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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,660
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Househunting Is Drivng Me Batty!

We made a all cash offer on a house Friday. House started off listed at $265,000 4 months ago and was dropped to $259,000 after 60 days and then dropped to $250,000 a week ago. House needs all new carpeting on top floor and stairs to first floor. All 4 bedrooms have different carpet and carpet in hall is different from bedrooms and carpeting going down the stairs is different still. Practically the entire house needs repainting. Bedrooms are all painted in bright primary colors and have holes in walls where they removed curtains and shelving and did not even fix holes much less paint. House is 20 years old and has original builder grade oak cabinets and countertop which are in really bad condition. Kitchen needs complete gut job. We offered $235,000 CASH and they countered back at $249,000 even though we said that our offer was best and final. Their agent told our agent that they "needed," $249,000. I said "What they "need" is not my problem. This is a business transaction." My agent said the longer it sits at $250,000 the less chance there is of them getting close to that price. We will keep our eye on it and continue to look at other homes. If after 30 days it is still on the market we may reinstate our offer at the same price again.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,954
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Househunting Is Drivng Me Batty!


@KathyPet wrote:
We made a all cash offer on a house Friday. House started off listed at $265,000 4 months ago and was dropped to $259,000 after 60 days and then dropped to $250,000 a week ago. House needs all new carpeting on top floor and stairs to first floor. All 4 bedrooms have different carpet and carpet in hall is different from bedrooms and carpeting going down the stairs is different still. Practically the entire house needs repainting. Bedrooms are all painted in bright primary colors and have holes in walls where they removed curtains and shelving and did not even fix holes much less paint. House is 20 years old and has original builder grade oak cabinets and countertop which are in really bad condition. Kitchen needs complete gut job. We offered $235,000 CASH and they countered back at $249,000 even though we said that our offer was best and final. Their agent told our agent that they "needed," $249,000. I said "What they "need" is not my problem. This is a business transaction." My agent said the longer it sits at $250,000 the less chance there is of them getting close to that price. We will keep our eye on it and continue to look at other homes. If after 30 days it is still on the market we may reinstate our offer at the same price again.

I went through something similar, Kathy. It took NINE MONTHS for the seller to accept my offer...as long as it takes to have a baby! In my case, the agent for the seller was her friend and convinced her that she could make a killing if she held firm. In the end, she got sick of spending $800/mo. on HOA fees on an empty place - she had moved out 2 years before. 

 

Stick to your offer!

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 25,929
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Househunting Is Drivng Me Batty!

Kathy pet - so frequently people do not understand that just because they need a certain price does not mean the house is worth that or that they will get that.It is a shame that people go into home buying and selling as an emotional , not a business transaction.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,919
Registered: ‎08-31-2010

Re: Househunting Is Drivng Me Batty!

Househunting can be pure insanity. We started off with the idea of buying land and building our ideal 1,500 sq.ft. house, and then we started looking at houses. We bailed at the last minute on what is pretty much our perfect house, but it's still overpriced to this day after all these years of maintenance, taxes and caretaking. I think the owners have over 300K invested, and they think it'll turn around. It won't. Nearby lots are still ridiculously priced despite the fact land is plentiful. There's even a bankrupt subdivision not far off with cheap land but no one is building.

Our realtor, and I'll be blunt, stunk. We told her many times that one or two larger pieces of furniture would be coming with us, but she showed us houses that had no way to accommodate their size. One house was cheap, but I always thought the one next door was far better. That house did sell, and now the one I liked is available. Too bad renovating this house will cost twice our estimates because it's really fabulous.

When and if we start looking again, I expect the process to be arduous.
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Honored Contributor
Posts: 25,929
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Househunting Is Drivng Me Batty!

We started out by looking at what our money could buy us in a brand new build. Then we looked at some existing homes and learned that we were better off with the new houses.You can pretty much get the same house (sq footage), Plus the new homes , the appliances and important large items like furnaces and roofs come with warranties. Have you looked at building a new home in a plan?

Honored Contributor
Posts: 11,045
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Househunting Is Drivng Me Batty!

Are you living in a tight market...or a market that is booming Honny?

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Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,954
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Househunting Is Drivng Me Batty!


@151949 wrote:

Kathy pet - so frequently people do not understand that just because they need a certain price does not mean the house is worth that or that they will get that.It is a shame that people go into home buying and selling as an emotional , not a business transaction.


I wonder if the people insist on getting a certain price because they have a second mortgage and don't want to lose money on the deal. I agree that is THEIR fault if they are overextended, not Honny's!

Contributor
Posts: 23
Registered: ‎04-26-2015

Re: Househunting Is Drivng Me Batty!

re: "what the seller needs is not the buyer's problem"

 

Actually, it can become the buyer's problem if  the buyer doesn't get the house he really really wants.  However............

 

 The seller's problem causing his "need" for at least $249K may be that he is underwater on his mortgage and literally cannot afford to sell at a price netting him less than he owes his lender.  I've sold some homes owned by sellers who have been forced to bring lots of cash to the settlement table, just so they can move on with their lives.  It's painful to watch but a fact of life for many folks.

 

Then, too, if the house still  isn't selling at its current price after being reduced multiple times, it might not be worth the asking price and won't  appraise when the new buyer tries to get a loan.  In that case, the buyer who doesn't get caught up in that situation is rather lucky and can stay focused on finding another property.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Contributor
Posts: 23
Registered: ‎04-26-2015

Re: Househunting Is Drivng Me Batty!

[ Edited ]

Don't  agree that it is always the seller's fault if he is overextended on his mortgage. As a real estate broker for many years, I was pretty aghast at what happened to many people both during and after the so-called housing bust of several years ago.

 

Many people need a home when they need it, and they get very few clues that they might be buying at the wrong time in the market or that they might need to sell years before they initially planned. 

 

One should never buy a house if planning to live in it for  5 years or less because it will always be hard to recoup the money they put into the purchase, but people get hit with job transfers, family crises and other compelling situations that force a sale too soon.

 

The other side of the story is that the housing boom spawned a bunch of shyster mortgage crooks who seriously misrepresented the loans they were arrranging for buyers.  And there are no excuses for the buyers who didn't read their  mortgage documents and thought that home prices were going up forever without interruption, so it didn't matter how much they borrowed.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,539
Registered: ‎11-23-2013

Re: Househunting Is Drivng Me Batty!


@Drythe wrote:

@HonnyBrown wrote:

We have been searching for a house for over a year.  Offers have been made, realtors have been fired, dozens of preapprovals and still nothing.

 

One house we both fell in love with, the mortgage company took so long with the paperwork, the sellers sold it to someone else.

 

We've increased our price, looked in different areas, got a better realtor, took some things off of our wish list and still nothing.

 

DH keeps telling me that the right home will come along when it's time, but geez!


HonnyBrown,

 

Sorry this has been such a downer.  It really should be a happy exciting time shouldn't it? Good luck!


Thanks Drythe.

 

The areas where we are looking are so competitive.

 

Investors buy up the condos and rent them out at top price.  They don't pay the condo fees, so it becomes hard to get a traditional mortgage for them.

 

The single family homes that are affordable need a lot of work, to the point where we would have to take an additional loan out to make repairs.

 

It's to the point where I don't get excited when my realtor sends me something to look at.

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