A good deed - Seller accepts $150,000 less than highest offer

Specialist · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2016 · 564 posts · 425 votes

I just read an article about an American couple who sold their home in Oakville, which is a suburb of Toronto, to move back to Colorado.

Here is the link.

Their home was being sold for multiple offers for over asking (as everything is), and they decided to accept an offer from $150,000 less than the highest offer, because the family provided a letter and the sellers thought they would be the best fit for the neighbourhood.

What do you think of this?

The offer they accepted was $200,000 over asking, they didn't accept an offer $350,000 over asking.

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Jeff B.

Buy & Hold Owner · Redlands, CA · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes

Makes sense ONLY if it's all cash and a quick close. Seller second-guessing buyer's fit in the community is craziness and BS, IMO.

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Jeff B.
Buy & Hold Owner · Redlands, CA · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
Makes sense ONLY if it's all cash and a quick close. Seller second-guessing buyer's fit in the community is craziness and BS, IMO.
6 Reply
Russell BrazilBusiness Member
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Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
9y
If this had happened in the USA, they could have seriously put themselves at risk to be sued for violating fair housing.
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Mike CumbieBusiness Member
REALTOR® · Brockport, NY · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
9y
“I remember my neighbours. I’d rather have it with a few dings in the walls and the garden a little bit sloppy because I spent two hours shovelling my neighbour’s driveway,”
If you are shoveling your neighbors driveway and that is effecting your gardening you are doing one of them when it doesn't matter.
As far as choosing one family because they feel they are a better fit for the community just asks for the losing bid to claim fair housing (Not sure about Canada of course). Imagine you overbid another person on a house by 150K and then you read an article that based on "sex, age, veterans status, religion, race..." this other person was "a better fit" for the neighborhood.
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Steve B.
Engineer · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Sellers virtue signal all the time about this in Portland, saying they won't accept offers from Californians or they take lower offers from sob story applicants and then they run a feel-good story about it on the local news. It also seems to be the trend that buyers submit heartfelt letters with their bids to help secure a property with multiple offers. The whole idea is inherently illogical, instead of giving a talented marketer a 30k discount on your house, why wouldn't you just donate that 30k to your favorite charity or a more needy family? Highly unlikely the same subsidized purchaser is the highest and best use of your charity donation.
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Luc Boiron
OP
Specialist · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2016 · 564 posts · 425 votes
9y
Originally posted by @Mike Cumbie:

“I remember my neighbours. I’d rather have it with a few dings in the walls and the garden a little bit sloppy because I spent two hours shovelling my neighbour’s driveway,”
If you are shoveling your neighbors driveway and that is effecting your gardening you are doing one of them when it doesn't matter.
As far as choosing one family because they feel they are a better fit for the community just asks for the losing bid to claim fair housing (Not sure about Canada of course). Imagine you overbid another person on a house by 150K and then you read an article that based on "sex, age, veterans status, religion, race..." this other person was "a better fit" for the neighborhood.
Hahaha great comment about the gardening and snow shovelling - those don't tend to be done on the same day.
I think it's nice to see a story where someone is willing to look at more than just money, it's so easy to be greedy in RE.
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Luc Boiron
OP
Specialist · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2016 · 564 posts · 425 votes
9y
Originally posted by @Steve B.:

Sellers virtue signal all the time about this in Portland, saying they won't accept offers from Californians or they take lower offers from sob story applicants and then they run a feel-good story about it on the local news. It also seems to be the trend that buyers submit heartfelt letters with their bids to help secure a property with multiple offers.
The whole idea is inherently illogical, instead of giving a talented marketer a 30k discount on your house, why wouldn't you just donate that 30k to your favorite charity or a more needy family? Highly unlikely the same subsidized purchaser is the highest and best use of your charity donation.
I was thinking the same thing - If I wanted to give $150,000 to a good cause, I would find the best cause I supported and give it to them, rather than taking a lower sale price.
Of course, donating directly to a charity gets you a nice tax break ;)
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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
9y
@Luc Boiron letters pictures of the kiddos and family dog have been used for ages we were doing this in the SF bay area in the 80s nothing new hear.
taking a lessor offer well that's their right I suspect
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Brent Langlois
Investor · Fort Pierce, FL · Member since 2016 · 47 posts · 16 votes
9y
This happens on every episode of every HGTV RE show, ever..
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David Zheng
Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2016 · 970 posts · 1k+ votes
9y
wow...I need to hire some people to be my "wife" and "kids".

Do they rent out dogs too? would be the cherry on top
1 Reply
Mindy JensenPro Member
BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Mike Cumbie:

“I remember my neighbours. I’d rather have it with a few dings in the walls and the garden a little bit sloppy because I spent two hours shovelling my neighbour’s driveway,”
If you are shoveling your neighbors driveway and that is effecting your gardening you are doing one of them when it doesn't matter.
As far as choosing one family because they feel they are a better fit for the community just asks for the losing bid to claim fair housing (Not sure about Canada of course). Imagine you overbid another person on a house by 150K and then you read an article that based on "sex, age, veterans status, religion, race..." this other person was "a better fit" for the neighborhood.
Here is Colorado it is perfectly normal to garden in the morning then shovel snow in the afternoon...
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3 Reply
David Faulkner
Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Mindy Jensen:

Originally posted by @Mike Cumbie:
“I remember my neighbours. I’d rather have it with a few dings in the walls and the garden a little bit sloppy because I spent two hours shovelling my neighbour’s driveway,”
If you are shoveling your neighbors driveway and that is effecting your gardening you are doing one of them when it doesn't matter.
As far as choosing one family because they feel they are a better fit for the community just asks for the losing bid to claim fair housing (Not sure about Canada of course). Imagine you overbid another person on a house by 150K and then you read an article that based on "sex, age, veterans status, religion, race..." this other person was "a better fit" for the neighborhood.
Here is Colorado it is perfectly normal to garden in the morning then shovel snow in the afternoon...
Here in SoCal it is highly unusual to be gardening and then shovel snow on the same day, week, month, year, or decade :)
3 Reply
Mindy JensenPro Member
BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
9y
Touche, @David Faulkner
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