My mother is selling her house (this is in NH) and the woman trying to buy her house is her arch nemisis, probably her most hated person on the planet (snuck behind her back to buy a previous property, always been rude and malicious towards her and the family, etc)... she's a horrible person who would be a giant scar on the very small community that I grew up in.

Basically, the woman (who has a large inheritence so money is not a huge concern for her) has tried to see the house - my mom denied her... but she has been sneaking around for months anyway on the private property and she knows what the house is all about... so she is in the process of making a full price offer, which, apparently if my mother does not accept, she needs to pay 3% to the woman's broker.

So, where I am going with this - is there any way to deny this woman the ability to buy this house? My guess is no - which is why I told my mother to put a clause in the agreement or just jack the hell out of the offering price right off the bat knowing this woman was going to want to buy this house. If this was me selling the house, frankly I'd be happy to get my asking price from anyone, especially in this market... but its more a personal thing.

Thoughts?

They used an intermediary to hide the real buyer till the actual closing.

She can make the deal require a large non refundable deposit - which might discourage her.
Raising the price like you said might work but will drive off other buyers - but requiring the large deposit might do the same.

the wazoo.

I just wish my mom had jacked the price up another $100k or so because I KNEW this woman was going to want to buy it and would weasel some way to do it. She had someone come up to see the house from MA (2 hours away) and he wanted to video tape the house as he walked through. Blatant? Plus... she's been driving up the 750 foot drive way frequently for a few years now to snoop around and has been just waiting for this house to go on the market.

But you can protect your interests in the deal but requiring a large non refundable deposit. That way she can't jack you around in the deal.

A good real estate broker will be good. Or this is one of the few times I would recommend getting a real estate attorney

Companies refuse to sell t their competitors all the time, or place deed restrictions on the property preventing it from being used for a competitive purpose.

I think in this case that I, too, would be happy to take the biatches money. Just right up a tight contract that doesn't allow her to default without costing her a lot of money.

Or, if she still doesn't want to sell just refuse to allow her in, or counter the offer with something she can't do, like a next day closing. Or only give hew a quit claim deed.

As a real estate professional in CO., I would not profess to give legal advice, (especially in another state) but agree she needs to contact a good real estate attorney to evaluate her legal options. Real estate contract law can vary substantially from state to state. Good luck

It's not a contract until you sign it. I'm not aware that having it on the market obligates you to do anything...

On my last house, I reviewed each contract and chose the one that was highest, but I had the option to choose the one that had the least contingencies. I also could've turned down the contracts and re-listed for a higher price (I had a bidding war for my house and both offers were above the asking price).

If you meant your mother would have to pay her own broker, then your mother could fire her own broker before she gets the offer. Or raise the price to a silly level. Then, tell your own broker that you won't reduce the house to a normal level until she gets rid of the clause in the contract that says she must sell if she gets a full price offer.

I don't see how she could be obligated to pay someone else's broker, as she wouldn't have any kind of contractual relationship with that person.

Or, to make it easy, go For Sale By Owner, for the win. Then you don't have a contractual relationship with anyone, and you can do what you want.

Only if there is a identical offer or higher will she have the right of refusal.

he was a crazy cat... he lived in a Teepee that he built himself while he was in High School.

If and offer is brought that meets the criteria expressed by seller, ie. price and terms, and seller refuses.

Reggie, why not drop your day job and come work for The Group? *S*