The home they wanted to see checked that box. It was on nearly an acre and smack dab in the area they wanted to live. Yes, it was about half the size of what they were used to, however, the outdoor potential was a huge draw for them.

From the pictures, the home appeared to have been “flipped.” I looked up the history of the home and found that it had, indeed, been purchased nearly a year ago by a corporation. This is generally how individuals or groups purchase properties that they plan to rehab. The LLC acts as sort of a safety net for an individual.

If something goes wrong, such as contractor injury, property issue, or a lawsuit, the liability is generally contained within the LLC, not the investor personally. Using an LLC also creates clean lines between personal and corporate finances. This makes accounting easier and taxes more organized if it is separate. The LLC title also can lend an air of credibility to the investor.

Regardless of how legit, credible or experienced this entity may have been, there was one problem … the property was a full $400,000 higher than anything I could justify with comparable sales, even with the updates.

The home had already been sitting on the market for several months. There had been one small price drop, about a month back, but still nowhere close to reality. If my clients loved it, I knew we’d have our work cut out for us.

We met at the property the next day to tour it. From the outside, it was … fine. The home was a nearly all-brick rambler with a two-car attached garage and a wrap around driveway. The entry door stood front and center, freshly painted as if trying it’s best to say, “I’m worth it.”

And inside it presented exactly as expected from a flip: new appliances, new cabinets, quartz countertops, new flooring, open living room/kitchen area and basement converted into a walkout with an existing second kitchen (no updates in basement kitchen).

The home was tasteful, clean, and move-in ready. Yet it was also, still, $400,000 over market value.

The deeper we looked, the more the cracks (both literally and figuratively) started to show. The electrical panel hadn’t been updated to support the expanded usage. There had been no meaningful structural updates and certainly no high-end exterior improvements.

For an extra $400,000, I found myself looking around for what I must have missed. Surely there was a hidden third garage stall? A fully finished outdoor kitchen tucked just out of sight? A detached shop with power? Maybe RV parking cleverly disguised as lawn? Nope. What we had was a nicely updated interior paired with more optimism than good sense to back it up.

However, my clients loved it. We had a plan. On the way home, I called the list agent. I told her we’d be submitting an offer. I also told her, respectfully, since I suspected she was fully aware of the uphill battle she had been fighting, that I would include the valid comparison sales I pulled since our number was going to be significantly lower than the list price. To her credit, she didn’t argue. “I know it’s overpriced,” she said. “I’ll do my best to present this offer as reasonable.”

And once again we find ourselves with an overused theme in real estate, i.e. “You can’t handle the truth …” And then the rest of the story … but you’re listing still has to. There’s that familiar scene where the truth is delivered loudly, dramatically, and unavoidably.

Yet in real estate, it is quieter. It takes the appearance of fewer showings, no offers, or worse, offers that don’t match the story the seller has been telling, or perhaps, someone has been telling him … someone who knows real estate, but not Utah real estate. Perhaps, someone driving way out of his lane.

The first attempt was respectful. We came in at $10,000 above comparison value. It was strong, clean, and backed by data. Yet, it was rejected. My clients still wanted it. They were willing to go $50,000 over comparable value. Not close to asking but super generous. Again, the offer was rejected.

For Attempt No. 3 I suggested the seller get an appraisal and we would agree to whatever it came in at. No guessing, no opinions, just a licensed, professional, third-party detailed valuation. The seller refused. I suggested to my buyers that we look at other listings, but my buyers really wanted this one. This specific home worked for them. They decided to go all in … $100,000 over comparable value. The seller did not respond.

We were all scratching our heads; myself, the seller’s agents, and the buyers. Suddenly, it occurred to all of us, almost simultaneously: the seller, it seemed, had a little bird perched on his shoulder in the form of an out-of-state agent offering confident guidance on what the home “should” be worth. Never mind that it was a completely different market, with different dynamics and different realities.

The advice was clear and persistent: Hold firm. Someone will pay it. Don’t negotiate. You’re fine. And just like that, the voice of the actual market got a little harder for him to hear.

Finally, my buyers walked. The market responded with a hard splash of silence. We found something else just as well suited to my clients for the appropriate price. Yet somewhere, in a different state, a bird still sings upon the shoulder of an intractable seller and they have nothing to show for it.

Jen Fischer is an associate broker and Realtor. She can be reached at 801-645-2134 or jen@jen-fischer.com.