Part 2: Insanity Wins a Round

They say the sequel is always worse than the original. Well, here's the response I received from yesterday's "Unfortunate Seller". You be the judge:

"Thank you for your input.  The house is empty now and we already have another home.  We realize we will have to drop the price, but we're trying to minimize our loss.  We purchased it in 2006 on the high side at $***,*** because of it's upgrades.  Along with reducing the price (we're not sure yet to what, but not by $100,000), we are shopping around for a realtor who will reduce the commission so that we can at least minimize our loss."

Am I the only one who sees a whole lot of "pain" in their future? Not "pain" in the compound fracture sense, but "pain" in the incapability of accepting the reality of their situation sense.

"…but not by $100,000"…

"…so that we can at least minimize our loss."

These poor souls actually "believe" someone is going to buy their home. Hopefully, they are well off enough to survive the next decade owning two homes. Did I mention this particular home is located in a "Retirement Village"? Hopefully, their "Retirement Fund" doesn't also include a 401K!

Here's my reply to their response:

"I empathize with your situation.  My wife and I purchased a "brand new" home in 2005; it's worth $120,000.00 less now!

Unfortunately, the local real estate market is not going to improve anytime soon.  In my professional opinion, prices will not return to 2006 levels for at least another 10 years.  Do you have that much time to "waste" chasing the market?  How much is this home costing you in carrying costs (taxes, association fees, maintenance, etc.)?  And, as your home is unoccupied at this time, it makes selling in this market even more challenging!

If you really want to "minimize" your losses, hire a "sales and marketing" professional based on their success in selling in this market NOT a "listing" brokerage based on commission…that will only prolong the pain and end up costing you more!  I apologize for sounding so negative but telling you anything but the truth would be a greater disservice."

Does anyone think I will get another response?