Mari, can I extend a virtual Margarita to you? Heavens...what a freakin' nightmare. You are waaaaay more calm than I would be in that situation! As if selling doesn't suck enough without having to deal with all of that drama.

Deep breaths....remember how much fun you're going to have with the new place....remember how great a hubby you have....remember how sweet Goku's (I think I remembered his name right!) face is, and how dopily trusting and moment-to-moment dogs are, and try to live like they do! (I don't, however, recommend you trying to "bathe" yourself with your tongue....)

Hang in there, girl. I know you and I are not of the same faith, but I'll be admonishing my higher powers on your behalf all the same.

Mari, I would be bounching off the walls by now! It's not easy to keep your cool when faced with such a huge adversity as a friggin' hotel, even though it is a year into the future.

Reno, has offfered some great advice~follow everything to the limit, but please igonre the 'tongue bathing', although a big lick on the face can sure make you forget your problems, at least temporarily.

Like Reno, i'll be wishing for the universe to pull things in your direction, but keep in mind that nothing worth doing happens overnight.

Mari, I'm so sorry this isn't working out the way you want to. Sending positive vibes that the hotel deal will fall through!

We've made our long distance move and were able to sell our house in MA. Having a relo label seemed to make people think that we were desperate to give it away and our realtor kept saying how lucky we were to have an offer ... in other word, give it away and give me my commission!! We made a bit of money on it, but the process was very stressful.

I hope your new realtor can get some activity and get the deal done. We still miss you at the other place!

johnmari, you have a flag lot, behind a restaurant, near a four lane highway....with a hotel going up almost next door.

Have you considered trying to have the property re-zoned for commercial? Might it make a good doctors' office building, for example?

Just trying to think outside the box in what is obviously going to be a tough sale.

Hi johnmari - So sorry this is happening. We're feeling it too (see thread frustrated seller in AZ).

My husband's favorite saying is "the universe will unfold as it is intended". Most of the time I believe that but when you're selling a house, it's easy to be mad at the universe for taking so long!

Here's hoping for success with your new realtor!

House selling: Right buyer finds right house at right price in right location. Has very little to do with realtor, advertising, incentives, etc. This I do believe. DH and I hope never to sell again...at least not in such a crappy market such as this. We are already talking about expanding our master bedroom and other things we can do to our new house to make it what we want rather than selling/buying again.

Someone will want your house...but it's going to happen on the universe's or God's timetable...not YOURS. Best of luck!

reno_fan and patty - you missed the two days of hysterical screeching and bawling! ;-) We're feeling better now that we have our new agent on board, looking forward to getting packed and moved. I'll take whatever hollers on my behalf at any higher powers you want to do, reno! LOL

Hope you're getting settled into your new "world", chispa!

infodiva, we're zoned "residential/mixed" - we've had a few people come in looking with the idea of opening a daycare or professional office or something like that. The feedback on that subject boiled down to that they would pretty much have to gut the house and start over to make it work, and if they're going to gut the place they might as well buy something that's practically falling down for half as much, and would probably have better parking and accessibility to boot (the parking kind of sucks for more than 2-3 vehicles and house is totally handicapped-INaccessible with no way to realistically make it so). Getting a major zoning change in this town means you have one of two things - connections or craploads of money.

terrig, with all due respect, you did not get stuck with the yutz we saddled ourselves with. Both times we were all set up to get rid of him he got an offer onto the table at the eleventh hour (and both times, we are pretty convinced, the offers came in in spite of the representation), and both times the transactions crashed and burned when a skilled negotiator could almost certainly have salvaged the situation. (We've discussed the situations with some other agents who had nothing to gain, rather like getting a "second opinion" on a medical problem.) If you cannot negotiate your way out of a paper bag, if you fold like a bad lawn chair at the least sign of confrontation, if you can't remember the details of the property you are supposed to be representing, if you cannot summon up the spine to counter "yabbuts" and the wussy "well, I dunno..." and keep people who are "on the fence" but could be tipped to the right side from walking out the door, you do NOT belong in a sales profession. (DH used to work in sales support.)

I would also respectfully disagree with your assertion that a sale "has very little to do with [...] advertising" - just how are people supposed to KNOW about the house if it's not put out there via advertising? Psychic readings? Not that many people hand themselves over to agents and say "find me a house" these days. If it's described badly and inaccurately, or poorly depicted photographically, in the advertisement/MLS writeups, what's going to make people want to come to look at it - Tinkerbell sprinkling fairy dust on them? You can't see the house from the road so it's not as if someone driving by would see the house and say "oooh, that house is for sale - I want to live in that house!" They have to be brought in some other way, and we've already learned that wishing and magic and prayer isn't going to make them come. You have to do the mundane work too.

Johnmari: With all due respect, my husband and I have sold two houses in six months and bought a third. I think I KNOW a little bit about what sells a house and what doesn't. Yours hasn't sold yet, has it? On one house sale, we had a buyer back out, so yeah, I know what that's like. Yes, advertising and realtors are important for getting the word out, but in the end, what it boils down to is your house being the right one for the right person at the right price and right location. Like I said, I've sold two houses recently, you haven't sold any. So maybe I know what I am talking about?

Sounds to me like you are both expressing opinions and not facts. While facts are hard to argue with everyone is entitled to their opinion.

terrig, Johnmari is dealing with a lot of stress right now so maybe we can grant her a little slack instead of ramping it up?

I am so sorry this is happening to you. I know the stress as we too have had 2 full offers - both fell apart. We too have bought an old place we are renovating so I really know how you must feel. Don't let this dampen the fun of your new place.

Is it possible to rent the house out, if all else fails? It sounds like you have some time to try selling it with this new agent, but perhaps renting could be a fallback position. Not the best option, certainly, but would solve any cash flow problems. Like you, we were able to buy our current house without selling the old one, and when it became obvious that the old one would only sell at a loss, we rented it out instead. After 6 years, the market had exploded and we sold it at great profit.

Believe me, I had no interest in being a landlord, but it all worked out very well in the end.

FYI, The current IRS rule is that you can rent a property out and sell without paying capital gains tax if you've lived there for 2 out of the past 5 years.

Sorry to hear about your frustrations, JM.

Now with my buyer's hat on, it is my opinion (not fact) that you do need to have an agent, if you are going to have an agent, that is a skilled negotiator. For various reasons we are stuck with an agent - that is for all purposes a paper carrier. She carries our offers to another agent and that's pretty much it. I am beginning to think that (since every offer is generally rejected right off) that the sellers here do not negotiate - they tell you no and expect you to come back guessing what they want. I don't negotiate with myself, so we have walked away from three thus far.

I think it's important to open negotiations regardless, that is if you are really serious about selling. Maybe we are just picking houses where the seller is not serious? That could be it. I doubt that is all of the story - still a sales agent - needs good sales and negotiation skills, it's not just a matter of the stars aligning at the right time.

My .02

Johnmari,
I am sorry that you have these problems. Hoping the new realtor is great and can get your house sold. Best wishes.

terrig_2007 - Normally you are very respectful and helpful in your posts, but your posts in this thread have been downright mean and condescending. I hope it's only because you're having a bad day because it sounds like johnmari's day/week/month has been a heckuvalot worse than yours. Get off your high horse.

Johnmari, I am so sorry that you are going through this. I hope the new agent gets you a signed contract that makes it all the way to closing ASAP.
2 thoughts occurred to me when reading your post. First, what excuse did the non-buyers give you for backing out of the contract? Were you able to keep any of the earnest money?
Second, have you considered going to either the potential developer or the town to be compensated for the reduction in value of your property due to the construction of hotel? If this property has been or has to be rezoned to allow the construction of the hotel, I think this might be an avenue worth pursuing.
Good luck.

Don't count on being able to get the earnest money back regardless of the reason the buyer backed out. If they backed out during the "discovery" period, the Title company won't give it to the seller. We've been through that twice so far and both buyers backed out during the "discovery" period due to non-reasons (nothing to do with the house or us). The first non-buyer we didn't pursue the earnest money (she ended up costing us $4k in new appliances in the new house) because she never misrepresented herself or her intentions. We did pursue the earnest money from the second non-buyer because he never acted in good faith throughout. Title company informed us that it didn't matter, we signed the deal. Even if the contract or addendum is signed with false information from the buyer, it doesn't matter to the Title company. Seems any old reason is good enough to back out during the "discovery" phase.

I love the idea from jlhug about pursuing the developer and/or the town for compensation in the possible reduction of value of your home. Still doesn't help sell it, but maybe it would cushion having to sell at a lower price.

Terrig, the "nannie nannie woo woo I've got mine, what happened to you?" attitude is annoying if not immature.

Your second post contradicts your first.

Advertising is what leads to finding the right buyer for the right house. Proper advertising and marketing is what gets the right buyer to the right house. It convinces that buyer to look at the house. It gives them the information to know that this is the right house for them. How else do they find it?

Marketing can make it or break it in real estate.

My sister bought a house in southern New Hampshire 2 years ago and if she had to sell, she'd be up a creek without a paddle, or a boat for that matter. It is a VERY tough market for sellers.

Mari, I'm sorry for all that you're going through and I hope you sell soon.

There is no way that a town or developer would give a cash compensation for a percieved reduction in home value because of development...though you could fight over issues such as buffer zones, mature plantings installed,lighting shileds etc

johnmari,

I'm going to make a suggestion that will sound G-awful at first blush but hear me out, please.

Call a real estate auctioneer.

I've auctioneed many homes. My experience is that an auction sale frequently brings very close to "fair market value"...certainly better than 75-80% of the time. That's why they are used in foreclosures (fairness). Those are not too bad odds in this market & your location. You don't have to do an "absolute" auction. You can set a reserve before the sale (that's a price that under which you won't sell). That's your hedge insurance, so to speak.

You'll also get a quick close selling via the auction route...usually 30 days. A buyer will need to show up at the sale with a pre-qual letter & certified funds (usually 10% of the appraised value). You're in NH, right? In NH, auctions take place on site. Talk to the auctioneer about bringing an estate sale in to auction off before your house...it will generate more "buzz". And, you could provide bidders with an opportunity to perform due diligence pre-sale. The auctioneer can talk you through this process.

If you really want/need to sell, are completely fed-up with the REA process, the market, & your frustrations are mounting...an auction may be a viable solution. At least call a couple & talk to them. They got a lot of experience during the last down turn...a lot of that experience I went through with them!

/t

Why wasn't the possibility of a hotel being build close by, not disclosed to the buyer from the get go?
It might have precluded them bolting, when they got that big surprise.

Why on earth would someone disclose some company "pondering" a new development when nothing was set in stone? There are often many companies who research a potential development which never go beyond one person in that company doing something so simple as pulling property tax info on a group of parcels. Until it's a done deal, IMO, there would be no reason to disclose anything. Disclosure wouldn't deal with rumors or "what ifs", it would deal with actual facts.

"Why on earth would someone disclose some company "pondering" a new development when nothing was set in stone?"

Disclosing the possibility of the construction and the buyer knowing about it, might have saved the deal.

It is better to disclose the possibility, than trying to explain in front of a judge, why you didn't think it was going to be built (cya, just my way of doing business).

Fairygirl, for the record, the title company has ZERO CONTROL over where the earnest money goes. We have to get written instruction, signed by both buyer and seller, to disburse EM to either party. If there's a dispute, it stays at the title company until it gets resolved, or until it's been three years, in which case we send it to the state for interpleading.

Angie

johmmari - I feel for you. I bought 9 acres of corn field and signed with a builder. Getting ready to site or had broken ground and I'm driving back and I see this huge hand painted sign on the rural hwy between my new small town and the main city it was south of "NO HOG KILLING PLANT"
WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?
Seems that one of these huge hog slaughtering outfits (over 10,000 pigs a day) had approached the town about buying property RIGHT OUTSIDE OF TOWN about setting up shop. Holy Cow. I would have been maybe 5 miles as the crow flies. I would have had to drive by it everyday.
Talk about freaked. It didn't happen but I figure it was a trial balloon by the company. They are probably now working on the inside and setting up a strategy to reattack in the 4 years to get what they want. JMO. And if the economy continues the way it I think it will they may just suceed.
Theres a lot of risk to home ownership as I'm finding to my financial detriment.
Hope things look up for you in the near future.

Angie - In AZ, the title company holds on to the earnest money until it is disbursed either through closing or the contract is cancelled. Here is exactly what the title company told me when I wrote to them to dispute the return of the buyer's earnest money (I also called and spoke with a representative directly - my realtor gave me his number and told me to call ASAP to dispute).

"Escrow administration has reviewed this transaction. Pursuant to line 182-194 and lines 234-253 buyer elects to cancel and is entitled to the earnest money. The Addendum was signed by both buyer and seller extending the inspection period to August 26, 2007. The buyer cancelled the contract in his inspection period.

The buyer is entitled to the earnest money, and will be refunded to him."

I reminded the Title company that the buyer had never acted in good faith (long story, see frustrated seller in AZ for more details) and obtained the Addendum extending the inspection period under false pretense. I was told that it didn't matter because we signed the Addendum.

Maybe Arizona is less strict about the paperwork. When our first buyer backed out of the contract during the inspection phase, we never received anything to sign to release her earnest money (we didn't challenge it because she never misrepresented herself). Both buyers backed out due to personal reasons that had nothing to do with the house itself or us. My realtors have told me that buyers can back out for any reason now (I remember when it had to be something to do with the house) and not lose their earnest money.

Thanks for the sympathy and good wishes, folks. We closed today on the new old house and had a really experience with that; we have a showing Saturday afternoon and we're going to start seriously packing this weekend with an eye toward moving in about three weeks.

Renting the house out isn't a viable option for us. Both DH's and my parents did the landlording thing so we are both very familiar with the PITA factor, but most importantly, the rent we would expect to be able to get (thanks to a glut of rental townhouses and condos driving down rents for SFHs) would not cover our base costs of carrying the property. Constantly worrying about whether something was going to need repairing and put us further in the hole or whether So-and-so was going to get the rent paid on time this month would be a very significant problem.

We were told that the buyers said they were backing out because of the hotel project; we told our agent to get a letter saying that but we have not seen one, not that we are the least bit surprised! Of course the earnest money went poof - I'm not even sure what the point IS of earnest money these days because it's pretty much impossible for the sellers to get it. As for going after the town for money, I have never heard of anyone getting money from a town because of something a private party was doing; the town is not there to protect people from the free market, no matter how much we might wish it!

Bernie, I'd really love to know how we were supposed to have disclosed something WE didn't even know about? As soon as we had ANY information about what was going on we notified the buyers because that was the ethical thing to do as well as to legally cover our arses - however, our now-former agent did not take any sensible negotiating tack such as saying "look, we've learned that thus-and-so has come up, but before you panic, we'd like you to give us some time [say 10 days] to get more details".

Tricia, I'll look into auctions although it does make me nervous because I know of two houses within 1/4 mile of me that were up for auction this summer and both still have their for-sale signs out front; I know the reserve for one was well below market (frighteningly so from my POV!). I have read that local auctions are primarily still attracting the infomercial-drunk "buy a house for pennies on the dollar" investor wannabes who aren't interested in paying FMV, but I'll ask around. I do want to give our new agent a chance, rather than letting my frustration with a yutz derail that relationship before it's even gotten out of the station, and we've got a few months before we're getting into trouble range.