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pokemom_gw

123 days on the market--one lowball offer

PokeMom
13 years ago

We been on the market since Thanksgiving of 2010. Since then we have had 31 showings (almost eight per month) and just now received a lowball offer. The offer is so low that my husband and I and our agent think that A.) the couple can't afford to pay more--they countered our counter, offering $3K more but still almost $20K less than asking and B.) they are looking at comps that are foreclosures in our price point. Of course, with a foreclosure, you know the property has probably not been maintained and the seller generally does not make any repairs.

The feedback we have received from people is that the rooms were too small, the neighborhood is not what they want, etc., but nothing negative about price. The only feedback we have on price from people who reject us is that the price is right. Of course, anyone who might be interested say the price is high or leaves no comment on the price.

The house has been extensively upgraded and well maintained. We refinished the tub and countertop in the master bath, and put in a new shower door and ceramic tile. Every other room in the house has either tile or brand new Mohawk carpeting. We've upgraded lighting inside and out, replaced the dated fixtures and even the doorknobs! Everything has been repainted inside with neutral colors, and outside to update the paint colors on the exterior.

We are trying to figure out whether things like granite coutertops in the kitchen make any difference. Granted, the house doesn't have the "wow" factor but we all think it looks clean and move in ready. We are just at a loss as to why we haven't had more offers. Not sure what to do next although our agent is going to try calling some of the agents that showed our property to get more feedback.

Comments (55)

  • brickeyee
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "We think we are reasonably priced..."

    The market appears to say otherwise, especially with that many showings.

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If we are overpriced, why isn't anyone mentioning it?

    We could lower the price a bit more, and we can bring money to the table, but it's going to be a while before we are in the position to do so.

  • Carol_from_ny
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sounds to me like you have your head in the sand. You don't believe those foreclosed homes should have any affect on your price. Reality is they do. When that couple goes in to get a loan the bank is going to look at the comps for your area including the foreclosed ones, if any have sold recently and from that they will decide how much they will loan this or any other couple looking to buy your house.
    This is why selling a house has become such a nightmare for so many. The foreclosed homes throw a curve into what use to be a fairly simply straight forward business deal.
    You need to decide if you want to hang on and wait it out or take what you can get before the next wave of foreclosed homes hits the market.

  • theroselvr
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It's hard to say without you posting a link to your listing. We can all speculate about the price or granite.

    I know what you're saying about foreclosures; we've had a couple in our neighborhood that have brought everything down. One across from me had 3 smokers who smoked a lot in the house. From what I understand; the buyer put about $50,000 into it before they moved in. They had workers in the house for almost 2 months; so my guess is they painted & did carpets and/or flooring. I'm sure their "bargain price" wasn't so bargain. My other neighbor listed at what I thought was a good price; about $20k more then the foreclosure; no bites until he lowered to $5k more then what was paid for the foreclosure. I have not heard if the sale has gone through as the house is empty. So his move in ready house actually cost less then what the foreclosure ended up spending after repairs.

    Think about what it's costing you every month to keep the house; then reduce the price some to see if you get any bites. Worst that happens is the low ball will be your best offer. I don't think I'd put granite in; if anything offer a Home Depot gift card.

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    These are not perfect comps, but they are decent if you look at the high school and it says "Smith." We are 1316 Cannes Drive.

    I like the idea of a gift card. I mentioned it my agent and she thought it wasn't necessary, but I think it would be a nice bonus for a first-time home owner.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Comps in my zip code

  • terezosa / terriks
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    On the other hand, not all foreclosures have problems. There was one in my neighborhood that was in close to perfect shape. You have to accept that foreclosures are your competition.

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We are going to counter at $159K and see if we can move up the closing date. If they don't bite, then we'll just lower the price to $159K. We'll see if that gets us anywhere.

  • chispa
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Always amazed at what things cost in other parts of the country. I've always lived on the coasts. In Cali now, and your house in my town (w/high rated schools) would be listed from $800k - $1mill. Crazy!

    Good luck with the sale.

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks! I called my agent and finally got her to admit that we are overpriced. If we can sell at $159 to the low $150s, it's going to hurt but it won't hurt as much as continuing to pay for a house that site empty.

  • gmp3
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I noticed two things about your listing that may confuse buyers. First, it says "2.1" baths at the top, later in the listing it says 2.5, but that should be fixed. Your exterior is really pretty, but why do you only have pics of your entry? If I were a buyer it would make me think you were hiding the rest of the house.

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm not sure why it's only showing four photos on Realtor.com. The local RE company, Ebby Halliday has all the photos and so does Sawbuck. I don't know why it only says 2 baths on the listing either. I'll ask my agent about that. I don't know how Realtor.com gets there listing info.

    I've included a link to my blog, which has all the photos taken at the old house.

    Here is a link that might be useful: The whole enchilada

  • LoveInTheHouse
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think it always comes down to price. When I'm shopping and I reject something and I communicate with my agent, I will say things like, "I didn't like the road," or "The bedrooms are too small on that one," or "That's my least favorite style of house." But I might have overlooked any of those things if the price was right. Therefore, for me to buy them, they were overpriced. No house is perfect. We have to weigh out the pros and cons. The more cons there are, the less money I will pay. If that makes any sense.

    That's a real nice house. Neighbors are close though. Too bad the agents didn't tell you the truth sooner!

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks!

    We were always blunt with our agent. If something was overpriced, we said so. I don't know if she necessarily communicated that to sellers, but we always let her know the price was wrong for what was being offered. We walked out of a couple of homes because they were too close to the road or the game room wasn't large enough (hubby wanted a pool table) and did wind up stretching our budget to get the house we wanted. It's difficult to compare that situation with that of our old neighborhood because there is no comparison between the two. But I do get what you're saying about the price/features trade off.

    Our house in our old neighborhood shows as a nice, clean starter or one step up home.

  • jane__ny
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sorry, I can't be helpful. Both houses are beautiful. I can't believe your selling price. I would buy your home in a heart-beat!

    I'm looking at condo's, 1 bedrooms for more than your asking price, (I just posted about my confusion as a buyer).

    What State are you in? I'm afraid to ask what you paid for your new house!

    I think buyers are as confused at sellers. No one knows what to price a house anymore. Frankly, we are afraid to buy anything at this point.

    I wish you a lot of luck,

    Jane

  • ColorfulLair
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Posting for the first time here, y'all go easy... I'm hoping to make my first home purchase in or near Carrollton next year, so I've been cruising local MLS listings and online forums hoping to get a feel for the language and the local market.

    Redfin is my favorite site to look, and your listing there has 25 pictures and the right number of bathrooms:
    http://www.redfin.com/TX/Carrollton/1316-Cannes-Dr-75006/home/31214208

    Your house looks beautiful in the photos; I can tell you worked hard to prepare it. It's not one I had clicked on before -- my search maxes out at three bedrooms -- so I can't tell you if I would have favorited it without seeing this thread.

    One thing I notice is that your description isn't very catching to me. You sellers don't get much space. The most effective descriptions for me are the ones that use it to sell the house and neighborhood as a whole. I like to see what's new, but not at the expense of mentioning the main things that are great about living there.

    You rightly point out your lovely entry. Other things I like in the photos are the windows and light in the living room, study and kitchen; and excellent lighting throughout. You mention new carpet but not that it's Mohawk.

    I see you have solar screens mentioned down in the data fields - if that's a significant expenditure (I don't know), you might mention it up top. I can't be the only potential home shopper in Carrollton whose electric went up this winter. Personally I worry more about the age of the HVAC than the countertop, but I'm probably in the minority since I don't cook much. :)

    Here are a couple of homes near your price range I did put on my favorite list, if you want to compare:
    http://www.redfin.com/TX/Carrollton/3810-Seminole-Ct-75007/home/32768231
    http://www.redfin.com/TX/Carrollton/1925-Meadowview-Ct-75010/home/33021722

    And here's an HUD home that's presented online half decently, so this is your lowball competition:
    http://www.redfin.com/TX/Carrollton/1321-Stonewood-Dr-75006/home/31220400

    Sorry for the plain text links.

    Good luck to you! Hard to believe how slow sales are even in north Texas now.

  • terezosa / terriks
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm not sure why it's only showing four photos on Realtor.com. The local RE company, Ebby Halliday has all the photos and so does Sawbuck. I don't know why it only says 2 baths on the listing either. I'll ask my agent about that. I don't know how Realtor.com gets there listing info.

    Your agent/broker does not subscribe(and pay for) enhanced listings on Realtor.com. For agents and offices that don't have enhanced listings Realtor.com "sweeps" the MLS and pulls the basic info and the first four pictures. Agents without enhanced listings should always make sure that their first four pictures represent the best features of the house. I know that on my MLS system 2.1 baths means 2full.1half bath. Without enhanced listings your agent will not be able to change any of the listing descriptions on Realtor.com. I would encourage your agent to change the order of the MLS pictures so that the first four are the best.

  • gmp3
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the link PokeMom, pretty house, hope you sell soon. Maybe price has been the issue.

    Thanks for the info terriks.

  • kats_meow
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If we are overpriced, why isn't anyone mentioning it?

    Well, no one gave us feedback like that either. Yet, we are selling for more than 100k less than our original price. So there it is.

    I think that when buyers say they don't like your layout or rooms are too small or it isn't updated or even it is not for them they are basically saying that it suffers in comparison with other houses in that price range.

    And, then there may be features about your house that don't appeal to buyers. And at your price then they just don't buy your house. But, lower the price get in some different buyers and they see the really great features of your house -- the features that perhaps cause the agent to suggest the original price and now the house compares favorably. And, if they buy your house then they have money left to change the things that they don't like.

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Believe it or not, we paid only $390K for the new house. We got extremely lucky and would not have been able to touch it a few years ago. It was appraised for the mortgage at $410K so we were very lucky indeed.

    I'm going to ask my agent about those things mentioned. She's an experienced agent and I can't believe she didn't factor those things in. She said she was limited in the length of the description. I didn't realize she could include more info.

    I think $159K will bring in a new crop of buyers.

  • ColorfulLair
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    PokeMom, I think she used all her space. My suggestion, for what it's worth, would be to condense and summarize the part about your recent updates so you can include more about the important features of the home.

    Congrats on your new home!!

  • maurenemm
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I hope the lower price does the trick! The house is very nice. When I was looking at the comps, your lower sq footage did stand out a bit. The new price seems more in line.

    We're listing our house soon and determining the right price is soooo hard right now.

  • brickeyee
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "Yet, we are selling for more than 100k less than our original price. So there it is. "

    Sorry, but what you payed has very little to do with value now.

    Hopefully you put enough down to not need cash at the settlement table to sell.

    Unlike what many people think, RE doe NOT always increase in value (at least uniformly and smoothly).

  • chicagoans
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Pokemon: I looked at the link and like others noticed that only 4 pictures showed. (Now I know the reason after reading Terriks post.)

    After the front view, the first thing I look for is always the kitchen. I think a kitchen pic will be especially important for you because in the property features it says the kitchen is 6x12. Unless you read more below you don't know that there is also a breakfast room at 9x8 so you are left with the impression of a small kitchen. The pictures show it soooo much better.

    Also, is the grass green there yet? (Ours is just turning, but we're a lot further north.) If so, maybe you should take new exterior pictures. The front of your house is lovely but the picture doesn't really do it justice: the bottom third of the pic is all brown lawn. I'd take some new pix (or have a friend who is good at photography help you.) Maybe zoom in a bit so the house is more prominent and you don't see the house on the right (but still see some of the tree on the left - that's nice.) Take a bunch and have an honest objective friend tell you which are best. Take advantage of the prettiness of the front of your house with pictures that show it off!

    Good luck - hope all goes well.

  • Billl
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Re: Why doesn't anyone say you are overpriced?

    Almost nobody says it. They say "the bedroom is small" or "the bathroom is outdated." What they mean is that in comparison to the other houses that they have seen, those are features they would expect to be nicer for a home in that price range. They think your house should cost less because of those issues.

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We are going to have to bring money to the table at $159K. There's nothing to do about it, I bought this house with my ex-husband (thank God he was never on the title) and he decided we needed to refi at the height of the market. Lesson learned, and we have to move on from where we are now, as opposed to feeling bad about the mistakes of yesteryear.

  • aaaaaaaa
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi PokeMom,

    My home is also in the market(FSBO) for 3 weeks now--it has lots of upgrades throughout the house, 7years young.
    I had 9 showings till now. Speaking to the buyers I feel that they are looking for low prices than any upgrades as such.
    Its only price, price and price.

    Anna

  • cas66ragtop
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't see how your price was really that bad. The problem with todays market is NOBODY wants to pay a fair price. They all want a bargain, and they don't care if they may insult you in doing so. If they make you a lowball offer and you decline, big deal, they will just go to the next house. To me, a 140k offer on a 168.5k asking price IS a lowball offer. I would be insulted by this offer myself, but realistically, this very well could be the best offer your are ever going to get - so DO NOT let this offer die.

    So you are going to counter this offer with 159k and if they say no, you are finished with them and then are going to list the house at 159k? Once you list at 159k, you will now have offers for less. Again, they want a bargain. They ARE NOT going to give you full price. You may as well give these people who are making the offer a little better than 159k if thats what it takes, and just have it be done with. Your ideas of continuing to improve the house also doesnt make sense - you are not going to be seeing any of this money back. It would be a lot less effort and a lot less cost for you if you were to agree on a price from this person who placed a bid. And then hope like hell they can follow through and actually close.

    I might know what other people may be thinking. Yes, you did choose neutral colors. The problem is you chose the same color throughout the whole entire house. Sorry, but a lot of people would find that very boring. None of the rooms really have a "wow factor" because it all looks the same. The white floor tile is also way overdone - it is even on the fireplace mantle. When I see large white floor tile, the first thing I think of is a school cafeteria or a hosptital. I view that as being commercial and not residential. The track lighting in the kitchen is very outdated, very unappealing, and quite alot of effort to fix. Other people may be thinking the same way. Even though there are some cosmetic problems that should be corrected, I don't think it's worth your time or money to fix it (unless you did want to pick a couple rooms to repaint). Your other problem is staging. You have a lot of rooms with very little furniture, and no pictures or decorations on the walls. None of the rooms have that comfy, homey feel. To me, the pictures even give a hint that whoever lives there can't AFFORD to live there, so therefore I bet they are strapped for cash, and therefore I can make them a lowball offer. Make sense? You can't be expected to go out and buy a bunch of furniture just to sell a house, but this does play a big role. I realize you may have your nicer furniture in your new house. I also realize you just painted the walls, and you don't want to start junking them up with nail holes to mount pictures. Its absolutely ridiculous to me that staging is such a big deal, but it is. Most people are very unimaginative, and are incapable of seeing how nice a house can be unless it is already done for them. Most people are also very lazy and very cheap, and are not willing to do things to improve it themselves. They want a turn-key house that is absolutely perfect in every way without them having to lift a finger. You can thank all those home improvement shows on TV for that. Yes this is a great time we live in - people want the world, and they want it for next to nothing.

    Your realtor.com listing shows one front exterior view and then 3 foyer pics. Why 3 foyer pics? If you only have 4 pics available, you show the most bang for your buck and you show the most important/impressive areas. The other link showed a back yard picture which was really confusing. From the front it looks like you have a regular single-family house. The picture of the back yard shows a very small grassed area with a big privacy fence - making it look more like a townhouse. It doesnt look like you have a very big back yard, and thats going to be a big turn-off for a lot of people. If you truly dont have a big yard, theres not much you can do about it, but you can give it a different "feel". The dark brown privacy fence isnt very attractive, and the plastic kids toys and the satellite dish doesnt exactly make that back yard very appealing either. I'd paint the fence a nicer color, get rid of the other stuff (including the dish) and set up a nice entertaining/seating area back there. Your neighbors are way too close for my liking, but again, not much you can do about that. Unless you could ask them nicely to pick up their houses and move them at least 50 feet further away on the days you have showings. haha

    I hope I gave you some new ideas and hope some of it helped. I wish you the best of luck in selling your old home and I congratulate you on your new home.

  • terezosa / terriks
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your realtor.com listing shows one front exterior view and then 3 foyer pics. Why 3 foyer pics? If you only have 4 pics available, you show the most bang for your buck and you show the most important/impressive areas.

    That's because many agents don't realize that Realtor.com will only use the first 4 pics on MLS. (unless they subscribe to enhanced listings) A lot of agents like to put their pics in order of how someone would view the house in person, ie., exterior, entry, living room, kitchen, bedrooms, backyard.

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think the complete list of photos does a good job of walking you through the house. When I bought it, I loved how the foyer looked--it was one of the main reasons I bought it. The yard is small but I think that's a matter of taste. If I'm downsizing and looking forward to retirement and have no children at home, I don't necessarily want a big yard. Since there's nothing I can do about the yard and the size of the house itself, I have to bank on the fact that the size of the house and the size of the yard will be attractive to some buyers and a turnoff for others.

    We repainted the house inside and out in neutral colors thinking it looks more move-in ready than something that may be in colors that potential buyers don't want. The staging was after we had purged the house, giving some things to charity or selling them, and taking down personal photos and other extraneous things that will tend to make a space look smaller and more closed-in. The house is now sitting empty. We did go to the house last night to water the grass and remove the playset. The yard was a bit overgrown so we'll have our lawn guy go over and cut the grass and I'm going to refresh the flower beds this weekend.

    We would lower the price to $159 to attract more buyers who may only be searching up to $160K, and because a few thousand below that is all we can afford, and even that is going to be difficult. We are in a bind because we really don't have the luxury to sell the place in the $140s and of course, every month we pay the mortgage is less cash available to bring to the table.

  • kats_meow
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "Yet, we are selling for more than 100k less than our original price. So there it is. "

    Sorry, but what you payed has very little to do with value now.

    Hopefully you put enough down to not need cash at the settlement table to sell.

    Unlike what many people think, RE doe NOT always increase in value (at least uniformly and smoothly).

    Sigh.... I didn't mean that I am selling it for more than a $100k less than we paid for it. We are not. I'm not an idiot. I don't based listing price on what I paid.

    I mean that we are selling it for over $100k less than what it was listed at originally. And, NO, this is not a case of an unrealistic seller insisting on a high listing price. I told my then agent that I didn't want to maximize price. I wanted to sell quickly so I wanted to be priced to do that. She showed me comps and recommended a price and I followed her recommendation. I am sure she thought it was supported by comps. It was only later that I realized that many of those house took years, yes, years to sell.

  • brickeyee
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "I mean that we are selling it for over $100k less than what it was listed at originally. And, NO, this is not a case of an unrealistic seller insisting on a high listing price. I told my then agent that I didn't want to maximize price. I wanted to sell quickly so I wanted to be priced to do that. She showed me comps and recommended a price and I followed her recommendation. I am sure she thought it was supported by comps. It was only later that I realized that many of those house took years, yes, years to sell. "

    They took years to sell since they were priced high.

    If you want a quick sale lower the price.

    Buyers LOVE a bargain.

  • kats_meow
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Brickeyee I did lower my price to more than $100k over our original listing price last year. When we relisted this year at the lower price we had a contract within 2 days of showings.

  • brickeyee
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You find the market price, though 2 days is a little fast.

    As it is you had carrying costs from the time you pulled it off the market the first time till it finally sold.

    If you had priced it correctly to start you might have had the the sale done.

  • teched
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We are moving across the country, so I have been looking at a lot of listings. I wish we were moving to Texas--the prices in Chicagoland are quite a bit higher. Also, agents in Chicago are telling us to bid $100,000 below asking because "everything is so overpriced." Huh? In what world does this make sense?

    Anyway, I have one comment about your listing. I really hate that term "pride of ownership." It and "well-maintained" signal the same thing to me: "Elderly people who have done nothing to their house in 30 years live here." I really don't think that is the case with your home. It looks lovely. Maybe a little color, as a previous poster suggested, would help.

    I don't know your market at all. We bought our house in DC in 2005 and have sunken $150K into upgrades believing we would live here forever. We sold for less than we paid for, and I thought my husband would die when the agent suggested the price. However, no comps so what can you do? As it turned out, though, the agent was dead on. We sold in 3 days with multiple offers. What helped us accept losing money is that the buyers have made concessions to us (free rent back for 2 months). Not sure if you can find something similar to assist you with your move/sale.

  • ColorfulLair
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Anyway, I have one comment about your listing. I really hate that term "pride of ownership." It and "well-maintained" signal the same thing to me: "Elderly people who have done nothing to their house in 30 years live here."

    That's funny. I've been interpreting those terms to mean, "This house is not a foreclosure."

  • kats_meow
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If you had priced it correctly to start you might have had the the sale done.

    Brickeyee you do realize we attempted to do that. We told our agent explicitly that we did not want to maximize price, that we wanted to price on the low end so we could sell quickly. She knew we had already bought another property and absolutely knew we wanted to price for quick sale. So, when she suggested a price and gave us comps that to support we believed her.

    As soon as a month after listing (when we were getting lots of showings and no offers), I suggested lowering the price. She argued against it. I insisted and we lowered the price. A couple of months later, I suggested lowering the price (never suggested by her). I then insisted it be lowered. (I actually think if we had listed at that price when it was first listed we would have sold. There is a lot more inventory on the market now than there was then).

    All of this is a key reason that after the listing expired and we relisted we switched agents.

    Yes, it upsets me that we had an extra year of carrying costs when I was loud and clear from the beginning that I wanted and needed to sell and fast sale was more important than price and I still didn't get accurate advice.

    Now, I'm sure she that she truly thought the price she suggested was a good attractive price. However, if she got it so wrong -- and she is in the business -- how should I have known then that that she was wrong? We had worked with her in the past successfully.

  • gmp3
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am wondering who exactly can determine the "correct" price. Seems realtors are as confused as sellers.

  • brickeyee
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "I am wondering who exactly can determine the "correct" price. Seems realtors are as confused as sellers."

    It takes a lot of experience and local knowledge.

    It has gotten harder with the number of foreclosures on the market.

    "They all want a bargain, and they don't care if they may insult you in doing so."

    It is a business transaction, no one is insulting anyone.

    "We told our agent explicitly that we did not want to maximize price, that we wanted to price on the low end so we could sell quickly. She knew we had already bought another property and absolutely knew we wanted to price for quick sale. So, when she suggested a price and gave us comps that to support we believed her."

    Sounds like a poor agent.

    "We are moving across the country, so I have been looking at a lot of listings."

    Find a rental for a while in the new area.
    There are all sorts of limits about what RE agents can tell you about an area.

    Buying under a deadline in a new area can put you in all sorts of trouble.
    Better to rent for a year and decide where you want to live than buy with limited knowledge.

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, we have a contract! Here's hoping we can close by the contract date.

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think brickeyee is correct--don't buy until you live in an area for a while. Unless you happen to have friends in the area and can get a true assessment of the area, schools, commute times, etc., don't feel pressured to buy before moving. We bought before we really knew what the area was like, and in hindsight I might have looked around a bit more before settling on the area we settled on. It's not a bad area by any means, but I would have liked to have seen more options before buying.

  • theroselvr
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    forgot to add- congrats on the contract. Hoping for a smooth closing.

  • terezosa / terriks
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Congratulations! Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly.

  • LoveInTheHouse
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Good luck!

  • krycek1984
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Is 14% really considered lowball? We offered 16% lower than asking price a year and a half ago and ended up paying 12% lower than asking price.

  • sheilajoyce_gw
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think the house selling period is just heating up. You had your house listed during the holidays, which must be the worst time to sell.

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We just got the inspection report and there are just a couple of things that need to be fixed. Looks like we are on our way!

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, we closed yesterday! Yay! We did wind up taking $6,200 to the table, the equivalent of expenses for four additional months on the market. But it's over and we can focus on our new home. We are so relieve it is finally over.

  • brickeyee
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "We did wind up taking $6,200 to the table, the equivalent of expenses for four additional months on the market."

    I fully realize it is hard to have to bring cash to the sales table as the seller.

    You appear to have realized that sometimes it is just worth it when you factor in carrying costs to have the thing sold.

    As an investor who can wait I have had to rent houses I would have preferred selling when renovation costs turned out higher than anticipated.

    It has been many years since that happened (I learned to look a LOT harder).

    The relief can easily be worth the money.

  • PokeMom
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The relief was worth the money in our case. We have already moved to our dream home and wanted to focus our energies there. Having to drive cross town to check on our old house was a drag. And there is some risk to having a house sit empty for a period of time--anything can happen. Much better to move on, take a small loss, and keep your peace of mind.

  • maurenemm
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Congratulations on closing!! Now have fun in your dream home.