We have been getting rid of "stuff" and preparing our S&B home for sale for the last several weeks. My next door neighbors just moved out of their house, as they have a buyer. Well, those "buyers" walked over to introduce themselves and we told them we probably wouldn't be their neighbors for long. They asked why and, when they found out we would be selling, they asked to see our home. When they started looking, they said "we are buying the wrong house"! They were supposed to close on the other house Wednesday, but it was postponed due to an insurance issue. So, now, they want to back out of that deal and buy our house! And, of course, they would want us out of there as soon as possible! We might be full timers before we know it.
Of course, this presents new problems. We've known our next door neighbors for about 15 years. We've been good friends with them and feel guilty about this. Before we make a decision to sell to these folks, we would have to go talk to our former neighbors and hope they are understanding. And, what if they are not understanding? Also, if these folks will back out of a deal so easily, can we trust them? What to do, what to do! All I can say is holy crap!
Camper Chronicles said
05:38 AM Jun 1, 2014
So wow. This is finitely a moral dilemma. On the one hand My bad Karma indicator is screaming on the other I think screw it any deal is a good deal. It's a tough one . Either way I think your concerns are valid and would ask for good faith deposit from them if they jump to you.
Joe_Camper said
05:55 AM Jun 1, 2014
Lee and Trace wrote:
So wow. This is finitely a moral dilemma. On the one hand My bad Karma indicator is screaming on the other I think screw it any deal is a good deal. It's a tough one . Either way I think your concerns are valid and would ask for good faith deposit from them if they jump to you.
Thanks! I agree with the good faith deposit idea.
Lucky Mike said
05:59 AM Jun 1, 2014
I would check and see if your neighbors are planning on fulltiming......if they are moving on to another Stick & Brick you wont have to worry about running into them on the road.......your in a pickle but a buyer is a buyer and its not like you steered them your way..........
P.S dont trust the buyer........without a big good faith placement!!
Nanascots said
06:13 AM Jun 1, 2014
If you told the potential buyers 'no' would they still buy your neighbors house? How would you feel if the tables were turned...there will be other buyers....lot's to think about!! Good luck!
GENECOP said
06:41 AM Jun 1, 2014
You did nothing wrong....the moral dilemma is on the buyer not you.....sell your house..
jrzygrl64 said
06:46 AM Jun 1, 2014
They might not be able to get out of the other deal at this point, so you might not have any dilemma at all.
folivier said
07:10 AM Jun 1, 2014
I agree, the costs to get out of the deal might change their minds since they could conceivably lose their deposit and be liable for any expenses the sellers have. Or cause a nasty lawsuit between your neighbors and the buyers. I'd talk to your and/or their agent and possibly a real estate lawyer.
But you are not the one causing the problem, the buyers are. Money talks!
cherylbrv said
07:42 AM Jun 1, 2014
Kind of along the lines of what Forest said... I"m not sure how it works in your state. For me, when we went into attorney review on the contract, the buyers were required to leave rather significant deposit, and the ONLY way they could back out of the deal without losing it was if they could not obtain a mortgage (which would have to be proven by a letter from their bank explaining why). That protected us from changing their minds for any reason.
Dog Folks said
08:15 AM Jun 1, 2014
I would want to see a contract/offer from these people before even worrying about it.
Talk is cheap.
Barbaraok said
09:15 AM Jun 1, 2014
Let you agent deal with it - they will bring you an offer if one is made that fits the requirements you are asking.
Barb
The Junkman said
09:32 AM Jun 1, 2014
Depends on how good of friends your neighbors are? Not very good It appears.
Seems to me you crossed that bridge and made the decision when you decided to show them the house.. Technically trying to sell it to them.
The right thing to do was to not show them.. Not sure what I would have done.. Depends how desperate I was to sell the house, I guess.
And If I was the neighbor. Friendship is over, no matter what you do from here..
Good luck. and sorry for being straight forward..
GENECOP said
11:47 AM Jun 1, 2014
The "right thing" is different for each person as they define it.....
DEWhit said
01:09 PM Jun 1, 2014
Dear Joe,
I would not lose any sleep over it if a buyer decides to pursue a better deal for themselves. That is free market economics, right ?
i would wonder if the buyers might be announcing this as a part of their strategy to try to get your neighbors to lower their price at the last minute.
Anyway, if it would keep the peace in your neighborhood, send them north to us in N. Ga. and we will sell them a home and help you out. Glad to help.
Just for my knowledge, your property wouldn't happen to have views out to the bay or marsh would it ?
I use to do business in St.Marys and Brunswick years ago and we considered buying there at one time.
-- Edited by DEWhit on Sunday 1st of June 2014 01:10:53 PM
Joe_Camper said
04:06 PM Jun 1, 2014
The Junkman wrote:
Depends on how good of friends your neighbors are? Not very good It appears.
Seems to me you crossed that bridge and made the decision when you decided to show them the house.. Technically trying to sell it to them.
The right thing to do was to not show them.. Not sure what I would have done.. Depends how desperate I was to sell the house, I guess.
And If I was the neighbor. Friendship is over, no matter what you do from here..
Good luck. and sorry for being straight forward..
Junkman, our neighbors are very good friends. I guess I didn't make myself clear. When we were showing the "new" neighbors our house, we thought they were truly our new neighbors. We had no idea that they had not closed on the house. This has bothered us so much that we went to see our friends today and told them what was going on. It seems the new buyers were already back peddling before they saw our house. They had told our friends that they were overwhelmed with the size of the house and felt like they had made a mistake. Ours is 2400 sq. ft. and theirs is 3400 sq. ft. Who knows where this is going, but at least our friends know that we are not trying to steal their buyers and they are not upset with us. What a mess!
DEWhit, our street is a "U" shaped street and the bottom of the "U" is on the marsh. Our house is at the top of the "U".
WestWardHo said
07:32 PM Jun 1, 2014
Joe and Dodie, sounds to me as if you did the right thing and I, personally, respect you for it. I agree with those who said the potential buyers are likely to lose their earnest money and with those who said let your agent handle it.
I'd be very, very careful with these buyers and be sure your agent locks them in tightly before you remove your house from the market. Your neighbors house was very close to closing and NOW they want to change their minds? They would scare me for sure!
Sherry
The Junkman said
08:25 PM Jun 1, 2014
Joe_Camper wrote:
The Junkman wrote:
Depends on how good of friends your neighbors are? Not very good It appears.
Seems to me you crossed that bridge and made the decision when you decided to show them the house.. Technically trying to sell it to them.
The right thing to do was to not show them.. Not sure what I would have done.. Depends how desperate I was to sell the house, I guess.
And If I was the neighbor. Friendship is over, no matter what you do from here..
Good luck. and sorry for being straight forward..
Junkman, our neighbors are very good friends. I guess I didn't make myself clear. When we were showing the "new" neighbors our house, we thought they were truly our new neighbors. We had no idea that they had not closed on the house. This has bothered us so much that we went to see our friends today and told them what was going on. It seems the new buyers were already back peddling before they saw our house. They had told our friends that they were overwhelmed with the size of the house and felt like they had made a mistake. Ours is 2400 sq. ft. and theirs is 3400 sq. ft. Who knows where this is going, but at least our friends know that we are not trying to steal their buyers and they are not upset with us. What a mess!
DEWhit, our street is a "U" shaped street and the bottom of the "U" is on the marsh. Our house is at the top of the "U".
Yep, That a different ballgame then.. I took it as you where saying come on in and have a look around in case you want this one.
In that case, I'm sure your friends understood. Sounds like it.
Good luck with the sale.
Joe_Camper said
04:10 AM Jun 5, 2014
Update time. We told the neighbors we were not ready to sell just yet. So they went to closing and we continued getting ours ready. Yesterday, we get a call from a guy I work with and he had just heard through the work grapevine that we were selling. He and his wife came over to look and they sound very promising. Keeping fingers crossed!
Jimmy and Janis said
04:44 AM Jun 5, 2014
Glad that dilemma worked out for you. We may never see our neighbors again but I certainly wouldn't want to leave on bad terms. We've been neighbors with many for 25 years. Hope this new deal works out, that would be great !!!
WestWardHo said
07:36 AM Jun 5, 2014
Joe and Dodie,
Love how this might be working out for you. Hope they go ahead and purchase. 😄
Sherry
Dog Folks said
01:51 PM Jun 5, 2014
It was great that you had these neighbors.
Lived in our house for 7 years and never even knew the name of our neighbors.
Joe_Camper said
05:14 PM Jun 5, 2014
Dog Folks wrote:
It was great that you had these neighbors.
Lived in our house for 7 years and never even knew the name of our neighbors.
That's sad. We know quite a few of the neighbors. We usually have a neighborhood pot lock dinner in November and plan our Christmas decorating ideas. We go all out at Christmas and put out luminaries on Christmas Eve. Thousands of cars come through to see our neighborhood that night. It's a small neighborhood with about 40 homes, but it could take you 20 or 30 minutes to get from one end of the street to the other because everyone is driving so slow to see all of the decorations. We make the street one way on Christmas Eve. People that visit bring money and supplies for our local animal shelter. We greet everyone and pass out hundreds of candy canes. I have slacked off in the last couple of years, but it was nothing for me to pull 60 amps of current when decorated! I'm afraid this is one of the few good neighborhoods left in America.
bjoyce said
10:21 PM Jun 5, 2014
Joe Camper: We know three people who live in Seattle, in the city, who made their house taller rather than move because they liked their neighbors so well. There are good neighborhoods out there.
Joe_Camper said
03:51 AM Jun 6, 2014
That's impressive, Bill. I guess there are still some good neighborhoods left! The friendliness of people in campgrounds is one of the things we like so much about RVing.
Joe_Camper said
06:09 PM Jun 6, 2014
Well, the guy from work called today and said they had found another home and signed a contract. Oh well. I emailed a real estate agent that we have considered. It's time to give it to a professional!
Dog Folks said
01:09 PM Jun 8, 2014
Joe_Camper wrote:
Dog Folks wrote:
It was great that you had these neighbors.
Lived in our house for 7 years and never even knew the name of our neighbors.
That's sad. We know quite a few of the neighbors. We usually have a neighborhood pot lock dinner in November and plan our Christmas decorating ideas. We go all out at Christmas and put out luminaries on Christmas Eve. Thousands of cars come through to see our neighborhood that night. It's a small neighborhood with about 40 homes, but it could take you 20 or 30 minutes to get from one end of the street to the other because everyone is driving so slow to see all of the decorations. We make the street one way on Christmas Eve. People that visit bring money and supplies for our local animal shelter. We greet everyone and pass out hundreds of candy canes. I have slacked off in the last couple of years, but it was nothing for me to pull 60 amps of current when decorated! I'm afraid this is one of the few good neighborhoods left in America.
That is great! We have experienced some real "neighborhood", since retiring, in our winter RV park, where we spend four months a year. Everyone knows the others business, but they really care, and it is nice. Something new for us. We love it.
We have been getting rid of "stuff" and preparing our S&B home for sale for the last several weeks. My next door neighbors just moved out of their house, as they have a buyer. Well, those "buyers" walked over to introduce themselves and we told them we probably wouldn't be their neighbors for long. They asked why and, when they found out we would be selling, they asked to see our home. When they started looking, they said "we are buying the wrong house"! They were supposed to close on the other house Wednesday, but it was postponed due to an insurance issue. So, now, they want to back out of that deal and buy our house! And, of course, they would want us out of there as soon as possible! We might be full timers before we know it.
Of course, this presents new problems. We've known our next door neighbors for about 15 years. We've been good friends with them and feel guilty about this. Before we make a decision to sell to these folks, we would have to go talk to our former neighbors and hope they are understanding. And, what if they are not understanding? Also, if these folks will back out of a deal so easily, can we trust them? What to do, what to do! All I can say is holy crap!
Thanks! I agree with the good faith deposit idea.
P.S dont trust the buyer........without a big good faith placement!!
But you are not the one causing the problem, the buyers are. Money talks!
Talk is cheap.
Barb
Seems to me you crossed that bridge and made the decision when you decided to show them the house.. Technically trying to sell it to them.
The right thing to do was to not show them.. Not sure what I would have done.. Depends how desperate I was to sell the house, I guess.
And If I was the neighbor. Friendship is over, no matter what you do from here..
Good luck. and sorry for being straight forward..
Dear Joe,
I would not lose any sleep over it if a buyer decides to pursue a better deal for themselves. That is free market economics, right ?
i would wonder if the buyers might be announcing this as a part of their strategy to try to get your neighbors to lower their price at the last minute.
Anyway, if it would keep the peace in your neighborhood, send them north to us in N. Ga. and we will sell them a home and help you out. Glad to help.
Just for my knowledge, your property wouldn't happen to have views out to the bay or marsh would it ?
I use to do business in St.Marys and Brunswick years ago and we considered buying there at one time.
-- Edited by DEWhit on Sunday 1st of June 2014 01:10:53 PM
Junkman, our neighbors are very good friends. I guess I didn't make myself clear. When we were showing the "new" neighbors our house, we thought they were truly our new neighbors. We had no idea that they had not closed on the house. This has bothered us so much that we went to see our friends today and told them what was going on. It seems the new buyers were already back peddling before they saw our house. They had told our friends that they were overwhelmed with the size of the house and felt like they had made a mistake. Ours is 2400 sq. ft. and theirs is 3400 sq. ft. Who knows where this is going, but at least our friends know that we are not trying to steal their buyers and they are not upset with us. What a mess!
DEWhit, our street is a "U" shaped street and the bottom of the "U" is on the marsh. Our house is at the top of the "U".
I'd be very, very careful with these buyers and be sure your agent locks them in tightly before you remove your house from the market. Your neighbors house was very close to closing and NOW they want to change their minds? They would scare me for sure!
Sherry
Yep, That a different ballgame then.. I took it as you where saying come on in and have a look around in case you want this one.
In that case, I'm sure your friends understood. Sounds like it.
Good luck with the sale.
Love how this might be working out for you. Hope they go ahead and purchase. 😄
Sherry
It was great that you had these neighbors.
Lived in our house for 7 years and never even knew the name of our neighbors.
That's sad. We know quite a few of the neighbors. We usually have a neighborhood pot lock dinner in November and plan our Christmas decorating ideas. We go all out at Christmas and put out luminaries on Christmas Eve. Thousands of cars come through to see our neighborhood that night. It's a small neighborhood with about 40 homes, but it could take you 20 or 30 minutes to get from one end of the street to the other because everyone is driving so slow to see all of the decorations. We make the street one way on Christmas Eve. People that visit bring money and supplies for our local animal shelter. We greet everyone and pass out hundreds of candy canes. I have slacked off in the last couple of years, but it was nothing for me to pull 60 amps of current when decorated! I'm afraid this is one of the few good neighborhoods left in America.
That's impressive, Bill. I guess there are still some good neighborhoods left! The friendliness of people in campgrounds is one of the things we like so much about RVing.
That is great! We have experienced some real "neighborhood", since retiring, in our winter RV park, where we spend four months a year. Everyone knows the others business, but they really care, and it is nice. Something new for us. We love it.