Negotiating sucks

Hi ladies,

Man, it's only 1pm and I'm worn out. This house stuff has taken me on a huge emotional rollercoaster and I just need it to be over already! I've never had a house deal go like this before. It's our timeline that we got locked into that's the biggest reason for everything being 10x harder.

At first it all looked good and things were going smoothly. Then we got the house inspection right around the same time our mortgage guy locked our rate and forced us to hit a timeline to close of a mere 2 weeks. And interest rates have gone up, so we HAVE to hit our dates to keep the lock and allow us to afford the house at all. It's that tight. And the inspection revealed some significant repairs that needed to be done. With only about a week or so to do the work. I got to thinking that the deal would fall apart and we'd be back at square one. But then the sellers AGREED to everything, and my hopes rose. And the listing agent was able to get contractors out to the house to get the majority of the work done within our impossible timeline. I was feeling buoyed that it was going to happen. I have since given notice to our landlords and Nicholas's school. But now today, the last day essentially for everything to get wrapped up so we can get the final paperwork in place in order to close on Wed. of next week, things seem to have taken a turn for the worse. In a way that's not our fault, but may still make the deal fall apart.

It's coming down to windows. Our inspector found that 5-6 windows have blown seals and need replacement. We asked for that, and the sellers agreed. We put it in writing and signed the addendum which included that. The sellers have not yet signed it (getting the paper today) but have given a verbal agreement. They got a bid on it this week and everything. But the bid seemed quite low to us. Just a few dollars over $800 to replace 5 windows?? Seemed low. Our realtor got the copy of the bid today and discovered that the bid is to replace the glass, not the whole window. We'd asked for the whole window to be replaced. That's what we wrote up and that's what they've agreed to.... verbally. According to our agent, the listing agent is horrified by her mistake, because the mistake is hers. We were very clear on the addendum of what we wanted. And because the mistake it theirs, we could still get our earnest money back if the deal falls apart. Because DH is quite adamant that he wants full window replacement, not just pane replacement (they are older aluminum windows and he wants the newer vinyl ones.) I was able to get Home Depot to go out to the house this afternoon to provide a bid for window replacement, so we're going to have to wait a few more hours before we see what the bid is. Then we're going to ask the sellers to accommodate that bid, as they verbally agreed to do.

Our realtor is kicking in $500 personally to cover any unforseen issues surrounding the dry rot, because the work cannot be completed prior to closing so we're being credited the amount of the bid to do the work, but you never know what damage you might uncover when you start to remove siding for dry rot. Just allowing a flat amount for an issue like this makes us nervous because it doesn't allow for what we CAN'T see. So our realtor has offered us money to cover some (or all, hopefully) of what might come up when the work starts. We're hoping that we can convince the listing agent to chip in the difference between the bid to replace the panes and the bid to replace the whole window since the error was hers. Otherwise, I fear DH will want to walk from the deal. Which is probably the right decision, but it's over something cosmetic. Because the windows WILL be fixed by replacing the panes, but have the old-style look. A cosmetic issue. I'm fine with the panes, but am keeping that opinion to myself right now. I'm willing to compromise because I just want to be DONE already. But we'll see what happens later this afternoon. I hate negotiating. Thankfully DH enjoys it and is really good at it (thank you law school). I guess I'm more of a pushover than he is.

I KNEW there was a reason I hadn't started packing yet. My inner gut has been telling me not to get ahead of myself, and that instinct might be right. This deal may still fall through and I'll be back to house-hunting again. This sucks. I can't take the pressure anymore! I'm up then I'm down. I'm elated about the house and moving one minute, the next I'm doubting and stressed and pissed off. If we hadn't gotten locked in to the fast-track closing date this could probably be more readily resolved. But we're locked in, so it can't, and now issues like this make me want to cry. Why can't it just be EASY??!! Nothing so far has been easy, and that is frustrating me.

Just needed to vent. Hoping Andrea has better luck with her upcoming house ordeal. Finding sellers and finding the next place to call home.