I got home to a message on the machine from the agent of the woman who saw the house with her two daughters Friday. The agent wants to negotiate an offer! If you’ll recall, the prospective buyer has lived in her house for 26 years, and is thus a nervous wreck about the whole process. Kelly and I can understand why she would bring in an agent.
We will have to negotiate a commission with the buyer’s agent, which will obviously all be dependent on the offer price. It only occured to me now how we’ve really got the agent over a barrel. If the buyer is so set on this house — which is probable, from what I’ve seen –, what happens if we refuse to pay the buyer’s agent? The agent won’t say “I can’t sell you this house,” would she? The agent was brought on at the very last minute (without our knowledge and prior approval, as well) and will essentially only be gathering the paperwork. It seems to me we’ve got a strong hand in the commission negotiations.
Of course, we’ll treat them fairly. I myself can honestly see her living here. And besides, we’ve got a favor to ask of her. Since we don’t yet have a place to “land,” and she hasn’t yet put her home on the market, we will ask to rent back our home for a month or two until these things play out. That will make her purchase easier by providing money to cover dual mortgages. It will give us time to find a new crib. And, it will give time for the interest rates to go up two more points. (One of these doesn’t thrill us. Can you guess which one?)
Kelly and I will chat with the agent today and see how we can make this work. If it all comes through, it could be the best possible outcome, for us and for our buyer.
Stay tuned.
