NewEnglandLady
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2007
- Messages
- 6,299
Just curious to see answers
We were buying accross the country from where we live, so it isn't the same probably, but I watched the market there for a month using our realtors website, so I knew what prices houses were going for, how quickly, and generally what was available in our price range. Then we went to the city we are moving to for a week and we saw *every* house available in our price range in the locations we wanted -- was about 10-12 houses. Ended up that there was one really good one so we bought it. But if that particular house hadn't been there we would have waited.
Lucy,Date: 8/31/2009 10:18:52 AM
Author: lucyandroger
Well before we started seriosly looking we went to about 10-15 open houses on our own to try and get a feel for different price ranges and neighborhoods. This was over the course of a few months.
Then we met our realtor at one of these open houses and seriously looked with her for just over a month. In that month, we saw 40-45 houses and she pre-viewed even more that we didn''t end up seeing ourselves.
We were really all about the ''gut feeling.'' It had to feel like home. The house that we''re in the process of buying is a split-foyer and our realtor didn''t show it to us for a while because we had said absolutely no split-foyers. Well, she was in the neighborhood one day looking at another house and decided to pop in to take a look. She knew right away we would love it and we did. We never would have thought that we would be buying a split foyer but it''s much different than the usual split-foyer floor plan and has a huge addition that give it the ''wow factor'' we were looking for.
So I guess my advice is to keep being picky but also keep an open mind in the process. Oh, and no, I don''t think you''ve seen too many houses...keep looking!
Hey Phoenix, I''ve heard split-foyers called by all sorts of different names - "high ranch," "split ranch," or as my BF''s family calls it "split level" (I think that''s something different than what we''re buying). Anyway, it''s when you walk in the front door and there is half a flight of stairs up to the main living level and half a flight of stairs down to the lower level that is mostly above ground as well. I just looked through the photos we took during the inspection and unfortunately don''t have a good photo of the foyer but I grabbed this one from the virtual tour. The pic is taken from the upper level so you can see it''s more like a half a flight of stairs. Hope that makes sense!Date: 8/31/2009 10:26:44 AM
Author: Phoenix
Lucy,Date: 8/31/2009 10:18:52 AM
Author: lucyandroger
Well before we started seriosly looking we went to about 10-15 open houses on our own to try and get a feel for different price ranges and neighborhoods. This was over the course of a few months.
Then we met our realtor at one of these open houses and seriously looked with her for just over a month. In that month, we saw 40-45 houses and she pre-viewed even more that we didn''t end up seeing ourselves.
We were really all about the ''gut feeling.'' It had to feel like home. The house that we''re in the process of buying is a split-foyer and our realtor didn''t show it to us for a while because we had said absolutely no split-foyers. Well, she was in the neighborhood one day looking at another house and decided to pop in to take a look. She knew right away we would love it and we did. We never would have thought that we would be buying a split foyer but it''s much different than the usual split-foyer floor plan and has a huge addition that give it the ''wow factor'' we were looking for.
So I guess my advice is to keep being picky but also keep an open mind in the process. Oh, and no, I don''t think you''ve seen too many houses...keep looking!
What is a ''split-foyer''? Is it like a landing that goes up more than one level? Do you have a pic of this split foyer?
Sorry about the threadjack, NEL.
Date: 8/31/2009 11:18:13 AM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Neatfreak, if there is anybody who I could count on to have a very solid basis for analyzing this, it would be you! I think it''s very smart to focus on those three Ls and not focus on those things that could be changed over time. I do weigh what will need to be changed against the asking price because I think about how much additional money we would have to spend, but there is no reason for me to prioritize anything cosmetic over the three Ls.
I also agree that while housing prices have softened a little and we do have a nice selection, houses that are priced competitively and are in a good location are going pretty fast--usually in less than a month. We viewed seven houses yesterday--two had been on the market for over 100 days and now I understand why: they are overpriced for what they offer. Two have been on the market for less than 2 weeks and I feel are well-priced and they had been seeing quite a bit of activity. At first I thought the reason might be because first-time home buyers are wanting to close by Nov. 30th, but after talking with the selling agents it seems that many of the interested buyers are families who are looking for more space and already own. This makes sense since we are looking for a home that will fit our family over the next 5 - 10 years.
This is also a good point--I feel like I''ve spent a dozen hours on redfin looking up sales comps and the ones that I feel were overpriced (overpriced = over assessed value for me) end up selling very close to or even under the assessed value. I''ve printed out hundreds of listings and keep them all so I can refer back to the asking price after it sells. There are some exceptions--I know one of the houses we are looking at is significantly above the asking prices because the assessment does not include a significant addition to the house made recently. Anyway, you are right--just because the asking price is high does not mean that the seller expects to get that price.Date: 8/31/2009 11:21:43 AM
Author: neatfreak
Aww thanks NEL! Something else to consider is that those overpriced houses that are sitting? If you really like them make them a lowball offer! They might just be desperate enough to accept it!
We got our house for $50k under asking (which is pretty significant since our price range is still under jumbo loan territory) because we looked a teensy bit above our price range for things that had been sitting. It''s a great house but showed REALLY poorly (horrible paint jobs, messy everywhere, basically the opposite of staged) AND it was $50k overpriced. So we put in a lowball offer and they accepted it! So that''s a method that worked for us too.
Date: 8/31/2009 11:42:16 AM
Author: NewEnglandLady
I have noticed, however, that owners who are eager to sell and negotiate will list the house for a competitive price, which is usually at or under the assessed value. I know I tend to use the asking price as a measure for how motivated a seller is, which may not be very accurate.
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Yes ,we are exaclty the same! It is a blessing and a curse unfortunately...Date: 8/31/2009 10:44:29 AM
Author: NewEnglandLady
dreamer_dachsie, I definitely think we are very similar. You are very analytical and when you are serious about something, I can tell you dive in head first and try to learn everything about it. I''m sure you can relate to the analysis paralysis issue!
It''s very reassuring to me that there were a few things you didn''t like about the house, but accepted it and after the fact feel that you made the right decision. I know the decision wasn''t an easy one for you and I''m really glad to know that you are now very happy with it. When making a huge decision like this, part of my paralysis is the buyer''s remorse issue. Our situation is very much like yours: high median prices, many antique homes (with a lot of character) with a mix of new construction where previous owners tore down the old house and rebuilt. The house we were going to put an offer in was a 1970''s split-level ranch, which I did not think I would like at all. I went to see it because it was a good value and ended up loving the land the house is on. We ended up not putting in an offer yesterday because I didn''t think I coud get over the fact that I don''t love the style of house.
Also, because of the high home prices I know that we can''t afford absolutely everything we want (many can relate to that, I''m sure!), which means that every time I go into a house I think ''what would we need to change?''. Update the kitchen, landscape the yard, retile or refinish the floors, build a deck, etc. For this reason I''m trying to focus more on location, but that has its own drawbacks: more land and privacy but more than a mile from the beach vs. on the water, but not a big yard. It''s a lot of money, but I still have to make compromises and I can''t figure out what is most important to me.