Phoggie,
That is great. I would call the other two interested parties and let them know that if they are serious about the home, to get something to you ASAP.

Yay! We'll all keep our fingers crossed for a satisfactory outcome for all involved!

Sounds good. Keep us in the loop as you go through this.

That is so wonderful. It does sound like things are looking up for you and your house! Maybe your husband is helping you out in some way, some how. Congratulations, and I hope the people will meet you somewhere in the middle on price if that's what you need to have happen.

Yay Phoggie! Good news at last. Everything crossed for you for a successful outcome.

One of the other interested persons is coming back tomorrow for another look~~~ His realtor asked me what I would take, because this buyer does not want to get into a countering war....and I told him $275,000...and the realtor said that sounds like a very fair price. I am really keeping my fingers crossed for this guy and not have to deal with the others, who have been dragging their feet on this for about two years. And with his "prissy" wife, I know how she would be at the inspection and closing~~~

keeping my fingers crossed for you!! :)

Are you still negotiating with the first offer? It's been a while now. Hopefully you can get the second offer to come in too.

Spring is just around the corner. Some people start house hunting in earnest when the weather gets better.

Make sure the landscaping is up to snuff so newer buyers will give the older ones some pressure to act!

If the second person does not buy it out right...then I have to give a counter offer to the first party by tomorrow night by 5....so am really hoping I don't have to do it..because they have played around with this house for the entire 20 months it has been for sale and have come to see it 5 times!

"If the second person does not buy it out right...then I have to give a counter offer to the first party by tomorrow night by 5...."

How did it go? Did you give a counter offer to the first party?

Hope you have some good news.

ncrealestateguy and others~~~

OMG, I really think this couple is jerking me around and playing with my mind....so badly that with all of this grief I am dealing with from the recent loss of my DH, I feel I am ready for a nervous break-down!

Well, the first offer they made...$250,000 (which would net me 235,000+)....I countered back at $275,000 (down another $25,000 from the original price of $299,990)...they would not accept that...countered back with $260,000, BUT wanted to include my living room furniture, the complete master bedroom furniture, the family room furniture + the deep freeze and the refrig. in the garage!!!...what else to they want, my BLOOD?

The single guy who was interested is now exploring other options...might either buy in a near-by town or build.

The realtor who showed for the second time, thought an offer was coming in yesterday, but nothing there~

The older couple who really wants it, already has three houses, and a lot of farm ground and he feels like he has too much to take care of, but if he could sell something, they do want it, but said not to wait on them.

This old woman is worn out~~~~ When do you know if God is answering a prayer for an offer you should accept or if this couple who have looked at it 5 times throughout 19 months is just jacking me around?

I have found a condo "back home" and she is willing to hold it 30 days for me before she puts it on the market...but who knows...I might have lost them all. She wants $125 SF and I am offered $64 SF for a much better, newer, 3x larger house.

Feed-back is welcome....and so are prayers~~

We were the difficult couple looking at an empty grand house on Lake Michigan about 40 years ago. I loved the house, but the kitchen was designed decades earlier for the cook, not the housewife. So we knew we had to remodel it. We were just starting our family, and though I LOVED the house, it sat at the edge of a TALL cliff overlook the lake with riparian property along one side that would be a flowing creek in wet weather. But I was too afraid for my children's safety, so we kept drooling over it, but in the end passed on it.

All this to say that the couple who have visited your home may well LOVE it too.

Good luck to you.

That's a tough one. I feel for you and all the emotion this whole situation is fraught with, especially given your recent loss and your desire to move "back home." The buyer probably knows about your husband's recent death, and figures they can get a steal.

If you can manage to set the emotion aside, here's how I'd look at it, from a pure business perspective. Do you have a good solid feel for the value of the house, given the comps? How does their offer compare to those comps? I can't recall all the history with how long you've had it on the market and how you're priced relative to your comps.

On the furniture: you could take it as flattery that they like your stuff so much. :-) But again, from a business perspective, which of it do you want to take with you and which will you need to sell off? It could be helpful that they want to "buy" it (using quotes because in a sense they're asking you to throw it in for free). But your response can agree to include the stuff you'd rather not take with/move/sell, and exclude the stuff you want to keep.

When you pray, alternately take yourself down both of the paths in front of you (rejecting the offer and waiting for a better one, accepting it and moving in the near term). See which brings you the feeling of sweet peace and reassurance from God.

Good luck with your decision!

The house that the realtor seems to be comparing ours to (but as she said...how can you compare yours, when you have the best house in town?), sold for $269,000, but it was not nearly the quality built nor a three car garage as ours (now, mine) is. DH was a architect, contractor and it was "quality" all the way. It was supposed to be our forever home~~

Our county appraisal is $275,000...but when we had an appraiser's opinion when we first listed it, he said, $300,000.

Weedyacres....you are so wise.... What you have stated is rather similar to what my son has said, "Mom, how can you put a price tag on this worry and stress you are having?"....but then the other daughters think that this "car salesman...his true occupation" is jerking me around and trying to take advantage of me. The step-son said tonight, "Tell the realtor to bring me a price that will net me $250,000 (even if it means cutting her commission a tad...a smaller commission is better than none) but forget "giving" them the furniture...if they want to buy it at my living estate auction, they can do so then."

I guess in the end, it is all on my shoulders....but since I have not heard anything today, they probably have chucked the whole thing and I have lost them, because I asked for a couple of days to talk to my family.

I think I agree with your son at this point - the worry and stress are probably not worth the extra money you could make. On the other hand, if these people are difficult they might remain that way until you close and try to make you life more difficult. If you think they are serious and that you could close quickly it might be a good idea to take the offer. Maybe you could tell them a lot of the furniture has sentimental value, was a gift, etc. and tell them they can take certain pieces but not the whole group.

Take my advice with a grain of salt though, because I am a first-time house seller. I just feel that stress is unhealthy and I think it would be great if you could be with your family ASAP. Take care!

I vote with Weedyacres advice. Take a hard look at where both scenarios take you and choose the one that feels best. Chances are they don't want your furniture because they like it. Chances are they will sell it and use the funds to customize the home a bit.
Whatever you decide, make sure you are good with the decision.

Well, this is kinda like a marriage......for better or worse, the agreements have been signed to sell this house.
Last night, I did take Weedyacres advice...the road that I chose was to take less than I wanted to get out of here and "back home" to my family and friends. The buyers did come up $17,500....we split the difference. I had planned to sell most of the funiture on Craigslist anyway, so now I can start over with new stuff...and not have to have a moving van...now we can do it in a U-Haul and a pickup.
I was not "married" to the funiture....it was such good quality, but most of it did belong to my DH and his deceased wife...but we had intended to get some of it new when we got to move anyway......it was just that it seemed that they were wanting "blood" too. I did have them scratch the down-filled sofas in the den....DH's D wanted those because of sentimental reasons....so I hope the buyer will go along with that.

BUT, BUT...no more than I signed, I had a call from the other realtor that they had a buyer who wanted to sign papers to buy this tomorrow!!!!! and from the way they talked, he would have paid what I originally wanted. Oh well, I am going to try to settle myself down and forget about that call.....it is done. The buyer is willing to let me live here free 2 weeks beyond closing.....close April 12 and move by May 1.

I hope my dear recently deceased DH would agree and be happy for me...it was our dream for several years to move back on our lake...so although it has been extremely hard to do with this only 2+ months since his passing and everything I pick up is a "memory" and the flood gates open up. I am an emotional one anyway, but these tears glands are getting a work out~~

Thanks to all of you who have stuck by me through all of this ordeal...it is so good to know that somewhere out there in internet-land, someone cares about me.

Congrats Phoggie! As hard as it's going to be, don't worry about the potential other offer that came in. You can now get back to your family and start the real road to healing the loss of your DH. Best wishes to you!

Thanks, onlygirlsmom~~

The "buyers" come today just to meet me....and I really liked them....we joked and kidded...he is a car salesman and said I was a good sales person. His wife said she has wanted this house since the first day she saw it 19 months ago, but he had $250,000 on the brain and didn't want to go a penny over~~~but she finally won out~~~by a little bit.

He also has the U-Haul business....so I told him that by wanting this furniture, it saved me a moving van and could now move in a U-Haul and I thought he could just throw that in and he said that could certainly be arranged :-)

Now on to getting that condo....that just has to happen...it is the only decent house/location in that little town~~so wish me luck on that endeavor.

Congratulations! Just think of all the stress you are avoiding by NOT having to sell the furniture.
I'm glad that you liked the couple that are buying the house, most importantly, you get to move back home.

Your experience meeting the buyers is revelatory, and a good reminder that we shouldn't necessarily read too much into people's offers. There are a dozen reasons why a buyer might offer a low number, many of them nothing to do with spite (perhaps that's the limit of what they can afford, for example). And likewise there are a dozen reasons why a seller might refuse an offer, many of them nothing to do with greed or stupidity.

So we should all probably "judge not" and just try to approach the negotiations from a business perspective instead of an emotional one, and hopefully avoid a lot of stress. Easier said than done sometimes. :-)

Congratulations, I don't know you, and now I wonder how I can be so happy for someone I've never met!!

Keep focused on the end goal, you can do it...

Congrats, phoggie, and good luck on your condo!

As I wrote in another post, the condo probably won't happen....it could have possible water problems and I am afraid of MOLD~~~ So as of now, I will be homeless :-( if I don't find something else FAST! Oh my this is nerve-wracking on my fragile nerves anyway.

I have been dragging junk out of all of the closets in this 4090 SF house getting ready for a huge garage sale...and my body is telling me to stop for the night, so guess I'll go in and watch my Kansas Jayhawks, hopefully win a bb game~~