And ... we begin again

The sellers rejected my offer.

This is cool. I pretty much expected them to do so. I was offering them a price about 10% below the comps, because I'd need to remodel the kitchen and do some work in the bathrooms before the place would be, y'know, good. Fact is, I had previously intended to offer them exactly the value of the comps -- until I got a closer look at the kitchen and master bathroom. (I hadn't been able to view the master bathroom in its entirety when I first looked at the house -- largely because the toilet was leaking all over the floor at the time.)

In any event, I'm not particularly unhappy or angry that they rejected my offer. I'm, as the kids would say, "down with that."

What I am angry about is that the rejection was transmitted to my real estate agent with the cheerful little note from their real estate agent reading, "My Clients suggested that your clients search for real estate that is more in their price range as an offer [17%] less than list price is very insulting. I tend to agree with them."

Numerous responses went through my head on this, several of them inappropriate for polite conversation.

You have to realize that this house has been on the market for seven months, and the sellers have already dropped the price four times, resulting in a price nearly 25% lower than their initial price. The listing price is still a solid 10% higher than the comps (and that's without knowing whether the comps actually need kitchen remodels). Indeed, two houses in the neighborhood came on the market recently and each one got an offer in less than a week, because they were priced correctly. This house is still sitting there after seven months. A perceptive seller (or one with a realistic agent) might start asking, "What is wrong with my house? Is my listing price too high? Is it a combination of the two?"

Instead, these sellers think their house is still worth a ton of money, and that the problem is with me (or, more precisely, my finances).

I believe the term I'm looking for is "Bite me."

I sent my agent the following in response: "And, your client suggests that their clients keep their opinions to themselves, wishes them luck in getting their price in a declining market, and promises not to say 'I told you so,' when they inevitably drop their price yet again." (That last bit is a complete and utter lie.)