The Counter-Counter

During the last installment of my real estate roller coaster ride, the seller was considering my offer and the other remaining offer. My agent called to let me know the seller had a counter offer proposal for me. Allegedly, the other offer was higher than mine, but they liked my offer better because I was putting down more of a down payment. So the owner (her son-in-law, actually) suggested I pay $1000 more and pay for the appraisal (which I'd asked them to pay for).

Well, $1000 more than my offer is ALL my money. Meaning, I have none left to replace their 1985 original dark salmon-colored carpet because I am not touching my tiny emergency fund. Ugly old carpet is not an emergency! And they're not offering an allowance for flooring. I said no. I said I'd pay for the appraisal, but not offer any more money. (Background: the appraisal would be about $400. If I offered $1000 more on the total house price, my down payment would be higher, and likely so would my monthly payment. Paying for the appraisal let me keep more $ in my pocket.) My agent called the owner's agent. The owner's agent called the owner. I felt like a hardball-playing pro!

Probably 20 minutes later, my agent called back to let me know they'd accepted my offer. Whooo!

The inspection was Friday morning. I was really nervous--I could tell the owner had taken good care of the house, but she was the original owner of 24 years. That's a long time, especially if things like the A/C were also original. Luckily, the inspection went really well. I got there about 30 minutes earlier than my agent, while the inspector was still. . .inspecting, so that I could take pictures and measurements. There were a bunch of tiny repairs needed, like caulking here and there, and three somewhat more major things that needed attention. I talked things over with my agent (and my mom, who is like a home improvement guru) and decided to ask the owner to take care of two of the items: treatment for the beginning of a carpenter ant invasion, and fixing a slow leak visible on the foundation along the outside of the house at the laundry room.

We presented the requests to the owner, and I had to wait until Saturday night to find out that they accepted and agreed. Whoooo!

It's starting to look like I'm going to be the proud owner of a Pink House in two to three weeks. I should be officially under contract by midnight on Thursday. Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly from there--I took a wildly optimistic (for me) step of buying a refrigerator on Monday (tax free weekend for home appliances that are energy star rated). Sure, I could always cancel the order, but I'm trying to think positive. And think Pink!