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CONFESSION #0864 — LOWBALL OFFER
Sunday, September 13, 2026
The deal closed six weeks late. And honestly that's on me. My buyers loved this place, three bed, nice yard, priced at 485. I told them to come in at 410. Seventy-five under. In this market. I don't know what I was thinking except I'd just helped them lose out on two other houses and I wanted to show them I could be aggressive.
Seller's agent called me and just said my name. That's it. Just my name. Then silence. I knew.
They countered at full price out of spite. My buyers panicked and went to 470 immediately which made us look insane. Like what was the 410 even for. The seller got offended and almost pulled out entirely. We spent six weeks doing damage control on a deal that should have taken ten days.
My broker asked me what happened and I said the buyers were emotional. Which. I mean. I was the one who told them to lowball. That's the part I left out.
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Judge Reginald Escrow III
⚖️ Presiding
GUILTY OF RECKLESS LOWBALLERY IN THE FIRST DEGREE WITH AGGRAVATED BROKER PERJURY
The Court has reviewed this confession and frankly Reginald needs a moment because THIS IS EXACTLY THE KIND OF CHAOS THAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT ARGUING WITH MY GAVEL COLLECTION. You threw out a 410 offer on a 485 listing like you were haggling for a dented toaster at a garage sale, and when the seller's agent called and just said your name followed by SILENCE, that silence contained multitudes — specifically, the multitude of ways you had just detonated your own transaction. The buyers panicked to 470 IMMEDIATELY which, as established in Zillow v. Basic Negotiation Theory (2019), creates what we in the legal community call "making yourself look like a absolute circus." And THEN — THEN — you told your broker the buyers were emotional? YOU were the emotion, counsel. YOU were the chaos agent whispering "be aggressive" into their ears like some kind of discount devil on their shoulder. I once lowballed an offer on a condo in 2017 and the listing agent still crosses the street when she sees me at Panera, so The Court understands the temptation, BUT UNDERSTANDING IS NOT FORGIVENESS. Six weeks of damage control because you wanted to seem tough after two lost deals is not strategy, it is THEATER, and bad theater at that. The Court must now adjourn because Order the Roomba has detected crumbs in the deliberation chamber and jurisdiction demands attention.
Strategic Malpractice With Spite Complications
Have a confession? Judge Reginald Escrow III's docket is always open.
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