2002-07-10 - 10:38 a.m.

On the internal soundtrack: Same song as the last entry.

Groan.

Well, as far as the house is concerned, we think we're dealing with a "geezer".

This is a term Poindexter's mother coined for people near or beginning retirement, trying to sell homes (or boats, as it was in her case), who are completely oblivious to what the market is telling them. People who hold out for their asking price, ignoring the fact that no one wants it at that price, and continuing to shell out money for maintenance, taxes, etc. that eventually will exceed the extra money they make by getting the asking price, if they ever do.

The house we like has been on the market for seven months. There is an aspect of it that is only half-done -- the new owner will have to complete it -- and it gives the house an ugly look. So when you walk in, it looks like the house needs a lot of work. It looks like it has been very recently painted, so earlier on, scuffed up walls were probably scaring people off too. There are other houses in the same price range that are furnished and appear much cuter and don't appear to need as much work. (In truth, they also need updating and painting, but you can't tell because the furniture and decorations are in the way.)

Assuming the seller's agent has been honest, the highest (rejected) offer was about 96% of the asking price. Poindexter and I offered 98%, with a September 30 closing.

The owner came back with "asking price less $X", August 30 closing. I am suspicious that the $X is what he thinks it will cost to finish doing the half-done piece.

We suspect he's already retired and moved to Florida (that's where the agent said he had been). Our agent, Kyle, really thinks there are no other bidders. Why the owner is still insisting on that last 2% after seven months, I don't know. 'Cause he's a GEEZER, I guess.

For now, we'll agree to the August 30 closing, but we're not upping the price. We'll see how he reacts to that. I think Poindexter is willing to go up another half a percent, maybe, but that's it. If we go up more, it would only be because he wants me to be happy (groooooooooan), or as he also put it, "Well, if you're going to make my life a living hell..." He doesn't like rewarding geezerish behavior. I can see his point, but ...

I'm still considering. I still think the asking price is reasonable, in the sense that once we fix the house up a little and make it cute, we will recoup what we put into it. It's not a steal like the Virginia house was, but in this seller's market in Center City, I wasn't expecting that.

Here's what criteria of mine the house meets:

- Three bedrooms, 2.5 baths
- Open floor plan
- Lots of light
- Deep garage
- Pretty neighborhood with narrow tree-lined streets
- On a quiet street with no traffic
- Mere blocks to everything I'd want to walk to
- Roomy -- well exceeds our minimum square footage and is larger than other houses in the same price range and number of bedrooms/baths with garage
- Kitchen layout is fine, and it's roomy (only needs updating, not expansion or a change in layout)
- Has a deck out back and on top level, with room to build a roof deck as well for Center City views

Basically, the ONLY problems with the house are:

- It's not as aesthetically pleasing on the outside as I might like. OTOH, it's not ugly or dilapidated, and it's tucked away a little, and the other houses in the area are cute.
-It's at the top of our price range yet still needs updating, mostly cosmetic. The work will have to happen gradually, rather than all at once before we move in, as we would have been able to do with a lower-priced house.

So, as I said, Poindexter doesn't want to deal with the geezer -- he figures we'll have to fight over EVERYTHING all through this process. So he's willing to walk away from this. I'm trying to get comfortable with that idea. I don't know if I will. Sure, there's a geezer now, but later on maybe we'll run into multiple bidders. Or maybe we'll find a house that needs a lot more than cosmetic work. I've seen Poindexter making faces in other houses and saying "This needs a loooooot of work. Work, work, work." I don't know that the geezer alone is a reason to move on from this house.

Sigh.

Kevin says that he likes journal entries that show what my thought process is BEFORE a decision is made or a conclusion is reached. I guess this is one of those kinda entries, eh?

previous index next