One Can Hope, Right?

Last Friday, I got a call from our buyer's agent. The buyers were driving in from California and wanted to come by on Saturday to see the house. I agreed. They are already contracted to buy it, may as well show them what they were getting for their money.

Saturday morning came, and they arrived just before noon. They're a cute elderly Chinese couple. They toured the house and backyard. They were pleased with everything they saw and told me "you keep a very clean house." We were wrapping up the visit and their agent asked if we'd be interested in renting the house. In my mind, I thought, HELL YEAH! But I contained myself and said "we were interested. We plan to rent and stay in the area." "It's worth negotiating", I added. We agreed to discuss it at a later date when we knew more.

The more I thought about it, the more I loved the idea of renting our house. I wouldn't have to pack. We wouldn't have to find a new place and deal with everything that it takes to get settled. We wouldn't have to move. There'd be no need for for address changes and all that. We could stay in the house we love, in the area we love... Yes, this could be perfect.

It all comes down to how much they'll ask for rent each month. Frank has come up with a list of ways to bargain with them to get the number we'd like. They're paying cash, so it's just maintenance, taxes, association dues and insurance they need to worry about. I'd like to know sooner than later, because it means the difference of me packing and finding a new place to live or staying put. I figure I'll give it a little time, and then see if our agent can prod them a bit to see if we're in the same ballpark. I figure it's best case scenario for them, too. They have a built-in renter that has proven they take care of the house (non-smokers/no pets to boot). They'll start recouping costs immediately. They won't have to buy any appliances (they are not part of the contract) but if we stay we'd use them, obviously. We'd sign a 2 year lease. As far as I can see the monthly rent is the only deal breaker. It would be such a relief if this all works out.

First step is getting the bank to approve the sale. I got an email from the person currently handling our file, it was laughable. It asked for a bunch of information and stated how they were there to help sell our house. Too bad they failed to realize we already had an offer and it was under review with their negotiator.

There is no reason the offer should be denied, but who knows? I thought that once before when we had a cash offer on our condo. The bank refused it, and after our deed-in-lieu of foreclosure it took the bank 9 months to sell it for $20k less than that cash offer. Anything is possible.