Thank Goodness I am Free at Last
Today is a liberating day. It's a very strange day. My old house didn't sell and I could not be happier. Let me explain. He was a nut. For the past two weeks this man that had wanted to buy our house has made my life a nightmare.
It all started 2 weeks ago, right after Sara got home from the hospital. He came by the house and wanted to see it. No big deal, although he really didn't get the hint that she was sick, and it wasn't the best time to sell the house. I could live with that. We really wanted to sell the house and he seemed to be very interested.
He made an offer, we accepted, we signed a contract, and set the process into motion to close, in a short two weeks. In those 2 weeks Sara and I moved from our home to an apartment, cleaned up our old house, and moved all of our things either into storage or to my parents house. It was lots and lots of work. Many long hours of labor, but it was worth it to get a quick sale and to get the extra money because we didn't use a realtor.
Well over the last week, he's started to argue about the price, after he signed the contract. I don't think he quite got that the negotiations were usually done before signing a contract, but hey, as I said, he's nuts. After the appraisal we reached a price we could live with, although in hind sight I should have never budged.
Then after all of that, he decides last Thursday that he can not afford the house, he doesn't have the down payment. Ok, fine, deals off, forget the whole thing. Guess what, on Friday, deals back on, he now has the money and wants the house. He supposedly drove several hours to the nearest branch of his back to get a check for closing.
That brings us to today, closing day. Want to guess what happened today, less than one hour before the scheduled closing? He backed out. This time because he said that now he can't afford the payment. Never mind he had already signed a contract for a higher price, had it reduced, and got me to pay more of the closing cost. He decided that now he couldn't make the payment. What!?!
I almost forget one. Last Thursday when he had decided that he did not want the house for the second time he wanted his earnest money back. I'm under no legal obligation to give it back to him if he's the one that backed out of the deal. It was only $500, so I figured it was more than worth $500 to never have to deal with him again, so I said I'd give it to him. Well, after that he then said you're giving me $800 right? Uhhh no, popped immediately to mind. Not only did he want his earnest money back, he wanted me to pay him for the appraisal his mortgage company had him pay for. What a nice guy he must think I am. Did I say nice, I mean stupid. I have already paid for a termite inspection, plus I'm sure I'll owe the lawyer money and he wants me to pay for his appraisal for his mortgage company? Forget it.
The only thing I find surprising about the events today is that he has not called me to demand his money back. I'm amazed by that. He loves to call and annoy me, talk for hours, be insulting and just generally waste my time. I'm truly amazed that he didn't call today. I'm thinking either he's too ashamed to call, or he's just waiting. I'm certain I'll hear from him. He's border line stalker.
He's walked up and down the streets in the neighborhood, talking to the neighbors, which I could sort of understand, I mean if you are buying a house, you want to know more about the neighborhood, but he was creepy about it, driving by the house several times a day, parking out front and watching the house. I was a few short steps away from calling the police and having him arrested for stalking. I think I'd have a fairly good case.
So, after all that, I'm happy the deal fell through, and that as of close of business today our contract is now null and void. I'm certain he's the type I would still have to deal with after the sale and I don't ever want to deal with him. If nothing else I've learned a lesson. I usually have a very short tolerance for stupid, in this case I was blinded by greed and it got the better of me. I should have kicked him out of my house the first time he was insulting, but he was old and it meant lots more money for me to deal with him. I know now that no amount of money is worth dealing with him. If you're involved in real estate in the Huntsville, AL area let me know, I'll be happy to tell you all about him, and to be sure to avoid him. He said he wanted to move to Michigan if he didn't buy a house here, so if you are in Michigan, warn your friends.
I'm listing the house with a realtor tomorrow. I've had enough of dealing with people.
It all started 2 weeks ago, right after Sara got home from the hospital. He came by the house and wanted to see it. No big deal, although he really didn't get the hint that she was sick, and it wasn't the best time to sell the house. I could live with that. We really wanted to sell the house and he seemed to be very interested.
He made an offer, we accepted, we signed a contract, and set the process into motion to close, in a short two weeks. In those 2 weeks Sara and I moved from our home to an apartment, cleaned up our old house, and moved all of our things either into storage or to my parents house. It was lots and lots of work. Many long hours of labor, but it was worth it to get a quick sale and to get the extra money because we didn't use a realtor.
Well over the last week, he's started to argue about the price, after he signed the contract. I don't think he quite got that the negotiations were usually done before signing a contract, but hey, as I said, he's nuts. After the appraisal we reached a price we could live with, although in hind sight I should have never budged.
Then after all of that, he decides last Thursday that he can not afford the house, he doesn't have the down payment. Ok, fine, deals off, forget the whole thing. Guess what, on Friday, deals back on, he now has the money and wants the house. He supposedly drove several hours to the nearest branch of his back to get a check for closing.
That brings us to today, closing day. Want to guess what happened today, less than one hour before the scheduled closing? He backed out. This time because he said that now he can't afford the payment. Never mind he had already signed a contract for a higher price, had it reduced, and got me to pay more of the closing cost. He decided that now he couldn't make the payment. What!?!
I almost forget one. Last Thursday when he had decided that he did not want the house for the second time he wanted his earnest money back. I'm under no legal obligation to give it back to him if he's the one that backed out of the deal. It was only $500, so I figured it was more than worth $500 to never have to deal with him again, so I said I'd give it to him. Well, after that he then said you're giving me $800 right? Uhhh no, popped immediately to mind. Not only did he want his earnest money back, he wanted me to pay him for the appraisal his mortgage company had him pay for. What a nice guy he must think I am. Did I say nice, I mean stupid. I have already paid for a termite inspection, plus I'm sure I'll owe the lawyer money and he wants me to pay for his appraisal for his mortgage company? Forget it.
The only thing I find surprising about the events today is that he has not called me to demand his money back. I'm amazed by that. He loves to call and annoy me, talk for hours, be insulting and just generally waste my time. I'm truly amazed that he didn't call today. I'm thinking either he's too ashamed to call, or he's just waiting. I'm certain I'll hear from him. He's border line stalker.
He's walked up and down the streets in the neighborhood, talking to the neighbors, which I could sort of understand, I mean if you are buying a house, you want to know more about the neighborhood, but he was creepy about it, driving by the house several times a day, parking out front and watching the house. I was a few short steps away from calling the police and having him arrested for stalking. I think I'd have a fairly good case.
So, after all that, I'm happy the deal fell through, and that as of close of business today our contract is now null and void. I'm certain he's the type I would still have to deal with after the sale and I don't ever want to deal with him. If nothing else I've learned a lesson. I usually have a very short tolerance for stupid, in this case I was blinded by greed and it got the better of me. I should have kicked him out of my house the first time he was insulting, but he was old and it meant lots more money for me to deal with him. I know now that no amount of money is worth dealing with him. If you're involved in real estate in the Huntsville, AL area let me know, I'll be happy to tell you all about him, and to be sure to avoid him. He said he wanted to move to Michigan if he didn't buy a house here, so if you are in Michigan, warn your friends.
I'm listing the house with a realtor tomorrow. I've had enough of dealing with people.
posted by Jeremy at 7:56 PM
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