Need real estate advice on who to sell my home to

[ringbling17]

Okay, this is long!
So I put my house up for sale and got really lucky and got 6 offers within three days. All of them were above asking price.
Currently we need to decide on two of them.
We can’t decide! Both offered the same exact amount of money and are putting 20% down and are non-contingent.
Please tell me who you would choose and why.

1st offer- Family with two young children. They were the first buyers to put an offer in. They are asking for the pool table, all appliances, window treatments and lighting. They were asking for a 1 yr home warranty and then removed it when they knew I had other offers. They currently live with their parents after selling their home. They said they would not be nit-picky about repairs and only stick to major things as outlined in our contract.
They are allowing us to rent back the home for 1 week after we close, so we can close on another property and get the new home ready before we move in.
The earliest they can close is 2/21. They said we can stay until 2/27. We will pay them rent for those days. They are putting $5k for deposit with the contract.

2nd offer- Family with two young children as well. They asked for no inclusions, didn’t even ask for the appliances but I’m assuming they want at least that. They are currently doing a month to month lease where they are, they have also sold their home already.
They offered to take my home in as is condition up to $6k worth of repairs. Everything more than that is negotiable.
They will not allow us to do a rent back for a week as they don’t want to pay an extra months rent. They can close by 2/27.
They are putting $20k for initial deposit. They changed this from $5k, see story below.

So I initially chose the 2nd buyers on Sunday bc of the as is condition offer. I thought great! If they find things wrong as long as it’s under $6k I don’t have to worry about it. I don’t think I have anything to repair in this house but inspectors always seem to find something.
Then on Monday I got a text from my agent that the 2nd buyers changed their minds bc we were going back and forth with the closing dates. I had asked her when they could close and gave them a bunch of dates that we were off but they wouldn’t give me an actual date. I needed a date bc I have to also let the sellers of the home I am buying know, so we can coordinate it since these buyers won’t let us stay longer in this house. I basically have to do both closings the same day and get myself moved the same day as well. The sellers of the house I want are divorced so it’s hard for them to get together (it took them a week to respond to our offer and then a few more days to have each seller sign it). Not to mention everybody also works so the closing date is extremely important to me. When I accepted their offer I still didn’t have a closing date actually.

So my agent wrote up the contract for the 1st buyers when they declined. Then late Monday she text me and said the 2nd buyers had a change of heart and would now like to purchase my house and would be willing to put $20k down instead to show how earnest they are.

Of course I’m getting dizzy from all of this and actually now have a headache.
So, that was yesterday and I told my agent I would give her our decision today.

So, which buyer would you chose and why?

 

[Queenie60]

I would go ahead with the first buyers as you had already drawn up a contract with them. Also, seems that buyer #2 is a bit unsure and you wouldn't want to let buyer #1 go and then have #2 back down once again. Just my opinion - my advise is based on working for a high producing realtor for 3 years and I have seen many different types of buyers.

 

[ringbling17]

I would go ahead with the first buyers as you had already drawn up a contract with them. Also, seems that buyer #2 is a bit unsure and you wouldn't want to let buyer #1 go and then have #2 back down once again. Just my opinion - my advise is based on working for a high producing realtor for 3 years and I have seen many different types of buyers.

So my agent wrote up a contract with them but they haven’t signed it yet and I haven’t signed it yet either bc she just wrote it up yesterday after the 2nd buyers changed their mind.
But I’m feeling that is the right thing to do.
For some reason my agent keeps pushing me for the 2nd buyers. I don’t know if there is anything she knows that I don’t but she keeps saying the 2nd buyers are offering a much stronger offer.

 

[Siamese Kitty]

I'm an agent in a different state, but my opinion is more general, off the cuff, may/may not apply to you...

I think I'd have the agent call the lenders for each buyer and see how far along they are in the application process and see if they can get a feeling for how strong each file is. Then I would see if one or the other is willing to do an "as is" deal. Fwiw, I don't like clients on either side to be in a rent back position if it can be avoided due to potential drama for both parties. Finally, it seems like it is fairly easy for a buyer to get an earnest money deposit back these days, but is 5k an adequate amount relative to the price of the home? You could possibly ask that a certain portion be non-refundable after xyz date.

Also, you may consider your final walkthrough of your purchase before the day of closing to be sure people are moving/moved out, especially with a back to back closing. You could also negotiate that your buyer closes escrow in the am to get the wire train started. Good luck!

ETA: I didn't really answer the question, haha. We are not allowed to tell our sellers pick a or b, but rather get as much info as possible to make the pro/con list with them. For me, when I go to sell my personal home this year I will be looking for the strongest financing (people who are pre-approved and not just pre-qualified) with the minimum number of contingencies.

 

[ringbling17]

I'm an agent in a different state, but my opinion is more general, off the cuff, may/may not apply to you...

I think I'd have the agent call the lenders for each buyer and see how far along they are in the application process and see if they can get a feeling for how strong each file is. Then I would see if one or the other is willing to do an "as is" deal. Fwiw, I don't like clients on either side to be in a rent back position if it can be avoided due to potential drama for both parties. Finally, it seems like it is fairly easy for a buyer to get an earnest money deposit back these days, but is 5k an adequate amount relative to the price of the home? You could possibly ask that a certain portion be non-refundable after xyz date.

Also, you may consider your final walkthrough of your purchase before the day of closing to be sure people are moving/moved out, especially with a back to back closing. You could also negotiate that your buyer closes escrow in the am to get the wire train started. Good luck!

ETA: I didn't really answer the question, haha. We are not allowed to tell our sellers pick a or b, but rather get as much info as possible to make the pro/con list with them. For me, when I go to sell my personal home this year I will be looking for the strongest financing (people who are pre-approved and not just pre-qualified) with the minimum number of contingencies.

Those are excellent suggestions! I will ask my agent to do that. Actually when I made the offer on the house I want, they had their own lender call me to get preapproval before accepting our offer, so that makes sense.
I do know that buyer 1 has a pre- qualification letter and buyer 2 has a preapproval letter.
Buyer 1 is actually a client for the agent who listed my house, so they have given me a different agent so there is no conflict of interest. Again, even though they work in the same office, this new agent keeps pushing me towards buyer 2. She believes that it will be an easier transaction.
Actually even before I got the other offers, when I got the initial offer from buyer 1 and told her I would accept it, this agent insisted I wait before I accepted it.
Again, my feeling is she knows something about buyer 1 that she can’t tell me.

 

[Siamese Kitty]

Those are excellent suggestions! I will ask my agent to do that. Actually when I made the offer on the house I want, they had their own lender call me to get preapproval before accepting our offer, so that makes sense.
I do know that buyer 1 has a pre- qualification letter and buyer 2 has a preapproval letter.
Buyer 1 is actually a client for the agent who listed my house, so they have given me a different agent so there is no conflict of interest. Again, even though they work in the same office, this new agent keeps pushing me towards buyer 2. She believes that it will be an easier transaction.
Actually even before I got the other offers, when I got the initial offer from buyer 1 and told her I would accept it, this agent insisted I wait before I accepted it.
Again, my feeling is she knows something about buyer 1 that she can’t tell me.

That is really nice to hear about your agent's ethical approach to making sure there isn't a conflict. My agency would do the same and I think it's the right thing to do.

It's hard because rules vary state to state, but in mine I do not believe I could hold information back from the seller like that. If she gleaned info from them when they were her buyers, ehh, maybe she knows something but hard to say. Maybe they were fickle as her shoppers, maybe they were great, you just never know.

However, I will say after being in the business a while you do tend to just get a "gut" feeling as an agent which deal will be the smoothest and who is going to stick with the deal. I'll ask myself: Is it near their family? Are they out of state and have no more time to look and need to be here for x date? Are their children enrolled in that school? Is the agent on the other end going to get the job done? That said, guts absolutely can be wrong and that is where it is good to go down the contingency list and figure out who has the edge where. Financing is a big part of the puzzle. I would be very nervous to accept a deal where someone went online and popped out a prequal letter by entering their social and a few non-verified income details. (in general-not saying this is the case here) But when I call a lender and they have the file in front of them with paystubs and can tell me about their clients ability to execute their contract, I just have a lot more faith they will get the deal done. (The lender's performance can also make/break a deal.)

Actually, even the bank can be important. I.e. When I go to sell my house, I'll hope for a deal from a local bank/lender who has local appraisers. My neighborhood is valued less than one area close by and much higher than another area that shares the same zip. I will want an appraiser who is familiar with my market.

Hope this makes a little sense-I'm tired, ha. In any case, it does sound like you are in good hands. I honestly would trust your agent. HTH and wish you the best of luck!

 

[Sunstorm]

Buyer 2. Gut feeling even though many other factors would normally point to 1. Your agent is confirming my gut feeling. I hate inconsistenty, who likes it but sometimes people need time to decide.

 

[missy]

First of all congrats on receiving so many offers above asking too. Woohoo! Reading what you wrote I am leaning towards buyer 2. I would want first and foremost the smoothest and easiest transaction possible and something is going on with buyer 1 based on what you wrote about your RE agent and just a gut feeling I have.

Good luck @kayla17!

 

[ringbling17]

Thanks everyone. So a little more info. The agent who listed my home initially told me to list for a lot less. She gave me a range to list and wanted me to listed at the lower range. I told her I thought that it was a little bit too low considering the house across from me with the same footage and floor plan,etc was listed for $125k more than she was telling me to list at.
I did get two other agencies to come by and they both told me to list for considerably higher than what my agent suggested. So I opted to list at the higher amount in my agent’s range. But still a lot less than I would have liked to list.
My agent listed my home and did not allow anyone to see our house until the open house. This was a few days later. We had a few people try to schedule a showing on this website they use, but they were all declined by my agent.
I honestly feel that maybe she did this on purpose so her clients would be the first ones to see the house and she wanted me to list for lower so that her clients would want to make an offer right away. The day after the showing her clients made a full price offer and were my first offer on the house.
I think I have so much interest on my house bc everyone who is currently looking knows that my house is priced well for the area.

 

[Siamese Kitty]

I can't speak to the pricing issue, but will say that holding showings until the open house is a very common practice in our market. It's good for the bottom line for potential buyers to see a lot of "action" and sellers usually like being able to get a large number of buyers to view during that window for convenience sake. If you turn down one person prior to that, you probably need to be fair and turn them all down.

 

[partgypsy]

What the agent for the buyers #1 did, would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe not the prospective buyers amount, but it is what it is. I am also leaning towards family #2, given that as long as repairs are 6K or under they are taking it "as is". That's a good thing. And you moving out 27th without having to pay an additional 5K in "rent" also seems like a plus. Good luck.

 

[House Cat]

First buyer. Second buyer sounds difficult and will make your life hell during the whole process of the sale. Nothing is worth that.

 

[luv2sparkle]

I would go with buyer #2. I agree with other, they sound way less difficult and are asking for less.

 

[Bonfire]

Congratulations on your multiple offers! You are selling in a strong seller‘s market. I would probably go with buyer 1. However, if the deal doesn’t close you have multiple backups. However, I’d prefer pre approved (buyer 2) over pre qualified (buyer 1) . Meshing closing dates is not how I would decide on which buyer. If you have to stay in a hotel for a night or two it’s not a big deal in the scheme of things.
Good luck I hope everything goes smoothly for you!

 

[telephone89]

I'd go with buyer 1. Buyer 2 "sounds" better, however $6k in repairs is NOTHING. Unless your home is pristine, they could really rack that up. I also don't like their wishy washy attitude, lack of ability to give a firm date, and IMO a $20k deposit doesn't swing me further for them.

 

[ringbling17]

So some updates. I’m at work so I am
In and out of my office. My agent did call both lenders and buyer 2’s lenders say they are more than well qualified and have submitted all their preliminary paperwork already. Buyer 2 also said we could keep $5k of their earnest money if they decide to back out for any reason after the inspections are done.
Buyer 1’s lender has not responded yet but it was PNC bank so I don’t know how soon or when they would respond. Buyer 1 has already signed the contract and my agent has it waiting to send it to me. She said they would not agree to $6k worth of as is repairs but I honestly don’t know if she asked them.
I’m so stressed out about this and I just really want the right buyers for my house.

 

[Bonfire]

I’m going to change my mind because I think buyer 2 is a stronger buyer. I would negotiate the inspection fees though. The inspection will include a laundry list of items that the buyer will want to be addressed. Those items are negotiable. I wouldn’t pre agree to any dollar amount at this point. Those items become part if the attorney review to be hashed out. You can limit what you will or will not repair. Buyer 2 IMO has sweetened the pot by the earnest money they have put down. They want your house! That puts you in a good negotiating position. They are further along with their loan approval also. Try to stay calm, this is all part of the game.

 

[partgypsy]

I meant to say "it's not the prospective buyer's fault" not amount

 

[Tekate]

I recently put my former home on the market, it went up online on Friday night, open house Saturday morning, two offers above asking 6 and 12 hours later. Took the 2nd one because theirs was 5K over, they wanted the washer/dryer appliances, window treatments etc.. all stuff I was willing to sell anyway (moving across country).. we gave the 1st buyer the option to meet the 2nd buyers offer, she declined, she lost.. closed within 7 weeks. whirlwind and downright stressful. My house in Raleigh back in 97 had 3 offers before going on market, it was sold to IBM as soon as the first offer came in, they accepted the highest offer. My house in Austin also was sold before on the market for quite a bit more than asking price.. living in hot areas it a fun thing.

 

[the_mother_thing]

Is Buyer #2’s $20K considered “earnest” money or “due diligence” money, the latter of which - where I live - is non-refundable to buyers regardless of the reason the deal falls through and regardless of which party causes it. It’s money buyers offer sellers in addition to their earnest money (which usually is refundable).

If the $20K is DD money and Buyer #2 can not accommodate your request to rent back for a week post-closing but does have the stronger financing arrangements, I’d go with them and make that money work for you: get your house packed up in advance, rent a VRBO unit for a week, and close both deals (selling & buying) as you have it scheduled.

 

[ringbling17]

So we went back with the 2nd buyers.
As others have said, I just felt their finances were stronger and I feel since we are giving them a second chance, they won’t mess it up this time. I’m praying nothing messes this up.
@the_mother_thing - The $20k is not due diligence money, although they have agreed let us keep $5k if the deal falls thru.
They probably have terms like that in hotter markets but I’m just glad to be able to sell my house and moving on. All the houses for sale in our town are about the same sq footage and same acreage. Other than the interest on my home, the homes normally take a few months to sell. The most recent sale in my development was in Nov but that house was for sale since July.
There is another house for sale in our development that has been for sale for 10 months (Same floor plan and listed for a lot less) , so I don’t want to really press too much for things.
My neighbor’s house right next door has been unable to sell since 2013. He will rent it out for a year and then put it back on the market, then rent it out again, etc. I’ve watched his home for sale 3 times since then. The last time he had it listed was right before I decided to list my home. He also had it listed for considerably less.

 

[ringbling17]

I recently put my former home on the market, it went up online on Friday night, open house Saturday morning, two offers above asking 6 and 12 hours later. Took the 2nd one because theirs was 5K over, they wanted the washer/dryer appliances, window treatments etc.. all stuff I was willing to sell anyway (moving across country).. we gave the 1st buyer the option to meet the 2nd buyers offer, she declined, she lost.. closed within 7 weeks. whirlwind and downright stressful. My house in Raleigh back in 97 had 3 offers before going on market, it was sold to IBM as soon as the first offer came in, they accepted the highest offer. My house in Austin also was sold before on the market for quite a bit more than asking price.. living in hot areas it a fun thing.

You’ve had a lot of luck selling your homes! We had a similar experience with this home. Went up online, had the open house and had three offers the next day, 2 for my asking price. The day after we had two more. At that point we asked everyone for their best and final and we had a total of 6, a few of them over $20k more than our asking price. We stopped showing after that which was a huge relief. I hate showing my home.
Our other two homes sold right away as well without any issues. I hope this is the last time we have to do this.

 

[ringbling17]

I can't speak to the pricing issue, but will say that holding showings until the open house is a very common practice in our market. It's good for the bottom line for potential buyers to see a lot of "action" and sellers usually like being able to get a large number of buyers to view during that window for convenience sake. If you turn down one person prior to that, you probably need to be fair and turn them all down.

Yes, that was her reasoning and she also only had a one hour open house . When I look at videos of that day, it’s looks like I was having a backyard bbq so her idea worked.

 

[Tekate]

20K! whoa! we got 15K and in Maine which was a shocker.. I toooo hope I don't have to move again (unless I'm dead which means I've permanently moved ) we sold one house in 1990 in New York that was in a declining market, THAT was never sold and we sold it to IBM - they bought for 140K from us and they sold it for 110K, bad time then, my husband made 90K on it tho because he'd owned it during the huge up! it's worth 600K now ! hah! best of luck and I so hear you on the moving!

You’ve had a lot of luck selling your homes! We had a similar experience with this home. Went up online, had the open house and had three offers the next day, 2 for my asking price. The day after we had two more. At that point we asked everyone for their best and final and we had a total of 6, a few of them over $20k more than our asking price. We stopped showing after that which was a huge relief. I hate showing my home.
Our other two homes sold right away as well without any issues. I hope this is the last time we have to do this.

 

[Bonfire]

The packing and the physical move are what I find stressful. Good luck with everything and congratulations on your new home!

 

[msop04]

Congrats on having so many interested in buying your home - that's awesome! Admittedly, I haven't read all the responses... Couldn't your agent inform both parties that there are other offers and let the bidding wars begin?? I'm greedy like that. LOL

 

[msop04]

So we went back with the 2nd buyers.
As others have said, I just felt their finances were stronger and I feel since we are giving them a second chance, they won’t mess it up this time. I’m praying nothing messes this up.
@the_mother_thing - The $20k is not due diligence money, although they have agreed let us keep $5k if the deal falls thru.
They probably have terms like that in hotter markets but I’m just glad to be able to sell my house and moving on. All the houses for sale in our town are about the same sq footage and same acreage. Other than the interest on my home, the homes normally take a few months to sell. The most recent sale in my development was in Nov but that house was for sale since July.
There is another house for sale in our development that has been for sale for 10 months (Same floor plan and listed for a lot less) , so I don’t want to really press too much for things.
My neighbor’s house right next door has been unable to sell since 2013. He will rent it out for a year and then put it back on the market, then rent it out again, etc. I’ve watched his home for sale 3 times since then. The last time he had it listed was right before I decided to list my home. He also had it listed for considerably less.

Oops! Just saw this - disregard my other post.

 

[whitewave]

I would have said whoever turned in the first signed contract that you find agreeable.

Congratulations!!!

 

[voce]

Congrats.

I would have gone with buyer #1, reason being--"They said they would not be nit-picky about repairs and only stick to major things as outlined in our contract."

$6K is nothing when it comes to spending on houses. A simple re-paint costs $3k or more, depending on size of the home.

I'm a cynical person, and the thought did come to my mind that perhaps buyer #1 is better off financially, and the agent was trying to get you to accept #2 because #1 was considering a higher priced home, and if #1 buys a higher priced home than yours, your agent stands to make even more. I understand that you switched agents, but both agents are working at the same agency, so maybe some profit sharing would apply?

Anyway, happy that (fingers crossed) you are proceeding with a sale, and hope that nothing goes wrong.