We've had this strange thing going on around here for about
a month now. This realtor kept sending
me letters asking me if I was willing to sell my house and then leaving door
hangers on our fence gate. I pretty much
ignored it as this is not the first time this has happened over the years,
however it did seem odd to see so many coming from one particular realtor.
A couple weeks ago I got a letter explaining there was
client interested in purchasing my home.
That same night this realtor showed up on my doorstep and told me he was
representing an investor and made me a low ball offer on our house stating he'd
pulled the comps and knew what the fair market value was on my home and that
was a good offer. He is young, kind of
smug and cocky. He irked me.
I told him no, I'm not interested in selling our home and
that I happen to know what the fair market value is on my house plus what the
comps in our neighborhood actually are so leave me alone. Or words to that effect. He left, but I figured I hadn't heard the
last from him. I hadn't.
Last week I got a letter in the mail. A surprisingly polite letter extending an
offer on my house of slightly above fair market value, the actual value this
time plus an additional $10,000 incentive to put toward moving expenses. This guy seriously wants our house.
He also wants my next door neighbor's house and an offer was
made to them as well. They don't want to
sell right now either, but I'm not entirely sure of their commitment to staying
put. Wave enough money and people will
jump on the opportunity. So what exactly
is going on here?
The nearest we can figure out right now is that the field
behind our house, which a ton of investors have shown interest in over the years
but no one has ever jumped on, is prime for an apartment complex. The only issue with it is street access. They would likely need our two properties to
gain access to the lot behind us and that would mean the removal of both homes
allowing our cul-de-sac to become the entrance and giving them the second
required exit for a large apartment complex or business.
So what are we going to do?
Right now nothing. First we need
to check with the city to see what is going on, if anything, and then go from
there. The timing to sell isn't right
for us so I'm in no rush, however if plans are approved for this type of
development we will need to come up with a plan of some sort. The housing market here is incredibly tight
and a new apartment complex would be extremely helpful, however I don't relish
the idea of sacrificing my home and quality of life for that to happen. Right now, if we sell, there is no place for
us go. We'd have to move out of Boise. It is a lot to think about and would
dramatically alter my current five year plan.
What to do, what to do? Whatever
happens, we'll figure it out.
We always
do.
Good luck with it. But yeah I'd certainly not be wanting to sell my home in order for it to be torn down after all the work that's been put into it recently!
ReplyDeleteIt makes my heart hurt a little... :'(
DeleteI'd be irritated beyond words at that pesky realtor. He stands to make a ton of money if he succeeds in purchasing those 2 key properties. How dare he low-ball you and insist he was handing you riches!
ReplyDeleteIf your property is indeed key to developing a major housing project, just bide your time and wait for the price to go up. Then you can cash in AND demand a few year's free rent at a brand-new apartment until you're ready to move on. :^)
I assure you I won't be just handing it over. It would have to really be a sweetheart of a deal.
DeleteYep. They want your home and I think you are on the right track as to why they want it. If you love your home and don't want to move right now I say stay put. And I do think you love your home and have put your heart into it. That's the problem right now in the Reno/Sparks area. So many new huge warehouse businesses nearby and people migrating from California that apt. and other places are springing up over night. Unheard of prices to rent compared to a few years ago. From 600.00 or 700.00 at the very most to now you can get 600 square feet for 1450.00 to 1750.00 a month! Our property and manufactured house in a senior housing community which we paid only 30,000.00 for 5 years ago is worth 150,000.00 now but we love it and have no plans of leaving as it is paid off. And where would we go??? We can't afford that monthly rent for a tiny place for very long and we don't want to. My health prevents me living too far out of town or I would consider that. The market will crash around here soon. I also heard from a contractor friend that they are paying 17.00 an hour for someone just to sweep up in construction sites for 8-10 hours a day after they work. And they can't find anyone willing to do that! Also if you don't make 80,000.00 to 90,000.00 a year you might as well forget trying to buy a house (at inflated prices) because you won't qualify. It's crazy. But I have seen the ups and downs in this market for the last 33 years around here so it's a wait and see game. Sorry for the ramble. It just amazes me. Oh, and about 10 years ago in Oregon the Sewage treatment plant wanted my brother's paid off house as they lived across the street from the plant and they pulled eminent domain. They were basically forced out of their home but paid fairly well. They were not allowed to take anything like the beautiful wooden built in cabinets they had just put in and were just sick when they found out the house was destroyed and nothing was removed to even give to a place like habitat for humanity. Any way sorry for the book. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing all of that. I can certainly tell you I never would have thought this might happen. I can look at it as a possibility or worry myself sick over it. I don't have plans to make myself sick. I'm just going to play it out and see what happens. :0)
DeleteUgh, hope it all works out. Janie
ReplyDeleteThanks Janie. Me too. :)
DeleteIf I were you I would speak to a lawyer asap. Even though the back property is not sold yet...you could be forced to sell. I remember a gentleman from my former town that lost his home/land to eminent domain. He was not paid fair market value. Not sure if this would apply to you but I would speak to a lawyer just the same.
ReplyDeleteGood luck.
jilly
Thank you Jilly. After speaking with city officials we know eminent domain is not an issue in this particular situation. At least that is one thing we won't need to worry about. Phew!
DeleteHouses in the Historic District where I live were being bought by one individual. A guy trying to impress me told me the hospital wanted to expand and buy the homes at a great rate and those that would not sell were going to have eminent domain pulled on them to force them to sell. I told an ethical realtor who almost had a stroke in front of me. So, nothing came of it.
ReplyDeleteGo to a city council meeting and ask questions. Talk to your neighbors. There is also a planning committee that in my town must hold meetings open to the public.
This guy may want your house so he can make the big profit which you can have by holding firm.
We have already gone to the city and are making plans for what to do next. A few little homeowners can't stop big development.
DeleteI suspect you really want to "stay put" until your daughter graduates from high school. After that you may want to consider a good offer.
ReplyDeleteExactly! And I told him that too. Plus, I really like my home. I just got it perfect for me!!
DeleteBest of luck. Good to hear that you've got some answers from the city so you can make plans if need be.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Yes, that is very nice.
DeleteI had a dream last night about your situation. (I read your post just before going to bed...that may be why!) In the dream, you should counter-propose, but ask THREE TIMES what the overall market value is. Again, in the dream, the realtor finally settled for an offer of either 2 or 2 1/2 times value. (I woke up before you decided what to do.) Why this would not be a bad idea:
ReplyDelete*It's not taxable (I'm assuming less than $500,000)
*You could use this to pay both daughters' college needs -- yet, because it's your home, I don't believe you have to declare it on FAFSA (because it's not income)
*You might be able to retire much earlier, as well, with this extra $$.
*Don't you still have Laverne? Could you live in her for a while, if need be, until youngest daughter graduates? Even renting an apartment for six months or so shouldn't be that expensive.
The extra money would be such a Godsend for you -- and based on your recent posts, I didn't get the impression that you intended to stay in this house forever, anyways.
You're right -- this guy WANTS your house. So why not make him pay for what he wants. If he'd go for 2-3 times current home value, I'd probably do it. I'd also probably negotiate for a little extra time in the house, arguing you need it for packing, finding a new place, etc. My guess is that he just wants the security of knowing he's got the propoerty -- and wouldn't necessarily be bothered by letting you stay there 3, 4, 5 extra months. But who knows.
Please keep us posted -- I'm intrigued!
That was some dream! Oh my goodness. Thankfully, I have plenty of time to sort it all out. Lots of options. :0)
DeleteI like Cindy Brick's approach. We've had investors trying to buy our home too, and sending letters with absurdly low amounts. Nope. If you want my home, it is going to cost you at least twice the offer you sent me. We have a minimum amount that would get us to move. Nothing else will be considered. It sounds like this could turn into a very profitable thing for your family. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteWe'll see what happens. You just never know.
DeleteHow irritating..... Our experience with the Boise City Council is not good. When we bought our home, it was next to a large tract of undeveloped land. Our realtor told us the City owned the land and was going to build a big park as soon as funding was available. Several years later, they swapped the land for another tract of land elsewhere, and all of a sudden, our city park was now going to be a housing development. We went to all of the planning meetings, where the developer showed us drawings of single-level homes, ideal for senior citizens (so they said). My neighbors were impressed, and we agreed to not raise a stink over it. Well, when they started developing, every few weeks we would receive a postcard saying they had slightly altered the plans, and it would cost us $150 to file a complaint. When the city scheduled hearings, we and many of our neighbors showed up to protest, but the city conveniently "rescheduled" the meeting and we were told to go home. When we showed up to the next meeting, we were told the city had already made its decision and there was nothing we could do. Well, those single-level, senior-friendly homes turned into three-story condo units, four units per building, and now the traffic and congestion is so bad that we've had to largely abandon the road we used to take to drive home. The city council chose dollars over ethics, honesty, and good planning.
ReplyDeleteI hear you. You can get a lot of money for your home right now, but then you'll also have to shell out a ton of money if you want to stay in Boise. My heart goes out to you and I hope your situation turns out well for you... and your neighbors who will be left behind to deal with whatever they build.
Thank you Meg. I am less than thrilled with our current mayor and city council. Hoping for change with the next election, but you know how that can go around here. Out with the old, in with the new doesn't seem to apply to politics. I'm sorry to hear how your neighborhood changed so drastically. It is happening all over. Greed breeds corruption. :(
DeleteAlso living in Boise. I totally understand replacing your home in the same school zone has prices out of site! I wish you the best in staying in your "perfect for me" home. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThank you Elle. It is pretty slim pickings, that's for sure.
DeleteI recounted your story to my husband over dinner last night, and he had a terrific idea. He said if he were you, he would find a house for sale that you really like and tell the realtor, “If you guys buy me that house outright, I will give you mine.”
ReplyDeleteI think that is a great idea! :0)
DeleteA creative idea for sure! I love SE Boise but dang, everything sells day 1!
DeleteWith bidding wars! It's completely nuts!
DeleteMy advice is to sit tight and keep your eyes open. The economy is about to change. Here is a video that you might be interested is watching.
ReplyDelete"Are You at the Epicenter of the next Economic Crash?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvZrBXBAplw&list=PLdP9vyjfCOYS_G6tm90bYP9KoOMVUO9aW&index=2&t=10s
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
Thank you Jeannie
ReplyDelete