Sven and I are looking to purchase our first home this spring, probably a condo or townhouse in Maryland. Cate gave us a recommendation for a realtor who sounds super-sweet. What advice do you all have to offer about meeting with a realtor for the first time? We have an idea of the area we're looking in, what types of places and a general price range. What else do I need to know? I want to make sure we sound knowledgeable.
-- midwest neurotica @ starxlr8.com {comfort foods, cottage living & sweet old fashioned goodness}
Posts: 757 | Location: College Park, MD | Registered: March 17, 2004
[QUOTE The hardest thing for us is that the homes are being bid up so high that ever seller is concerned about the appraisal... and we don't have the cash to make up the difference.[/QUOTE]
I had wondered how that worked in a hyper market.
Jen, I know you're disappointed, and, in addition, you want to get back to a normal life - not having to run out and see something new on the market and all the time that takes.
I know it seems trite, but when it's time - it will happen.
Hang in there. I'm thinking of ya' and hubby and sending mental hugs in your direction.
We just lost out on another one yesterday. I am quite sad about it.
We bid the asking with an escalation up to 56K over. This one was not as prime in location or decor as the previous. It sold for that 56K over, but not to us! Of 9 offers, we were in the top 3, but the winning buyer had $100K up front cash to pay seller's transfer taxes and any difference in the appraisal.
The hardest thing for us is that the homes are being bid up so high that ever seller is concerned about the appraisal... and we don't have the cash to make up the difference.
-- midwest neurotica @ starxlr8.com {comfort foods, cottage living & sweet old fashioned goodness}
Posts: 757 | Location: College Park, MD | Registered: March 17, 2004
I am just reading the recent response.....22k over????? And the winning bid was 60k over??? Oh my goodness!! Here, it is bad - people typically will go about only 5-10k over. I just put my house on the market and sold it in less than a day, with multiple offers. Only a couple of thousand over, appraisal guarantee, but I had to submit to a home inspection...ICK!! Luckily I negotioated to major items only. I should hear on that tommorrow!!
I have a potential listing here of a couple that is moving up to that area, but looking in the 500-900k range. Maybe it won't be as crazy in that price range!!
Good luck!!
Robin
Formerly "Robinbebe"
Posts: 420 | Location: SE Michigan | Registered: August 19, 2004
WOWSA! I didn't realize that the bay area was nearly as bad as that! I knew it was bad, because the bay area people are buying up all the homes here in the central valley and commuting to work (2 1/2-3 hours each way!!!!), and our house prices here in the valley have more than doubled in the past 2 years, but the homes are selling for their asking prices (within hours, for the most part)....there really aren't bidding wars going on. But this is the first time in a very long time, from what I understand, that the homes are selling for their asking prices. It is DEFINITELY a seller's market, but not like in the bay area, apparently.....although, I predict we aren't too far off.
Blessings,
Lori
Re-committing myself to a healthy lifestyle that will include regular (and increasing) exercise, and following the baby steps rule on food. 6/17/08
Posts: 3148 | Location: California | Registered: March 11, 2004
Originally posted by susanrows: Fer, I don't know if this will make you feel any better or not -- but no matter how bad it is in the DC area, it's WAY worse in the Bay Area. People bid $200K over asking and still don't get accepted...
Wow... we "only" had to over bid by $85,000.
The prices of homes in our neighborhood have gone up $100,000 since last August... it is just crazy.
This house is the EXACT same model as our old house. We asked $425,000 and the buyers bid $440,000. The asking price is now $525,000. You don't get much house for the money in the Bay Area.
Well, we just received our first rejected offer. We bid $22K over the asking and it sold for more than $60K over the asking - way more than we could afford, even if the condo fee wasn't as astronomical as it was! Oh well - at least we have things to do on the weekends now.
-- midwest neurotica @ starxlr8.com {comfort foods, cottage living & sweet old fashioned goodness}
Posts: 757 | Location: College Park, MD | Registered: March 17, 2004
Originally posted by Fer: We have a buyer's agent. No one has mentioned having a lawyer too!
If we felt like we could get our offer accepted with an inspection contingency in there, we definitely would. But we also cannot afford to spend $400 having 10+ different properties inspected and our offers rejected.
For the condo fee we're looking at - they had better have some reserves!
Gee whiz, this is so stressful. We're looking at buying a 3 br condo that is half the size and 3x the cost of my parent's house in Texas.
If you are getting a mortgage, then an attorney is really important to have. They handle the closing. They review your loan documents, and can catch any shenanigans the bank is pulling (my bank tried to take more into escrow for taxes than they were legally entitled to..wound up to be an extra $2000 in my pocket thanks to the attorney).
They also stand between you and seller if the seller turns out to be a pig-headed jerk. And at some point the seller will appear to be a pig-headed jerk.
My FIL is an attorney who does a lot of real estate closings. The best advice he gave us during our troubles was that in EVERY transaction he's done, each party reached a moment (sometimes separately) where they thought about walking away. Things get frustrating, people get cold feet, people get personal, and there's a lot of poker style bluffing in the negotiations that's especially hard to handle your first time buying or selling.
It's hard, but come moving day you'll feel it's worth it. And that's why it's important to have a good team of experienced pros working for and with you. Here in NJ that means an agent, an attorney, and an inspector. When things got really tough, we let our cooler-headed pros handle the negotiating. Without them I think I would have punched the buyer of our old house in the nose at least once. It was worth the attorney's fees to let him deal with those dificult people for me!
Fall goals: 1. Bike 40-50 miles a week 2. Prepare new garden bed for next season 3. Heal my back
Posts: 726 | Location: Jersey Shore, USA | Registered: March 11, 2004
Fer, I hear what you are saying...the market is so competitive that the contigency won't fly. Do you have any friends/coworkers/associates that might be considered 'handy' or at least a little bit savvy about those sorts of things that might be willing to go take a look? I have to admit, my first reaction is "don't buy without an inspection" but I also don't want to see you guys burn through 100s of dollars inspecting properties you might not get an oppty to buy. Also, just because it is not a contingency, there is still no reason why you can't have an inspection after your offer is accepted but before you close. There are LOTS of oppty's for a buyer to get out of a house contract that are perfectly legal besides the inspection so if you had it and something was found, you might be able to find another reason to get out. Regardless, at least you'd know what you are getting into.
As far as an atty, while it might be a good thing, I've never had one on my 3 real estate transactions. Of course, legal advice is also pretty much always a good idea but the financial realities of buying your first place will probably keep you from doing everything you could possibly do to protect yourself. Your realtor should be able to give you a good idea at least of problems other clients have run into.
Oh, I just had a thought...can your realtor get info on the recent buyers of other units in the complex and then can you contact them to see if they found any unpleasant surprises?
Peg
PS) The reserve thing is really important to look at. Something I definitely should've paid more attention to in my first house but got lucky because the HOA wouldn't vote for the $$ they really should have to do improvements. That being said, big reserves aren't a sure thing either...my last house raised the HOA through the roof for major capital improvements because they could w/o a membership vote and didn't want to burn through their reserves to do it.
Also, be sure that you have reviewed the seller's disclosure statement before extending an offer...they are legally obligated to disclose things they know about. There was a nasty little surprise in that on one property I was preparing to make an offer on last time.
If we felt like we could get our offer accepted with an inspection contingency in there, we definitely would. But we also cannot afford to spend $400 having 10+ different properties inspected and our offers rejected.
That is the reason the inspection is contingent on acceptance of an offer. And you may not be responsible for the roof, but I'll bet you are for the furnace and electrical in your condo.
My point is get an expert and pay a few hundred now, and have peace of mind rather than thousands of dollars of repairs later. This includes an attorney - which I think the Realtor should have advised you about. Your realtor is NOT an attorney. Yes, that person is working in your best interest, but won't be able to help you if there are problems with paperwork or the condo rules, etc. These are all things the attorney can help with.
Originally posted by Fer: We found a great condo to put an offer on, but we need to decide by the end of today if we're going to get a pre-inspection.
Do you have an attorney yet? I would recommend asking your attorney about the pre-inspection. Buying without one can be dangerous. Saving the $350 (or whatever it costs in your market now) can cost a lot more later!
alli
We have a buyer's agent. No one has mentioned having a lawyer too!
If we felt like we could get our offer accepted with an inspection contingency in there, we definitely would. But we also cannot afford to spend $400 having 10+ different properties inspected and our offers rejected.
For the condo fee we're looking at - they had better have some reserves!
Gee whiz, this is so stressful. We're looking at buying a 3 br condo that is half the size and 3x the cost of my parent's house in Texas.
-- midwest neurotica @ starxlr8.com {comfort foods, cottage living & sweet old fashioned goodness}
Posts: 757 | Location: College Park, MD | Registered: March 17, 2004
Just sat down for a second to read the posts for one last time and just had to respond.
Even though you aren't directly responsible for the roof, you want your inspector to go up there and check it out. If it looks like it is close to needing to be replaced, you need to ask the condo association about their reserves and any potential special assessments.
My parents live in a condo and their maintenance fee more than doubled because of a special assessment to fix the private road without any warning at all.
The same thing happened to my sil in Boston. A number of owners ended up having to sell their units because they couldn't afford the assessment.
I hope everything turns out well though and I look forward to hearing some good news up on my return.
Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
Originally posted by Fer: We found a great condo to put an offer on, but we need to decide by the end of today if we're going to get a pre-inspection.
Do you have an attorney yet? I would recommend asking your attorney about the pre-inspection. Buying without one can be dangerous. Saving the $350 (or whatever it costs in your market now) can cost a lot more later!
alli
Fall goals: 1. Bike 40-50 miles a week 2. Prepare new garden bed for next season 3. Heal my back
Posts: 726 | Location: Jersey Shore, USA | Registered: March 11, 2004
Just a word of caution: age doesn't have anything to do with anything if the construction wasn't good to begin with. The inspector is the only one who can tell you what to expect - and is working for YOU!
How would it be if they used less than quality materials and you will have to replace the roof in the next couple of years?
I've seen too many relatively new homes not live up to expectations.
Linda
This is a condo building. We would not be responsible for the roof or any structural or major utility problems.
-- midwest neurotica @ starxlr8.com {comfort foods, cottage living & sweet old fashioned goodness}
Posts: 757 | Location: College Park, MD | Registered: March 17, 2004
Just a word of caution: age doesn't have anything to do with <b>anything</b> if the construction wasn't good to begin with. The inspector is the only one who can tell you what to expect - and is working for YOU!
How would it be if they used less than quality materials and you will have to replace the roof in the next couple of years?
I've seen too many relatively new homes not live up to expectations.
We found a great condo to put an offer on, but we need to decide by the end of today if we're going to get a pre-inspection. We will either have to do it now (meaning tomorrow or Wed) or forgo the inspection as a contingency if we are going to have a shot on this one. They are reviewing offers Thursday.
Edited to add that the building is only 6 years old. Only occupied since 2001, when the first owner completely remodeled it.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fer,
-- midwest neurotica @ starxlr8.com {comfort foods, cottage living & sweet old fashioned goodness}
Posts: 757 | Location: College Park, MD | Registered: March 17, 2004
