Selling When an Offer Falls Through: A Customer Story

Soon after their first child was born, Ark A. and his wife realized that their two bedroom, 980-square foot townhouse was not going to cut it for their growing family. After discussing their options, they made the decision to sell it and move into a bigger house.

Finding a new place was the easy part. Soon after they began their search, Ark and his wife fell in love with a house in the process of being built and signed a contract to purchase the property. They planned to use the proceeds from selling their townhouse as the down payment.

“They gave us 60 days to sell the house and I thought I could do it rather quickly,” explained Ark. “But as time went on with the process, we found issue after issue with the house. ”

The tangled world of selling a house as is

After searching the term “Sell as-is San Diego” on Google, Ark found Sundae and got into contact with Ben, a Sundae Market Expert, who helped him understand what the process of selling off-market is like for a homeowner.

Ben explained how selling with Sundae could offer Ark an alternative to spending time and money on repairs. Because Ark needed to sell within a 60-day window, Sundae was potentially a good fit for his situation. Acknowledging that there are many options to choose from, Ben let Ark know that he’d be available as a market resource regardless of which direction Ark decided he wanted to go.

Ark decided to decline the offer he received from Sundae’s marketplace. He knew there were higher offers out there, including a very attractive one he’d already received from a large iBuyer (a homebuyer that relies on technology to make instant home purchase offers). Ark felt the offer met his family’s needs, and all seemed well.

“They [the iBuyer] made it seem like they really were interested in buying, but what they were really interested in was a house that was in nearly perfect condition and only needed a few touch ups.”

There’s no ‘one size fits all’ way to sell

After three weeks of inspections and back-and-forth communications, the iBuyer backed out of the purchase, citing that there was too much work that needed to be done on the house.

With only 30 days left to deliver the down payment on their new house, Ark and wife were running out of options. They scrambled to explore other opportunities to sell their home at the last minute.

“I knew I was not going to get a market price, but I was looking for a fair off-market price,” said Ark. “It was a little difficult for me to gauge what that fair price was because I didn’t know what cash buyers typically offer. So I shopped around.”

A local cash buyer and wholesaler of properties presented an offer fairly quickly. Unfortunately, Ark felt that the offer was a lowball one at best. But the experience gave Ark a good idea of the low end of his price rangxe.

Ark decided that the offer from Sundae’s marketplace was “right down the middle” of the other two and represented a fair off-market price.

Finding the right fit requires trust

“I felt that this company was the company to go with after failing so many times,” Ark said. “Ben kept the door open. Not being pushy, but saying ‘if other buyers don’t work out, I’m always here for you.’ And I’m so glad he did.”

For Ark, it was important to work with a seller he could trust. Having a deal fall through had left him skeptical. But knowing that Sundae would support any decision he made helped Ark feel comfortable during a stressful time. Once he decided to sell with Sundae, he no longer had to worry about not being able to fulfill the contract on his new home.

The timing of the deal worked out perfectly. The family sold their townhouse to an investor on Sundae’s marketplace and was able to pay the down payment for their new house. Although the process was full of stress, they’ve since moved into their new, bigger house and are happy with where everything ended up.

“Sundae made it easy,” said Ark, summing up the experience. “They were honest and trustworthy. I definitely would recommend them to a seller in my situation.”