Leeds Me Alone

When I agreed to the sales contract for the house in Leeds, I figured there was a greater chance of Mr. Smith moving out on Oct. 1 than this woman performing. My uuber-patient and totally wonderful agent, Jack, was optimistic. But he isn't managing the Jaded Empire.

The buyer came in with no earnest money. I asked for it in the counter-offer and was told she didn't have it because she had to pay some bill. Jack reminded me it was a two week close. We could ask for the earnest money or wait two weeks and find out. What was two weeks among friends? Would the house have been rented out if I hadn't taken her offer? Maybe. Maybe not.

Back to the buyer. In order to qualify, she was using every conceivable seller-assistance program known to man--all going away October 1. What this meant to me was, in order to make this sale go through, I was required to help her out with the closing costs, down payment and jump through a bunch of hoops for the good people at the Federal Housing Authority bureaucracy. Part of which I was willing to do. Making this house go away would be worth it.

The FHA inspector did their job last week. They inspected the property, informing me I was to help the buyer out by doing about $10,000 worth of repairs. The most ridiculous one was replacing the roof. Why replace the roof? Because I could not verify the roof's age, therefore it might be old. The roof doesn't leak. But, without maintenance and proper care by the new owner it might leak sometime down the road. Therefore, FHA wanted me to replace this before the new buyer had a problem. There were other stupid issues. For example, the house was built in 1954. The wiring is not up to code for 2008 standards. I was expected to rewire.

I refused these repairs. Instead, I agreed to fix the leaking toilet, the broken back steps and a few other odd jobs that would cause harm to a new seller. I was not willing to guarantee the safety and comfort of the buyer 10 years down the road with a new roof. In the end, either the buyer was ok with my choices or the buying agent needed the commission badly enough that she talked the buyer into taking her chances with the roof. And, somewhere in there, the buyer's agent or Jack worked their magic too. The FHA inspector disappeared and the repair list hasn't been seen since.

The one absolutely bright spot in this entire process was the appraisal. The appraiser comped the house at $9,000 more than I was asking. A savvy seller might ask why I let Jack price the house so low. Simply because this house is worth about $9,000 less than I had it listed for. Jack and I crossed our fingers and toes hoping we would get it to appraise for what I was asking. I know how to run comps. I saw the comps Jack ran. I can do the math. The appraiser was smoking something really special the day she comped my property. And, even better, she sent me the full appraisal! So, now I can use it for the next potential buyer. And, yes, Jack raised the price.

The other minor victory was the buyer's agent didn't know how to write a contract. I am off the off the hook for the $800 appraisal. An outrageous fee for any appraisal. But, that is what FHA charges. The buyer's agent also got me off the hook for the FHA inspection. This was another $800 I don't have to come in with. If it closed, I would have paid for these items.

Last week, anyone not living under a rock heard about the "financial crisis." Apparently the buyer did not live under a rock. She started to panic. Today, on her way to the closing table, she bailed. Home ownership was not in the cards for her.

On one hand I am really glad. If someone isn't ready for the responsibility, don't do it. And, if it was too much money for her, don't let the tax payers have to deal with her mistake later on. Thank you.

I personally will sleep well tonight. I was dreading calling my partner and explaining how we took a huge hit on this house in Leeds. We would have walked away with less than the equivalent of one month's mortgage payment as our gross profit. I firmly believe dumping out the bad stuff is worth it. I just wasn't ready to find out if he shared my sentiment. After all, he has missed all the drama with this property.

On the other hand, I am still stuck with this house. Jack has put it back on the market. I am still looking for a renter. The house still has the same issues it had before. And, it isn't the roof that is the problem. It is the neighbors.