grandparents' reverse mortgage/realtor rushing sale

grandparents' reverse mortgage/realtor rushing sale

Rental Property Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2019 · 8 posts · 3 votes

Hi all,

A little background since there is a lot going on here: 

-My parents recently bought a duplex and my grandparents are moving into one side as their house is too large for them to take care of at their age.

-The profits from the sale of my grandparent's house will go towards paying the duplex's mortgage. 

-My parents are currently evicting some inherited tenants from the duplex and the other side is rented to new, hopefully long-term tenants so my grandparents will not be able to move in for several months. 

-My grandparents unfortunately had a reverse mortgage several years ago and currently owe $290k on their house.

The realtor set an asking price of $399k , this is low in my opinion - the house needs a little work but is large (4 br, 2 bath, parlor, dining room, kitchen, laundry room), they have a big backyard and a side yard the size of another lot in a good neighborhood. Other smaller houses in the neighborhood have sold for $450k+. The house went on the market Thursday and today they had a family offer the asking price (minus closing costs which they want my grandparents to pay). Their realtor told them to accept the offer instead of holding an open house or waiting for other offers. She also took awful pictures of the property, listed it as a 3 br and did not mention the laundry room in her listing.

After looking through the realty company's past sales, 90% are at or below asking price and sold within a week of being listed. It looks to me as if their business model is to turn around a large number of sales as quickly as possible. My grandparents are in no rush to sell so this seems like a bad fit. The more money they can get from their sale, the more breathing room my parents have to cover the mortgage of their duplex.

My grandparents are stubborn and want to trust the realtor / sell to this family that has offered asking minus closing costs (they met the family and liked them, want a nice family to move in and "don't want to be greedy"). 

1. I've been told my grandparents have a contract with the realtor so they cannot switch to another realtor. I'm a newbie on here but is this possible? I would think that they could choose to find a new realtor that better matched their interests, especially since the one they have seems lazy and uninterested in getting a fair price for the property.

2. Are there other possible solutions besides my grandparents selling the house? Can they keep their house and rent it out or will is this not allowed with a reverse mortgage?

This is moving faster than I had anticipated and I'm worried my grandparents will be pressured into selling their home for much less than it's worth. I've been trying to do some research on my own but any advice anyone can offer or if someone could help point me in the right direction I  would be really appreciate it.

Thanks!

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  • Theresa HarrisPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    7y

    It is your grandparents house.  Unless they are not capable of making their own decisions, it is their decision.  You can talk to them and explain that similar houses are selling for $450K.  If it is listed $50K+ below market value, it would be worth it to pay for an appraiser to come and look at the house.  Their realtor will tell them to take the offer because she wants to sell the house and get her commission.

  • Rental Property Investor · TN · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    Your grandparents can counter offer at a higher price, or they can say that they are accepting offers for 2 weeks before deciding on one, and have that open house in that time.  They have options.  Let them know its not being greedy, but wise to not give away that much money.

    Some realtor's business model is fast sales, others will go for a higher price.

  • Real Estate Professional · West Palm Beach, FL · Member since 2012 · 23k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    7y

    It’s probably wise to have the house on the market for at least a week or two and not take offers until then.  If they get multiple offers, the. They can do highest and best.

    They can not change brokers unless the broker agrees.

    The RM is due in full upon them leaving the house, they can not rent it out long term.

  • Rental Property Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2019 · 8 posts · 3 votes
    7y

    @Theresa Harris

    Thanks Theresa, agreed it's ultimately their decision. They're historically not great with money so it's fallen on my parents to take care of the situation. The realtor is a friend of a friend of the family so they are reluctant to push back, thanks for the tip on the appraisal I suggested this but the family voted the idea down-didnt want to pay for it. We're meeting with the realtor this weekend and most likely going to counter offer for asking price plus closing costs. Not ideal financially but I gave my 2 cents and the end of the day it's not my call.

    Thanks for the feedback!

  • Rental Property Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2019 · 8 posts · 3 votes
    7y

    @Lynnette E.

    Thanks Lynette, that's is what the plan is as if now. We're going to counter offer and I'm working on convincing them to hold an open house this weekend. (I'm getting pushback on this because my parents read online somewhere that open houses aren't effective but I don't see how it can hurt)

    Appreciate the advice!

  • Rental Property Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2019 · 8 posts · 3 votes
    7y

    @Wayne Brooks

    Thanks Wayne, I didn't fully understand the terms of a RM so appreciate the info on this and on changing brokers.

    My family is worried that by leaving the house on the market they will lose their offer and never find another one. If I had a nickel every time I heard the phrase "a bird in the hand..." I could buy the place myself lol.

    Thanks for the feedback, I've passed it along to the family.

  • Theresa HarrisPro Member
    Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Jared Espindola:

    @Theresa Harris

    Thanks Theresa, agreed it's ultimately their decision. They're historically not great with money so it's fallen on my parents to take care of the situation. The realtor is a friend of a friend of the family so they are reluctant to push back, thanks for the tip on the appraisal I suggested this but the family voted the idea down-didnt want to pay for it. We're meeting with the realtor this weekend and most likely going to counter offer for asking price plus closing costs. Not ideal financially but I gave my 2 cents and the end of the day it's not my call.

    Thanks for the feedback!

    I figured for a couple of hundred dollars, it might 'make' them a lot more if your estimate of the home's value is right.  I'll bet when the appraisal comes back from the buyer, that those same people will wish they got it.  Sometimes the best thing to do is say what you think and sit back. 

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