My husband and I made an offer on an 685k townhouse style condo in suburb Seattle about 2 weeks ago and now is in process of closing. We are having cold feet about this place because we were rushed into making an offer, since there was already two other offers made the day we visited. We thought it was a good deal and went with it, because we saw some new constructions nearby were selling for 740k+ with the same builder and floor plan. But now I realize the place was not what I wanted: its tightly packed and you look into a courtyard which basically is rows of other peopleās windows; the windows are small and there is not much light; no walking closet / small closet space and with 1400sqft / 3 rooms, I think it will be too small since we are planning to have a kid very soon and have parents over. The master bedroom only have a shower as well. Most importantly, I think we overpaid since the same plan were sold for 650k December last year. The real estate agent rushed us into waiving everything so if we back out now we would lose our earnest money of 25,000$... In retrospect there is nothing I liked about the place, we just lost offers to bidding war before this and were in a bad state of mind... We thought about just completing the offer, but with the current market and uncertainty from COVID19 I am not sure we would make the money back even in 5 years, and tbh I really donāt like the place and donāt see myself in there for 5 years... on the other hand 25k is a lot to swallow. What should we do in this case? I am losing so much sleep over this...
Why did decide to buy at all? It was more or less clear two weeks ago that real estate market going to tumble pretty soon
Thank you Captain Hindsight!
Donāt buy a home you donāt like. Itās going to give more pain than losing 25K. Selling a home later on will cost more due to agentās fees.
Hey agent, give me back half the 25k and i'll buy something else from you
Did you buy at talta in Ballard by isola homes ? We looked a little as well and then backed out two months back since the market seemed unstable
No itās brownstones in Issaquah highlands. The new construction nearby is Westridge
As far as the cost, potentially over paying by $35k seems to be basically equivalent to losing $25k in earnest money.
Get the earnest money back!
We waived everything since the other two offers did so thereās no way of getting it back if we were to back out....
That isnāt true. It will be up to the seller to give it back but you can convince them. Not sure the laws in WA, but if you object then it has to go through arbitration and the seller would need to disclose if they want to relist (at least in CA).
Eat the cost, buying the house is gonna cost you much more long term pain. And find a new real estate agent!
This. Get a new real estate agent ASAP! From what you describe, your agent was only interested in pocketing their commission, without any consideration for your requirements.
Drop them during inspections. No questions asked. Win-Win. You have a good area. Honestly would just go through with it vs losing 20k right now. Can always get creative and rent it to someone just have enough savings. And even if they dont cover 100% of the mortgage you will at least be at a total loss. If things balance out later down the road you just might even beat the losses through the right tax set up. Contact an attorney who is familiar with real estate and talk to them about the worst case scenarios. Just in Case.
DM me. I went through something very similar.
Give up 25k, I know it is a lot but there is no point in spending 650k if you donāt like the house. Also, the way things are going, you might find something way better for 600k
You must be the seller