Sunday, July 29, 2007

Another Dilemma

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while know that back in September, I bought a new mobile home.

A while back, my cousin Mike brought a guy by who said he was interested in buying my old mobile home. I told him it wasn't quite cleaned out, and I would call him when it was ready. That's what I did.

When I got the old home cleaned out, I called the guy and asked him if he was still interested. He said that he was out of town, but would get back with me on such and such day.

Such and such day came and went, and I never heard from the guy. It has now been many days since such and such day, and I still have not heard from the guy. J says I ought to keep calling him, pestering him until he agrees to buy the house. I say that if he were really that interested, he would have gotten back to me.

In other words, I take his silence as his answer. I don't think he's really that interested, and I want to advertise the home for sale. Keep in mind that we made no agreement, nor did we sign a contract. No money has changed hands over this.

What do you say? Should I keep calling the guy? Or should I take his silence as a "no"?

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Well, you said it yourself. There's no agreement, verbal or written, no contract, no money that has exchanged hands. So there is nothing legally binding you to this guy. I'd give him one more call, just saying something to the effect of you've held the home for him, but since you haven't heard from him, you take his lack of response as his non-interest, and if he truly is still interested, contact you by a certain day, and go from there. If not, you will be putting the home up for sale to the public, and it's FSBO.

I would take the guy's silence as a "no" already, but give him one more chance, and if he fails to follow up, then there is absolutely no reason to find another buyer. Or heck, perhaps another buyer would get him off his butt if he makes a good enough offer!

(My DH and I sold our house last year, so you do have to take matters into your own hands sometimes!)

Sus said...

I totally agree with WindsorKnot -- call him once just to let him know that you're going to start advertising. You're not obligated to, but just out of courtesy.

Good luck selling it! :)

Bag Blog said...

I would call the guy again just because he is a potential buyer, but I would be doing everything possible to find other potential buyers in the meantime. Since there is no contract, I think he knows you will be trying to sell it to the first good buyer. Most people understand that it is whoever brings the money first that gets the product. Being a man, he could just be in a different compartment right now and not thinking about the house.

Buck said...

Lou said: Being a man, he could just be in a different compartment right now and not thinking about the house.

Now that's an interesting comment! ;-)

I agree withal the rest tho: no contract/agreement, no deal. One more call, then get on with the ads!

Becky G said...

Thank you for the advice everyone. You pretty much echoed what I felt anyway. I appreciate the affirmation.

Becky G said...

P.S. Dani, selling a mobile home is a bit different from selling a regular house. It's more like selling a used car.

Unknown said...

Heh, heh-- I understand what you're saying. But still, it's a home. And I, too, have had to be involved in selling a used car or two in my day, but the rules still apply. ;-)

Nancy @ the Jersey Shore said...

I say, Call him. Tell him you have another interested party and wanted to give him a chance. It usually works with clients who "pencil in" a date at the restaurant I work for. Kind of like telling him, either $h*t or get off the pot!

Becky G said...

You mean lie to him? Why would I do that? It's not like I'm obligated to him in any way, and that includes waiting for him to make up his mind.