# Selling a house

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-house/719485>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [May 7, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-house/719485 "2015-05-07T15:11:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-house/719485/1 "2015-05-07T15:11:42Z")

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My condo has been on the market for nearly a month now. I’ve had a good amount of interest and two offers, but the first was canceled at the last minute and the second is about to fall through due to “buyer unable to perform.” There was a third offer that ultimately didn’t get signed because the buyer got cold feet at the signing.

There is a lot more anxiety involved in this process than I assumed. But what really amazes me is how far people take the buying process before they either change their mind or realize they can’t really afford it. Blah.

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**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-house/719485/2 "2015-05-07T20:03:50Z")

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[QUOTE=amaguri;18347383the second is about to fall through due to “buyer unable to perform.”[/QUOTE]

Maybe, along with the milk and cookies, put out some Viagra on the table ?

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**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-house/719485/3 "2015-05-07T20:23:57Z")

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Not to be discouraging, but I had a buyer fail to show up at closing. He was buying the place for himself and his mother, and she decided at the last minute that she didn’t want to move.

I guess realtors don’t routinely pre-qualify their buyers. Seems dumb to me, but what do I know.

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**Author:** ![Fallen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@Fallen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fallen)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-house/719485/4 "2015-05-07T20:32:01Z")

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That’s why you need a hefty earnest money deposit and either without X conditions or conditions that drop off at Y points, so that there is serious money on the table (as it were) to lose if there’s no closing.

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**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-house/719485/5 "2015-05-07T20:43:47Z")

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I was going to ask if you got to keep the earnest money, but it looks like that might be optional? I’ve never been a party to a house sale that didn’t include it.