Saving a Deal Threatened by Asbestos Insulation
The Problem: He was a first-time buyer, looking for a
home on the South Shore for under $400,000 in early May, during the height of
the pandemic. My client and his girlfriend fell in love with a charming
100-year-old single family, but so did a lot of other people. At $385,000, it
was priced to sell and I knew there would be a bidding war. I asked the
sellers’ agent if they would accept a bid with an escalation clause. My client
would pay $2,000 over the highest bid, up to a certain price. They agreed. My
client’s $397,000 offer was accepted. But the home inspector found a lot of
things wrong with the house, most notably, probable asbestos in the attic
insulation. Removing it would be pricey. Would the deal fall through?
Solution: We
asked for $13,000 off our offer to
take care of the home’s problems, including removing the insulation. The
sellers said "no,” and didn’t want to negotiate. My client and his girlfriend were crestfallen
but I told them to hang tight. I went back to the seller’s agent and told her
that the asbestos would have to be disclosed to other potential buyers or
removed and we had already agreed to pay $2,000 more than the highest buyer.
They agreed to take $7,000 off our offer and my client and his girlfriend were
thrilled.
The Result: My client was prepared to go through with
his original offer of $397,000 but I was determined to get him some financial
consideration for the home’s issues. And my work with this client led to two
FOX news appearances, here
and here.
But that’s a whole other story!
All in a Day’s Work: Solving Real-Life, Real Estate Problems for our
Clients is a regular feature brought
to you by Marie Presti of The Presti Group. Our agents specialize in luxury
homes, rehabilitations, multi-families and condominiums in urban, suburban and
exurban areas throughout the Greater Boston area. Marie Presti is a Certified
Negotiation Expert. Reach out at [email protected] to find out how "We go the extra block.”