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Approaching 2 years since the move and our home is finally selling.
Came out just a little under with a realtor so yes it was too good to be true, and that would've saved us lots of headache. We were selling FSBO at $550k with $25k in estimated work done by the buyer, we're now selling at $578k. So I think she was wrong in saying we were "way under market", and we're paying $25k in commission anyway. We discovered after the fact that the buyer/contractor was a major grifter, and who knows if he was ever genuine. It was our first home and looking back at the contract it left him many opportunities to fuck us over. Fortunately we had an amazing attorney who was a family friend representing us at no charge, because this whole scenario left us completely broke.
Thought the seller's takeaway from this ordeal is to have contracts professionally reviewed and to stand firm on the property's value despite pressure from realtors.
I know it’s confusing at the beginning OP said that a realtor friend. And then the later statement makes it sound like he was working after the fact or after initiation of this transaction. If they originally using a realtor, they probably would been warned why this would be a very bad idea! They almost put themselves in jeopardy and also made themselves now more liable. If said Contractor did not get all the correct inspections and now the current owner could probably go after them for another’s mistake. And you never get 100% equity of the money you put in for the renovation. If you’re lucky you might get around 80% back. Even for repairs it’s a bad idea to initiate this before the sale of the property. In my Market you’re much better off not touching it, do the small little things to make it look good maybe even paint it or touch up here and there, but anything else is going to get you less money.
It's good to hear you finally found a buyer who's not trying to screw you over. Definitely take those lessons to heart - having a solid contract and standing your ground on price is key.
Wow, it sounds like quite a journey selling that house, but congrats on finally finding a buyer and moving on. Hopefully, the new place in your home country is treating you well and giving you everything you were missing from the old one.
Sounds like you should’ve got a good realtor to list your house to sell it instead of doing a FSBO. You definitely would’ve walked away with more money.