The updating and remodeling at 46 Main St. is coming along wonderfully. We should be in within the week.
But this thread isn't about that! It's about selling a house and a minor gripe that I have with Real Estate Agents, banks and Lawyers. We agreed to an offer that was slightly above asking price and after the home inspection, we agreed to $2,200 in "fixes" to be made. The agent insists that this is taken as a credit at the closing and the selling price remains the same. I am angry at paying the real estate commission and taxes on money that I am refunding.
Now the "argument" is that it would cost more that the $110 (commission and taxes) that I would save, to change the loan, originators fee, etc. I say, "shoot, $110 is a weeks worth of groceries!"
This feels kind of petty to me, but it's just rubbing me wrong. Am I just being a cheap Yankee? Or a thrifty Yankee?
Dear Mr. Idea:
I have received your invoice of June 26th for the survey that you made for me and I have a question. When you originally proposed to do this for me, I understood that you were going to charge me $18,500.00. On your invoice, however, you show an itemized charge of $2.50 for "records", which brings the total to $18,502.50, which is maddening, to say the least. Please explain to me how in the world you can justify this.
Sincerely,
Mr. Client
Cheap or thrifty? Nah. Just frugal. When is the last time anybody in the real estate business told you to go ahead with something that would make a survey more expensive?
Put the ball back in your agent's court. Tell them you're willing to pay $2090 of the fixes and let the buyer (or anybody else...) pay the additional $110.
If you like playing mind games with the brokers (both yours and theirs), tell them that you are thinking about walking away from the deal over the issue. They will likely take the cost out of their commission. Worked out for me once so far. They only want to close. If you walk away they get nothing for another month.
See if you can get the surveyor to drop his price by 110.00.
I am so disgusted with cheap surveyors....
🙂
Tell them that you will not close without a survey made by a surveyor acceptable to you.
Yes no seller in the history of real estate has required a survey as part of selling to someone, but you will.
Fee is $5110.00 Payable by the real estate agents coming out of their commission.
Of course, you are the only surveyor that is acceptable to you 🙂
Your $2200 should simply be figured into the pluses and minuses of the overall closing cost and have no effect whatsoever on the commission. The sale price is the sale price. Each party incurs expenses per whatever the agreement says. In your case, the buyer pays out $2200 less because that money is to be spent on the agreed upon repairs.
[USER=155]@foggyidea[/USER]
The Cow is correct. You can also tell the Realtor you are not absorbing the $110 or you will postpone the closing. That will usually freak them out and they will acquiesce to your demand.
Say hi to D.
