Basketball Hoops Bring Down the House Value

I was raised on Long Island, on the "Gold Coast", which was peppered with old money real estate that stretched from Manhattan to the Hamptons. A playground for the rich and famous surrounded affluent but "normal" communities that make up the majority of the Island. Of course, "normal" is subjective. A started home (A.K.A. Dump) runs around 300k and the bedrooms are usually so small, you can't fit a king size bed. I know this as my Brother is currently trying to get into the market with one of these "starter homes".

Anyway, My Dad, who was very concerned with Aesthetics, never let us have a basketball hoop. We would ask for one and he would always respond "it brings down the value of the home". We must have heard this line 50 times. We never had the hoop, so our home's value must have been through the roof!

It wasn't until later that I began to realize that my Dad's own little words of wisdom weren't often scientifically based. I wonder what my Dad would think of the "homemade basketball hoop" in this picture above? It's purpose is to be a hoop, although it made up of nothing more than a milk crate nailed to a tree.

I suppose if this type of hoop was on the "Gold Coast", then it may very well bring down his house value. But it wasn't there, it was in a low income area and may very well be boosting the homes value in the area. You know? Hoop implies recreation which may in turn implie children which implies fewer drive bys...............

Misinterpreted House

This week I experienced the art of communication, or should I say misinterpretation? I have been working with a Client for a few months now and we have had two offers in on two different homes. The first home was a short sale and Their offer was in for 4 weeks and still no answer from the bank. This was frustrating the heck out of my Client and rightfully so! I shared in the annoyance of having to work within a banks time frame-slow! They ended up withdrawing the contract and we moved on to another home.

This next home was grand. It was a bank owned home that was huge and the price was great. We put out offer in and a few days later, the listing Agent asked if my Client would fork over a non refundable 5k deposit (the bank was asking all buyers who had submitted offers that week, there were multiple). My Client agreed and stated that he could get the check in a few days. In turn, he interpreted this request as "your offer was accepted" (which it was not.)


I hadn't spoken those words or indicated that this was the case. I thought we were fine. A week went by and I got an email from the other agent stating that another offer has come in for the house and the bank would be decided today. I forwarded the info to my Buyer whom immediately called me.
"What does this mean"
"There is another offer on the house and the bank will decide today" I say
"Another offer? Why are we getting the check then?"
"The bank has requested deposits in the amt of 5k from all the Buyers....." then it hits me. The Buyer has interpreted the request for $5k as an acceptance of the contract.

Contract in CT need to be in writing to be valid and true. If the bank, or any Seller, accepts an offer, they need to sign the contract. This way when both parties have signed the contract which becomes a legally binding agreement.

We didn't have a signed contract from the bank or even the words "the bank has accepted their offer".

I had to reiterate that we still didn't have word from the bank yet and we would be hearing from the Bank that day. Frustrated and annoyed, the Buyer hung up the phone in what I can only assume was a long day of waiting and anxiety.

I ended up getting the word around 8pm that same night. "The Bank went with a higher offer" the Agent told me. I sent a quick email out stating the info in writing, then I paced. I walked back and from the kitchen thinking about how I was going to phrase it to the Buyer. He had been waiting all day for news that he thought he already had. I phoned him and cringed. I made nervous faces in the reflection of my microwave.

"hello"

"Hi, I heard from the Agent, they ended up going with a higher offer". There I said it. It was hard but I just had to delicately spit it out (is that possible?). He was disappointed and I told him that I was sorry since I new he really wanted it. He didn't express any hard feelings.

I reflected over the past week and wondered how I didn't pick up on his misinterpretation? I have come up with a few thoughts and ended up talking with some co-workers about it. Sometimes its best to be ridiculously clear about any information. Spell it out for folks and don't assume that they know what is going on. Get their point of view on things to find out where they are coming from and what they believe is happening. I think it feels silly to have to ask these basic ideas but its worth it in the end. Will this Buyer work with me again? Not sure since it's only been a few days. But I hope so.