“Carpet” Credits, et al

ARDELL on 08 29, 2006

[photopress:w.jpg,thumb,alignright]We are at that time of year when houses are not selling like hotcakes. So we are back to that age old question, “Can’t I just offer a credit?”

Often agents will tell sellers that they need to remove wallpaper, paint rooms or put in new carpet. A common response from a seller is “Can’t I just offer the buyer a credit?” The short answer is NO. The long answer is, if you offer $2,000 as a credit to the buyer to remove that ugly wallpaper, the buyer will offer you less after having seen the wallpaper AND they will take your $2,000 on top of that as well.

So yes, you can offer the buyer $2,000 and he will happily take it. But he will still take $10,000 off the price of the house, because he hates the wallpaper.

About the Author: Ardell DellaLoggia

An Associate Broker with Sound Realty. ARDELL was named one of the 25 most Influential Real Estate Bloggers in the U.S. for 2007 by Inman News, and has over 19 years exeperience in Real Estate up and down both Coasts. She represents buyers and sellers of real estate on both sides of the 520 Bridge from Kirkland, Bellevue and Redmond on the Eastside to Green Lake and surrounds on the Seattle side. You can reach her at 206-910-1000 or by hitting the email the author link above.

3 Responses to ““Carpet” Credits, et al”

  1. Jim
    August 29, 2006 at 1:28 pm

    So true. You don’t want to appear weak. This goes for selling yourself as an agent, and extends to negotiating on behalf of the seller (or buyer).

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  2. Jeff
    August 29, 2006 at 2:17 pm

    Right on. I would say that putting forward a hard number for the credit is great as far as seller credits go. The kind I hate are soft credits (almost no credit) like, “We know the lime green paint color is terrible and the seller is willing to work with you to offer a credit.” They might as well say, “Hey, make us an offer and the amount of the credit will be adjusted based on the offer price.”

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  3. Jay T.
    August 29, 2006 at 2:38 pm

    Yep… I never have been able to grasp the “credit concept”. Something I see around here are comments in the MLS like, “$3,000 flooring allowance with full price offer”.

    Uh, OK. Keep your “allowance” and I’ll just offer $10K under list ’cause it’s going to take at least that much to replace the purple shag carpet.”

    The seller’s might as well just advertise, “The carpet stinks, and we’re overpriced.”

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    #14561

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