...in the eyes of the beholder

Recently I got a call from some clients that I had represented a few years ago in the purchase of a vacation or second home here in the Tucson Foothills. They were in town for a few days and told me that they were toying with the idea of selling this home and looking for another one. They thought that they might like to get something that was a little bit larger and in a slightly different location. But they weren't really sure and just wanted to see what was available, if I had the time.
They'd seen a few homes on my website and wondered if we could take a look at them and anything else that I might recommend.
My pleasure. As I mentioned, I represented these people a few years ago when they bought this home and they are wonderful, delightful people, the kind of people that make you want to bend over backwards every which way you can.
So we got together the next day and first we looked at the homes on their list and then I showed them a few on mine. When we walked into the 2nd home on my list, that was it, they IMMEDIATELY fell in love with it. Within moments of walking in the front door they were decorating and imagining themselves living in this house. In a flash we went from what was a morning of casual window shopping to suddenly strategizing on making an offer on this home and putting their home on the market, and how do we go about it and which comes first and what should we list their home for and so on.
But we were in a bit of a double bind here, because they didn't want to make an offer to buy this new home until they had a strong offer on theirs, AND, they didn't want to sell theirs until they had an accepted offer on this new one.
They didn't want to be stuck with two second homes in Tucson, but they also didn't want to be without one.
So both the sale of their home and the purchase of the new home were to be 'subject to' their ability to buy or sell the other property.
We put their current home up for sale with the offer requirement that - ... the sale of this property is subject to he sellers being able to reach contract agreement on another property of their choice within 5 days of contract acceptance on this property. If sellers are unable to reach contract agreement on another property within the 5 days, then the contract to sell this home is canceled upon notification to buyers... blah blah blah
That scared off a few buyers for sure, but within 2 months or so we had an accepted offer on their house, with the 'subject to' clause in place. Now we had five days to make a deal on the house they wanted to buy, which was still available. So we went ahead and put together an offer on this other house. I showed them the comps, I talked about the other homes that had sold in the area and I let them know that in my opinion this house was overpriced and that they shouldn't pay more than X for it.
We had talked about this before, so they understood, and they agreed with me.
We made a low offer. The house had now been on the market and vacant for 8 1/2 months. You'd think that by now the seller would be ready to deal.
Not so. They countered our offer at $10K under their list price. 8 1/2 months on the market, vacant, overpriced by about $50K -in my opinion- and they come down all of $10K, that's it. AND get this, the listing agent tells me that they don't want a counteroffer, they'll sell it at this price but not a penny less. Huh.
Again I advise my clients that at this price they'd be overpaying for this house, now by about $40K, and I didn't want them to overpay.
I suggested that we politely walk away from the negotiations, assuming that if anything is going to loosen up the sellers, this will, and if not, we'll find another house for them to buy. So I call the listing agent and let him know that we're going to take a pass, because we're so far apart and the sellers seem so inflexible, etc,etc.
OK he says, thanks, goodbye.
And now I have to call the agent representing the buyers of my clients house and notify him that the deal is off, because my clients can't reach contract agreement on this other house. So both deals fall thru. Meanwhile, we go out and look at some other homes for sale. Nothing strikes their fancy. Nothing. And it's plain as day that all they're thinking about is the one that got away.
Five days go by and still I don't hear another word, not a peep, from the listing agent for the house they want to buy. But my clients still want it. So I call the agent representing the buyers who made the offer on my clients house and ask if his clients are still interested. Yes they are, and ready to move at a moments notice he says, and since it's a cash deal, they can close in seven days. I tell him to put it in writing, again.
So now we go back to the table and try again to negotiate a reasonable price for this other house - my clients are willing to pay a reasonable price . But we can't do it, these sellers are not going to budge. They let us know that they'll sell the house at $10K under their list price, but that's it.
We talk, commiserate, my clients rationalize, and rationalize some more. And I realize that my clients are trying to convince me that it's OK to go ahead and write another offer for the house, and to write it at the price that the sellers are demanding. They want to get this house, they're willing to pay the price for it, albeit reluctantly, and at this point they're looking for me to support that decision. It's time for me to back off and help them make it happen, maybe even a little past that time. It's their decision, they're savvy, smart people who've bought and sold many homes over the years and they know what they're doing. So I shut up about the 40K and we re-write the offer, and they get the house. And despite paying more than they wanted to, and more than I thought they should, they got what they wanted and they're thrilled.
Getting the house was the important thing, not getting it and saving $40K would have been a huge letdown for them.  And if I'd have mentioned that $40K one more time, well, I'd come very close to overstepping my bounds.