Have you ever been so sure of a Deal only to not have it pan out?

[ultrarunner]

About 6 months ago I learned a rural property I have always admired was up for sale...

The moment I found out I knew this was my chance...

Unfortunately, the seller had accepted an offer the same day I submitted mine... I came in at full price and the buyer under contract came in 100k less.

Knowing that Real Estate Sales often fall through... I remained optimistic.

So every time the buyer was out of contract or trying to negotiate concessions... it looked like the place would be mine. The listing Broker would call and say to get ready because I would have to move fast...

Each time he was able to take care of the problems and ultimately closed on day 60 of his 60 day escrow.

Since then, we have met. I offered him the 100k over what he paid and he came back with 300k... which isn't in the realm of possibilities unless I win the lotto.

The thing that haunts me is I was so sure this was going to happen and 6 months later it is still on my mind all the time... Family and friends say it wasn't meant to be or something better is coming up...

I've been in and around Real Estate for more than 30 years and never have I found I property so ideally suited for me in every respect... Brokers have been sending me listing updates for the area and I have looked at most... even the ones that I could never afford and they do nothing for me.

It's totally out of character for me to be hung up on a piece of property or much anything else for that matter... I guess this will always be the one that got away.

Buyer says he not moving in till August at the earliest... his wife has ideas for all kinds of upgrades and they have started demo work on a property that was perfect to my eye. He had to promise her the same kitchen, floors and windows in the home where they now live... she is not enthusiastic about moving to the county even though it is close in.

The shop was magnificent and all finished out with county permits... even had a lift, lube rack and looked better than many homes in the area...

The buyer seems like a nice guy... he's about 15 years older and retired... dabbles in Real Estate for a hobby and only bought the place because he said he couldn't come close to duplicating it plus the years it would take to complete something similar with all the new constraints on building now inforce.


Wish I knew why I can't shake this place out of my head.

 

[brin]

You just have to let it be...be sure to give the new owner your phone number and tell him to call you if he ever wants to sell..and then let it go....It has happened to me before a few times more than I like to admit...and they are the deals that got away and sometimes we miss them by a nano second and that is what is so sickening...Move on and don't look back , you will find something better...just don't let this on get into your head and make you sick. :thumbsup:

 

[murphy1244]

Well, Let him fix it up for you for when his wife decides enough of this "Hick" living and begs you to take the place.

 

[dodge man]

You can't get it our of your head because its exactly what you wanted. All you can do is keep your eyes open and hope something else comes along.

 

[Danno1]

Well, Let him fix it up for you for when his wife decides enough of this "Hick" living and begs you to take the place.

What Murph said.

Women with that attitude often get sick of this kind of living rather quickly.


.

 

[MossRoad]

Yeah. About 1988 my wife and eye were eyeing some nice land. There were two 80 acre parcels side by side. Full 80 acres on the right had part of a pond. The 80 on the left was divided into four 10 acre parcels in front with a 40 in the back. The right-most 10 acre parcel had half of the pond that was also on the full 80 parcel. The 40 acre parcel had 20 acres of black walnut veneer timber plantation that was worth probably 20K as it stood with the prediction to be worth over 100K in 30 more years. If you wanted the 40, you had to purchase at least one of the front 10's or the side 80 because they weren't going to land-lock the back 40.

The 10's were going for something like 30K, the 40 was only 20k and the 80 was going for 80k (as best I can remember)
We put a bid in of 48K for the right-most 10 and the back 40 only to find out an hour before our bid someone put in a bid for 100K for the full 80 and back 40. DANG! $#%^@!!! Missed it by one hour!
Life moves on, but every time I am in that area I drive past it to see what could have been. Unfortunately, the owner carved it up for a subdivision with 1 acre lots and a paved two lane road right past the pond. Ouch!

 

[dmccarty]

We looked and bid on quite a few parcels. I still think about a couple of them. I do think we were VERY fortunate to NOT get those parcels. One was carved up into a subdivision and another was too far out and you had to drive past a dump to get on the land but it sure was pretty.

The place we bought was more land and dollars than I thought we could afford but we have made it work. There were people trying to get us to drop the bid but that did not happen. It somehow does work out in the end.

Later,
Dan

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm glad I posted... gives me a little perspective.

I was kind of hoping the buyer would be a total jerk... actually surprised how like able and low key he was.

We did have a laugh because the whole time he was in escrow the Real Estate people kept telling him there was a full price offer in the wings and he thought they were just being sales people blowing smoke.

I've been there before... kind of the hammer making a sale go through even if I wasn't the last man standing.

My intuition on the rare occasion I have some was all in on this deal...

I guess I will just have to see what the future holds...

 

[MossRoad]

Yep. We put in another bid on another 40 acres with a pond. It required a zoning variance for a change from AG to RES. We applied for the variance at the board of zoning appeals. A certain Mr. C. on the board spoke up against our petition saying we were profiteers from the city and would end up subdividing the land for profit. We were denied our petition, so we passed on the purchase. Exactly one year later a Mr. M. applied for the exact same variance on the exact same piece of property and Mr. C. spoke ON HIS BEHALF to grant the variance. Mr. M. got it and purchased the property. Of course, it helped that Mr. C.'s son is the biggest developer in the county and Mr. M.'s son is the state representative for our area.... that one left a bitter taste in my mouth. Shortly thereafter, a letter from the realator that tried to get us that first piece of land I mentioned earlier appeared in our mailbox showing us the land we now own. A nice 20 acre piece with rolling hills, sandy soil, well drained, two fields, a woods down the middle, a creek and an abandoned wooden railroad trustle! Nice! Never looked back with sad eyes again.
:thumbsup:

 

[ultrarunner]

Thanks Moss... inspirational!

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks Moss... inspirational!

My dad was an architect (among other things) and built quite the home himself. It was about 2700 sq ft' in the shape of a giant Y. Left branch had living room, dining and most of kitchen. Right branch had master bedroom, bath and laundry/sewing room. Down branch had rest of kitchen, family room and "the dormitory" as he called it (2 bedrooms and bath on ground floor and two bedrooms and study in basement). It was his architectural experiment. Lots of floor to ceiling glass, California redwood, doug fir, tile throughout. 17 picture windows, great views, etc.... It was like living in a Frank Lloyd Wright tribute home. There were several architects living on our block and everyone had these wild "modern" houses. Me.... I was fascinated by my friends' "normal" houses! :laughing: Anyhow, my dad always made it clear that this was his dream home and I should make my own dreams and not worry about what to do with the home after he died. I could buy it from my sisters, sell it to one of my sisters, sell it and split the profits with my sisters, etc... but I did not have to keep it because it was his dream. Besides, it was a money pit because it was an ongoing experiment. I helped him re-work many parts of it over the years and knew that thing inside and out. When he passed away, we sold it and I do not regret it. I still go to the lake below it and look up at it while I'm fishing and remember vividly running through the woods, across the hillsides, etc... I now live in a "normal" house with my wife and kids. We are waiting to afford to build on our 20 acres out in the country. It will be a reasonable 1300 - 1400 sq ft ranch with walkout basement of "traditional" style. That's my dream. :thumbsup:

 

[300UGUY]

I was looking at a place with a couple more acres, a nice insulated, heated shop, nice barn, just what I wanted. I missed out on it, we didn't know if we were staying or going to Florida, we decided to stay, but the place was gone.

 

[ultrarunner]

I don't have any really good pictures... thought I would give these a try.

The one of the shop is only 50% because it continues on the other side.

 

[KYDan]

Yep. We put in another bid on another 40 acres with a pond. It required a zoning variance for a change from AG to RES. We applied for the variance at the board of zoning appeals. A certain Mr. C. on the board spoke up against our petition saying we were profiteers from the city and would end up subdividing the land for profit. We were denied our petition, so we passed on the purchase. Exactly one year later a Mr. M. applied for the exact same variance on the exact same piece of property and Mr. C. spoke ON HIS BEHALF to grant the variance. Mr. M. got it and purchased the property. Of course, it helped that Mr. C.'s son is the biggest developer in the county and Mr. M.'s son is the state representative for our area.... that one left a bitter taste in my mouth. Shortly thereafter, a letter from the realator that tried to get us that first piece of land I mentioned earlier appeared in our mailbox showing us the land we now own. A nice 20 acre piece with rolling hills, sandy soil, well drained, two fields, a woods down the middle, a creek and an abandoned wooden railroad trustle! Nice! Never looked back with sad eyes again.
:thumbsup:

It appears he has all the necessary credentials to be in Congress!

 

[MoKelly]

Don't take it too hard. I have a suggestion. Listen to the Garth Brooks song "Unanswered Prayers". It may help put everything in perspective.

Good luck.

MoKelly