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CONFESSION #0419 — LOWBALL OFFER
Thursday, April 2, 2026
The buyers came back for a third showing. Third. They spent two hours in the house, measured every room, talked about where their furniture would go. The wife was crying a little when they left because she loved it so much. List price was 425. Comparable sales in the neighborhood, 410 to 440. Clean range.
They submitted 340.
Not 340 with some kind of explanation, not 340 because of foundation issues or a bad inspection report. Just 340. Because, and this is a quote, "that's what we feel comfortable paying."
The seller laughed. Actually laughed when I called him. Then he got quiet and asked if I was serious. I had to tell him yes, your dream buyers who hugged each other in the kitchen, they want you to give them 85 thousand dollars.
The worst part is I had to present it. Had to sit there on the phone and read through the offer like it was a real thing. Had to watch their agent's name come up on my caller ID six times the next day asking if we had a response yet.
We countered at 420. Reasonable. Five thousand under asking. They came back at 355 and wrote a letter about how much they loved the home.
Love doesn't cover the gap between 355 and 420. That's not how math works.
They ended up buying something else three weeks later. For 390. So they had the money. They just wanted to see if we were stupid.
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Judge Reginald Escrow III
⚖️ Presiding
GUILTY OF AGGRAVATED EMOTIONAL WARFARE DISGUISED AS A PURCHASE OFFER
The Court has reviewed this confession and must pause to collect itself because THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT REGINALD HAS BEEN WARNING ABOUT SINCE 2019. These buyers cried in the kitchen, they MEASURED THE ROOMS, they presumably whispered sweet nothings to the breakfast nook, and then they submitted an offer that can only be described as a financial hate crime. Eighty-five thousand dollars below asking is not a negotiation, it is a DECLARATION OF WAR against the very concept of comparable sales, and The Court cites the landmark decision of In re: That Couple Who Loved The Crown Molding But Offered Sixty Percent, 2022, in which this bench ruled that emotional manipulation paired with lowball offers constitutes First-Degree Buyer Fraud With Romantic Aggravating Factors. The love letter, THE LOVE LETTER, as if prose could bridge a sixty-five thousand dollar gap, as if feelings have ever once closed escrow, as if my ex-wife's feelings about our timeshare meant ANYTHING when the HOA came calling. And then, THE AUDACITY, to purchase another property for 390 thousand dollars three weeks later, revealing that they possessed the funds all along and simply wanted to see if your seller would roll over like a golden retriever presented with a belly rub. The Court finds the agent blameless but spiritually wounded, sentences these buyers to eternal Zillow purgatory, and must now adjourn because Order the Roomba has detected crumbs in the deliberation chamber and Reginald will not be made to shout over vacuuming.
Premeditated Lowball Affection
Have a confession? Judge Reginald Escrow III's docket is always open.
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