The waiting game... does it really have to be this way?

Question

My wife and I are currently under contract on our first deal and things have taken an unexpected turn. We made an offer of $195,000 for a triplex that looks to cashflow $800-900 per month. I estimated that it was worth $183,000 based on a few local factors and the sellers scoffed and stated their number was $215,000 once it went on the market. When the appraisal came back from my lender, they said $160,000. Now normally this is a victory for me, as I would love to pay less! EXCEPT I knew they were not going to be happy about this since they were so hesitant to come down on their pricing when we were negotiating. My wife and I agree to allow them to dispute the appraisal with my lender. during this past week, the sellers apparently felt we were balking at continuing on the contract, and honestly we were, because we had seen other deals we might like to consider, and let's be honest, we don't think the dispute of the appraisal will net a $35,000 increase in value and make the sellers happy. In the process of all this, we are getting tired of the oddly worded, sorta sketchy addendums they keep sending to us. It is almost like they atre trying to add vague terms to allow some way to claim the escrow.

I can pull the plug and use my lender to pull the plug immediately and not even allow the dispute process to happen. OR I can allow this process to go through over the next few days and see where it all lies in the end. What would you all do?

Dennis M. · Answer

I would stop wasting time and walk . Your missing other deals waiting on idiots . They are not even close on their price and it doesn’t sound like your going to get them to close the gap in to make the numbers work . Let them take the next 6 months  trying to sell it through three or four price reductions

Scott Saylor · Answer

Jason, the addendum they sent was something along the lines of...

We will agree to dispute the appraisal. If the price is acceptable to the seller and the lender agrees to finance, then the buyers agree to accept the deal. If the seller doesn't like the appraised value, they can cancel the contract. If the lender doesn't perform in a timely manner, the buyer forfeits the escrow.

The lender has been slow to respond on a few occassions but nothing like the week and a half it took for the seller to schedule the appriasal inspection... stating that the tenants needed to have proper notification.

Jason G. · Answer

For me personally it would matter what the addendum is saying.  As long as the appraisal contingency is in place and extended during the time the seller is appealing it then I would wait.  If the addendum is attempt to eliminate the appraisal contingency I would walk.   If you have concerns about the terms of the addendum I recommend contacting a real estate attorney in your locality.