korean conflict, not WWII, etc… )
I can offer this hindsight on retirement savings.

Saving early and maximizing doesn’t make big impacts in the early years… but once you reach a certain point, the compounding really kicks into gear. It took a REALLY long time to save my first $100k in my 401k. It was quicker to double it to 200k. Then it doubled again… etc. At some point the gains are bigger than the contributions, and your money is making money for you, not just increasing by the savings.

All that is a way of saying, don’t give up on maxing out the retirement savings. You’ll get there. I’m so glad I didn’t give up… I’m hoping to retire no later than 55…[/quote]

Glad to see you are still on here. Thank you for the advice. My generation- myself personally can be impatient. Thanks for the words to relax, keep contributing and watch it grow.

[sdgrrl]

[quote=moneymaker]I have a dream, but no one I know supports it. That makes me sad when I think about it, so instead of thinking about it, I go about life doing my projects and working for a living. I do think however that just having that dream allows me to live life with a little less stress. Recently found out wife doesn’t believe there is sex in heaven, wow bummer![/quote]

Very curious what the dream is. How about having a bunch of strangers weigh in on your deepest wishes 🙂

[sdgrrl]

W2 salaries are the worst way to accumulate wealth BTW…[/quote]

Would you expand on that?

Sincerely,

S

[sdgrrl]

Gen X and latter for the most part will not have any type of pension. My hubbie’s two grandfathers both worked for Ford. One was white collar and the other blue collar. The blue collar one retired in his mid 60’s and lived till he was 97. The man had a great, albeit simple life.

My father in law receives his military pension, a pension from American Airlines, one from a co called Cobra and then SSI. The man is making more now then when he worked. He worked hard and I’m happy he gets to travel non stop and just enjoy life.

Flash forward to my hubbie- he invest in his 401k to the max, but the numbers still don’t make us feel comfortable. My income goes to savings as well, but it will take a great great deal of work to have the retirement my GF and FIL have had.

[sdgrrl]

[quote=edna_mode]Comic on Gen X and real estate. Not sure I agree!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AT9fFMD5bms/TuhTshwhG8I/AAAAAAAACh0/aV_Xppuqo48/s400/genxx.jpg%5B/quote%5D

That is great. Hmmm…in SD I would agree. In other areas I find you can have your cake and eat it too.

Thank you for sharing.

[Author]

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