Keep your fingers crossed!

[ame]

We put an offer in on a house tonight. We have till 9pm tomorrow for her to counter or decline or accept. I actually expect a counter. We aren''t going much higher than we are at now, because of where in the city it is, we know what we should be paying and what she should actually fetch. We''ll see how close we come.

I am SCARED TO DEATH.

 

[gingerBcookie]

oh good luck ame! that is so exciting!

I can't wait until I'm in a position to be buying a house....love house shopping almost as much as diamond shopping! Let us know how it all comes out!

 

[sevens one]

Oh Ame- I hope things work out for you with this one.
How stressful.

 

[Rowan]

Good luck!!!!!

My husband and I are also trying to buy a house. Very stressful indeed.

 

[alexah]

Best of luck to you Ame!!

We went thru the same > a yr ago when i was selling my Apt & putting an offer in on an Apt big enuff for the both of us (and we got into a bidding war - UGH) It's so nerve-wracking - hang in there - you've gotta believe in the long run it'll work out for the best...

 

[ame]

See I must be weird. I hate house shopping because I don't know what Im looking for that would be a downside. Luckily my dad and my uncle (realtor) help us out there.

I am scared. I didn't sleep last night, but surprisingly late night tv here isn't that bad. haha

I expect a decline and counter. I hope that's how it goes, other than an acceptance, which I really don't think will occur. We already laid out our increments for offering. We know where we are stopping and we are walking away if that is declined.

 

[MelissaSue]

Good Luck Ame! Let us know what happens! I want a house! I would settle for an apartment though.

 

[alexah]

----------------
On 10/7/2004 11:16:27 AM MelissaSue wrote:

Good Luck Ame! Let us know what happens! I want a house! I would settle for an apartment though.

----------------

our Apt is a home, no settling involved

esp since home is where the heart is, and, since we moved in together over a yr ago, there's no place else i'd rather be!

 

[ame]

Well, she countered with an offer 2K below her current price, and we countered with 2k above our offer. We only have 4K more we will go up before we walk.

We have another house we will check out on Saturday morning as a backup. If she won't go down, well go offer on this. Its not far from this one, is MUCH bigger, and is just as nice.

 

[Jennifer5973]

I know this sounds trite but if it is meant to be, it will be.

I have been through this twice and with our house, we bid on Good Friday and they wouldn't acknowledge any bids until after Easter weekend. So we waited for three days. We had to bid $10K over the asking price because there were 4 other biids. We got it and we love our house.

Ironically, the same "devout Christians" who wouldn't cloud their religious observance with house bids really screwed us and hid over $10,000 in electrical and wood floor damage we didn't see until the walk-through. When you go on your walk through, make sure you note where each major appliance is plugged in and if there is carpet over wood floors, have them lift up the rugs. They'll likely need a refinishing job--this is normal when wood is covered by carpets-- but black rot from water damage cannot be buffed out--the whole room of planks needs to be replaced.

And yes, we did have a house inspecton--don't get me started!

Good luck!

 

[ame]

Everyone keeps saying that

We know what it's worth as far as appreciation etc. so we won't budge off our final price. On our fax sheet when we sent over the counter-offer, our agent wrote on there that we were basing our offer on a median price per square foot based off the median on the CMA report because when they spoke breifly when we were writing our counter-offer, he implied that he wanted to know where we were coming from.

Ryan wishes he could do the negotiating with that agent. I am kind of glad he isn't. hahaha

We have thoroughly checked it out--there's nothing wrong with the floors, electrical etc. But our appraiser and our inspector are pretty tough on houses so we will be ok

. My uncle and dad will be present on our final walk-through. There is NO carpet in the house. I think 2 litle doormats. That's it.

How dare those "good christians". Just goes to show that the ones who make the biggest deal about being "good, god-fearing christians" really are no different than any other greedy sunuvabitch.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

----------------
We had to bid $10K over the asking price because there were 4 other biids.

----------------

Ame, good luck with your house! We just bought our second house and are about to put our current one up on the market. You think buying a house is scary. Try selling one. We're turning fanatical and my husband has self diagnosed himself with OCD and he's spending hours painting things like facias (sp?). . .house parts I didn't know existed. lol

FWIW, like Jennifer, we bid over the price asked for this first house because we REALLY wanted it & we're luckily we did this as there were three or four other offers too.

Michelle

 

[ame]

We will NEVER go over asking. Hell we might never go as high as asking. We don't want any house that bad.

We're cheap.

 

[aljdewey]

Ha....my hubby and I are in the same position.

We placed a bid on Wednesday for significantly less than the builder is asking....but what we can afford. We know he's overpriced...based on others in the area. We've seen about 25-28 houses in the few months we've been looking, so we have a really solid understanding of what the market is.

We bid 25K less than asking - they came back with a counter only 3K off their asking. We raised to 20K less than asking, and that's IT.....we will walk if not. These builders are trying to RAPE in our area right now, and it's crazy.

This whole process is MUCH more anxiety wrought than diamond shopping. hehehehe

 

[hoorray]

Good luck to all of you in your house endevors!

FWIW, DH and I have made offers on many houses. Some have been accepted, and some haven't. At the end of the day, everything has worked out, and in some cases we are very happy we didn't end up with the house. I don't think we regret walking away from any of them. Stick to your plans. After a while, it does become less nerve wracking.

 

[ame]

UPDATE:

She told us, literally, to go fEck ourselves. I eagerly await my cousin's commentary since it was her friend's house. We also found out that most homes in that area are so retardly overpriced that FHA loans won't fully cover their appraised costs and most people end up ponying up cash to help pay the difference. That is just stupid.

We found three to look at not too far from that, one particularly interests me but I think it's a bit too far south (south is only bad because I don't wanna be this close to my folks haha)

We just hope to see at least one of those, with my dad, so we can see if any are worth offering on. One is just insanely exciting us.

 

[KBerly]

i wish you luck AME! we were just in your shoes...it's so exciting, yet so exhausting. i am sure you have heard this, but don't settle, take your time, and keep hunting...you will find the one perfect for you guys, go open houses!!! woohoo

 

[hoorray]

ahhhh, I'm sorry Ame. It's hard to not get what you've been hoping for, but is sounds as if there are more out there, so good luck, and keep at it.

I think it's harder to sell than to buy, because you are really emotionally attached to what you are selling. Sometimes people do things that don't make sense to you as a buyer, looking at the market rationally. But when you are selling, it's your home, not a house, so its harder to be rational.

Anyway, good luck, and I hope you find a house that can become your home!

 

[yellowfan]

Ame,

Sorry to hear about the house. What area have you been looking at? West Co, South Co, North? I probably live minutes from you. You should look up any house you are considering to see how much they paid for it.



Lori

 

[Kaili]

----------------
On 10/8/2004 9:14:18 PM ame wrote:

UPDATE:

She told us, literally, to go fEck ourselves.


Wow! Doesn't sound very professional. I know that home selling can feel very personal, but really... I think that was out of line.

I'm sorry that you didn't get it, but that just means that there is something even better out there for you!

Anyway, if she reacts that irrationally, you never know what might have happened during escrow. Yikes!

Keep up your great attitude, and keep us posted!

 

[Kamuelamom]

Good luck on your house hunt Ame!

The market must be crazy everywhere. Try buying a house in Hawaii right now. It's like No. California or something. Just insane. I should know, I just sold my house in preparation to move into our new house we built. I cannot believe the prices of the market today. All things being relative, we bought on the high market 15 years ago.

Lop, I agree about the emotional attachment to our home. At first we (mostly I) didn't want to sell, but as time went on and the construction became so overwheming (combined with a *really* hot market here), I got over it and selling became the thing for us. I'm soooo over it. don't get me wrong, I totally treasure the years we've been blessed with here. I raised all 3 babies in this house. I'll miss the neighborhood but thankfully we are thisclose to our new house. I just hope I'll be able to adjust quickly and fall asleep there once we move. Now it's time to go forward and we're ready. Hopefully the new owners will be as happy as we were for the last 15 years.

 

[ame]

----------------
On 10/9/2004 12:52:39 AM yellowfan wrote:

Ame,

Sorry to hear about the house. What area have you been looking at? West Co, South Co, North? I probably live minutes from you. You should look up any house you are considering to see how much they paid for it.

Lori----------------

I grew up and live in South County, Oakville actually. HE grew up all over the country but thel ast 15 years were in Chesterfield and his place is at Big Bend and 141. We are looking in Kirkwood, Crestwood, Webster, Shrewsbury, Hampton Village, Affton, Maplewood, Richmond Heights and Des Peres. This particular house was in Shrewsbury, we loved it, but for that price it needed another bathroom and bedroom.

Screw it. Its likely going to sit stagnant on the market for a couple more months. Let her pay two mortgages.

All three of these houses we are checking out tomorrow are in Affton, one at Heege and Mackenzie and the others at Gravois and Weber. (by Federhofers) I think the latter two are kind south for my taste but we really like one of them.

Ill keep you posted.

 

[hoorray]

----------------
On 10/9/2004 3:59:30 AM Kamuelamom wrote:

Good luck on your house hunt Ame!

Lop, I agree about the emotional attachment to our home. At first we (mostly I) didn't want to sell, but as time went on and the construction became so overwheming (combined with a *really* hot market here), I got over it and selling became the thing for us. I'm soooo over it. don't get me wrong, I totally treasure the years we've been blessed with here. I raised all 3 babies in this house. I'll miss the neighborhood but thankfully we are thisclose to our new house. I just hope I'll be able to adjust quickly and fall asleep there once we move. Now it's time to go forward and we're ready. Hopefully the new owners will be as happy as we were for the last 15 years.----------------

Good luck with your move k-mom! I know you'll be happy there after all the work you've already put into it.

 

[ame]

Update:

We found another home and offered on it tonight. Its bigger, nice as hell and more likely we will get this. The attic isn't finished out but can be finished for 2 more bedrooms and another full bathroom.

I tried taking more than this but my camera died. These are from the online listing.
Living room:

front and back outside.

 

[KBerly]

yippee! very nice ame, i love the "dark" features of the house, yet still looks bright, great yard with a "screened-in" porch too! i will be thinking of you guys

when will they let you know, tomorrow morning?

 

[sevens one]

Ame good luck. I hope this one works out for you.
Very stressful time.

 

[cflutist]

Good Luck Ame. Like Jennifer said, if its meant to be, it will happen. Back in 1992, we (me and my now ex) found what we thought was our dream house. It was almost 3300 sq ft on a single story (but one of the smaller homes in the neighborhood), on one acre (rare in the SF Bay Area), ridgetop with a 240 degree panoramic view and only a mile from work. It was a house to die for. It had already been on the market for 6 months so we thought we had a good chance to get it. Well, we put our offer in, but the buyers took another offer instead (that buyer was a real estate loan broker). We were heartbroken. We continued to look at houses but nothing else appealed to us. Well, two months later, we got a call asking if we were still interested because the first buyer couldn't get financing (yeh right). Well guess what, not only did we get the house of our dreams, we got it $10K cheaper because now the sellers were more desparate.

Sadly, my ex husband divorced me the next year to run off with his mistress, and since we didn't have a whole lot equity in the home, I bought him out. Now I have websailor in my life. He has his own oceanfront property on two acres south of Mendocino. Life is good again.

 

[Mara]

I third the sentiment that if it is meant to be it will...in a previous life my ex and I bid on a house in the heart of the moment (loved it) and then hyperventilated afterwards realizing we didn't need all that space and we had overextended ourselves for our bid..thank god we were overbid, and we found a great new place that worked out. Of course the relationship didn't but that house made alot of $$.

When Greg and I were looking last fall, we found the townhouse community we live in now, just as they were selling out of the last unit type that we liked. There were only smaller ones available which we didn't like at all and couldn't even talk ourselves into. We kept looking and gave the sales gal here our name in case the model unit came up for sale. But we pretty much put it behind us because we kept mentally comparing all other places to this one!! Since I knew the chances were pretty much nil we'd get into the model, we nixed the idea and were about to put $$ down on another new townhouse community about 2 miles from here which we didn't like as much, but it had all the basic happy-house elements in a great appreciation-value area....suddenly this gal called us and said 2 of these units fell out of escrow and did we want one. YES! She told me later that she had 2 pages of waiting lists for these units and that she just happened to remember us from a few weeks back and found our information on her desk! Also, we got it for the price the other gal was paying for it, which was something like $50k less than the model sold for, and they threw in $15k in free upgrade options (gotta have that granite!). So in the end we had the townhouse of our dreams for a sweet sweet deal!!




So I'm a huge believer in the right house finding you and if the time is right...it will be yours!! Best of luck!

 

[Jennifer5973]

This new house looks adorable--love the cherry floors! Good luck!

 

[Momoftwo]

A house is just a place you live in. A home is who lives there and what you make it. We've owned 4 houses in 23 years. We bought the first townhome (1200 sq ft) when we were 22 and 24. We moved into our 4th home in late '03. We bought our way up, 2 town homes first then single families. The latest is 5700 sq ft (including the basement) with a 3 car garage on 2/3 acre in Northern VA. Prices are extremely high here. I always looked at it as an investment. Never been afraid, ever. No real stress involved. We've also sold the previous 3 and I'm gonna say something that may not be popular, but...

Everyone selling wants to get the most they can and everyone buying wants to pay the least, so where's the middle ground? We play the fair market way. We sold our last house to an immigrant family that didnt' have a lot of money and gave them a chunk of closing help. What I'd like someone to do for someone else or me in the same situation. It's just money. And for a while we didn't have any, but we always offered the market value, and not try to "get the best of the seller". Everyone selling is not out to screw everyone purchasing. Or the other way around. You have to be willing to offer what the market bears or you will not get the home. Prices are going up everywhere, not just where you live. I have a close relative who is a real estate agent and the stories I've heard are just amazing with how stingy people are. (And I'm a conservative, that liberals always assume are money hungry, and non feeling.) Go figure. I guess that would make that assumption wrong.

Saving 2 or 3k is not going to make any difference in the long run. If you really want a house, you have to be willing to make the offer. Homes are usually listed for what the market will bear and what comparable homes have sold for in the last few months. There's also nothing wrong with asking for something in return, like a home inspection, or closing help. Just remember, you will be on the other side at some point.