Have any Oppo's bought or at least tried to buy a house?

"Tripper" (tripe46)
11/26/2014 at 11:16 • Filed to: None

Our first crack at buying a house is going really well, and by really well I mean that I'm ready to stay in my apartment for the rest of my life.

I'm not a patient person, and I have no interest in becoming a patient person. So right off the bat I'm at a disadvantage. The paperwork to apply for a mortgage is tedious enough on it's own. However we did have some good luck, we found a single family home in our price range that we like (which I have heard can be the hardest part).

The problem is that we the seller isn't saying yes or no to any of the offers. The (selling) realtor keeps saying things like "he is surprised that he got an offer" or "he's got no where to go so hes go to see if he can find a place". Finally after a week or so of deliberation the realtor finally admitted that the seller is afraid. If he didn't want to sell his house then why the fuck did he put it on the market?

Sorry for the rant, buying cars is so much easier and a lot more fun.

DISCUSSION (34)

Party-vi > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:22

This happens. A lot of sellers get remorseful when it comes time to put pen-to-paper and accept or counter an offer. Just make sure any and all offers or counter-offers or acceptances of offers are in writing.

The first house my girlfriend and I looked at we put in an offer and, after negotiating with the seller's agent and having them verbally assure us the offer would be accepted fell through. Apparently after the seller saw our offer (at asking price with money to cover closing costs on their end) she rejected it and raised the price of the house by $10k because she didn't want to part with it. This after it had been sitting for over 80 days with no offers.

Be patient. There are always more houses.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:22

I bought one about 3 yrs ago. It sucked. If your not patient dont even bother looking at forclosures. It took us MONTHS to get into that house.

505Turbeaux > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:24

this is ridiculous. I bought mine from a bank that had repossessed it 2 years prior. I went, saw, saw how many people were looking at it for the price it was going for. Made an offer 5 grand over asking to weed out all the morons and closed that week.

If dude is afraid I would really hate to be his selling agent. WTF is there to be scared about? Take the money and run. Or he is upside down on it and is getting the boot, in which case you might be dealing with a short sale soon enough

haveacarortwoorthree > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:24

Be patient. And don't get into a bidding war unless you absolutely, positively must live in that house. And even then, don't do it!

burntartichoke > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:28

Sadly you are 6 years too late for easy house buying, it comes with the territory. My wife and I bought our first house this year and the worst part was dealing with all the lender requests, what a pain! Sellers go though lots, you have to remember that there are lots of memories and emotions tied to houses, so be patient with the seller. If you really want the house, it will be worth it. Otherwise, like Party-vi said, there are always going to be more.

Tekamul > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:28

I've done it once, in the middle of trying to do it again.

Every situation is unique. Sounds like the owner is probably downsizing, and doesn't want to let go of home ownership. Don't be afraid to put a short time table on the offer. That brings people to reality quickly.

But don't wait around, be ready to move on. Real estate moves quick.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:31

Keep on the seller or real estate guy. The real estate agent probably is pushing the seller anyway since that is the only way he gets paid though. There has to be other houses in the area that you could look at, might be time to give up on this one if the seller isn't moving.

Roadster Man > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:33

I've never bought a house, BUT... As with cars: Don't fall in love, always be ready to walk away, and don't believe anything that is not in writing.

TheCraigy > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:38

Look at other houses.

If you are just waiting around on this asshole he'll never have incentive to respond (let alone allow you to negotiate a lower price).

If you look at and offer on other homes you come across as a serious, motivated buyer.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:39

Just went down this road, my issue that basically casued the whole thing to fold on the house we really wanted was that I haven't bought anything on credit since the early 2000s. Was always raised that if you didn't have the money for it, you didn;t need it.

The whole being in debt to go even more into debt thing dumbfounds me. It's not like it's a car that I can skip payments and run away with. It's a damned house.

Fuck the banks.

ACESandEIGHTS > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:41

The "scared" part can be this: first-time homebuyers may seem risky with their FHA loans and propensity for the deal collapsing. You'll definitely want to be approved for, say $200K or whatever, and then not shop for houses over that price.

As far as bargaining goes: everyone will entertain a discount if their house has been on the market long enough (typically after the third week you'll see prices start to drop, and after a month and a half they're going to accept much less), but it just depends on how much of a haircut they're willing to take. I trimmed my house's purchase price by a bit and when sold I accepted a little less (98% of asking), as one deal had already fallen through in week one, and the house appeared damaged goods at that point.

Be careful too about remedy. If something obviously offends (those pipes are wrapped in asbestos; those cracks are descending far below the top of the foundation; your realtor has serious concerns about 'X'), demand it be fixed or just disregard the sale altogether if needed. Aggressive demands for remedy (ground all the outlets, fix the cracks in the ceiling, replace the kitchen faucet etc. before we'll buy) are sometimes bargaining chips: one or two of them might score you $1,000 off the total sales price, but a laundry list will be seen as your attempt to gouge away at an already potentially discounted house.

People get stressed at the thought of selling their house to begin with. Add to it a craigslist air of 'gimme a bargain' and they'll balk.

It's a "Porch-uh" > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:48

Home ownership is great and horrible. Great in that you have your own place to do as you wish (unless you line in a HOA... don't do it). Horrible in that you have to maintain it. I curse my house on a regular basis. If I wasn't afraid of going to jail I'd burn the place to the ground and collect the insurance (but I am afraid of jail, just to be clear Allstate).

Tripper > 505Turbeaux
11/26/2014 at 11:48

It's the weirdest thing, were good buyers! we have a standard mortgage (no FHA). The guy owns the house, its been on the market for a while and hes had no offers. The only weird thing is that the guy has a "Stay at home kid" well into his 30's... I don't know man but I think I'm going to have to take a hiatus before getting back into this nonsense.

Tripper > Roadster Man
11/26/2014 at 11:49

Yea but when you walk away from a car, the salesman comes running after you haha, not the same with a house.

E92M3 > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:51

Usually this type of seller thinks they can find a house for $30k more that's much nicer than theirs. When it comes time to actually find one they realize it's not that easy. The neighborhood might not be that great, or it's by a noisy highway, etc. Looking at pictures online can give you a different impression than what it looks like in real life.

Tripper > ACESandEIGHTS
11/26/2014 at 11:53

Good advice, thanks. The weird part is that were good buyers! We've been approved for more than list price of the house, it's not an FHA loan, and were putting 20% down. We even said that we would be flexible with the settlement date. There are no other houses in the area in which we are looking that we like, so chances are we will forget about this one and wait until something else comes along.

EL_ULY > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:54

Yes, recently . A good agent is key. They get paid by the home search websites and such. They will show you an infinite amount of homes and help you along the way.

As for your case, it happened to me twice with both dumbass owners ending up not accepting my offer then re listing at a higher price. The overall process is hell, SOOOOOOOO much paperwork and you'll have to keep redoing it all over and over if any changes are made during the approval with the lender. closing takes about an hour going over a warehouse full of papers. But of course, it is all worth it

ACESandEIGHTS > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:55

Gotta prepare for that too. I hate missing out on the one I thought I'd buy, but yeah that's a possibility.

505Turbeaux > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 11:57

ha oh boy, sounds like he has some issues to deal with then. Too bad, you are approved, you have the money. Why list it if you are going to be wishy washy. Sorry to hear. There are alot of good sellers out there though to buy from. What is your general vicinity? Just curious as to if it is heavy on REO's so you can just deal with some cold, faceless someone at a bank like I did.

"here is the offer"

"yes/no"

DONE

Roadster Man > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 12:00

Hahaha that is true. It definitely makes things tougher. Like a few other guys said, the RE Agent wants his commission. So he'll do his best to push the seller. If he's a good agent this might take time for him to do some coaxing.

But again, no promises unless it's in writing. Just know that you can get screwed up until you're sitting at the closing table- even after the contract is signed.

BTW, make sure you get a lawyer for the closing. Better safe than sorry.

Tripper > EL_ULY
11/26/2014 at 12:01

I actually like our agent, the biggest problem is that there is not a lot available where we are looking. True single family homes (not a twin/duplex) that you would actually want to buy are tough to find sub 400k. I guess we will be waiting until something better comes along.

kanadanmajava1 > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 12:04

I'm about to buy a house. Today there was a condition check for the house and anything weird wasn't found. So the deal is going to happen. In the next week I will sign the loan papers, send the money and then I will become the owner of that house.

And yes, it has a big garage!

Tripper > 505Turbeaux
11/26/2014 at 12:04

Suburbs of Philadelphia otherwise known as "The Mainline". Which is obviously part of our struggle (finding something affordable).

blacktruck18 > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 12:06

When we bought our place everything was awesome right up until closing. The escrow company kept messed up the paperwork 5 times and closing took 3 weeks longer than it was supposed to and we ended up having to live in a hotel for a week (escrow company paid for it) because or lease was up. My biggest advice is have a back up plan for a place to live if everything goes to shit.

Tripper > E92M3
11/26/2014 at 12:06

You're right lol the neighborhood isn't that great...which is why we could afford the house

505Turbeaux > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 12:08

ah yeah I know that can be ridiculous down there. Up here in Portland Maine it was tough, which is why I went with a REO. Don't know if you are looking into putting some sweat equity for a place. I bought mine on an FHA loan for 162Km, paid it off within a few years (I struggled to do this), didnt pull any money out, and put about 2 years of labor into the place and 20K cash. Now worth 425-475K so I am set with it. If you can do this and have some skills I highly recommend it.

Tripper > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 12:08

Honestly this has been great guys. I was super pissed off about the whole situation. I feel much better having heard everyone's advice/similar situations.

sellphones2493 > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 12:22

I have made some really good stock calls over the years. However, I sold a lot of big stocks this year, making me incredibly liquid. I don't really want to touch the market right now, as it's in a bubble and it's way too unpredictable.

Instead of my money just sitting there, I decided I'd make a move into real-estate and purchase an investment property in Hamden, CT. Hamden is a college town for Quinnipiac University (where I go to school). The demand for off-campus housing is growing a lot. I did the math and with a 3-4BR ~$175,000 house, I'd be looking at about $900-$1200 profit per month. Not too shabby for not doing a whole lot.

It's pretty sad that our system works this way, but I opened a credit card the day I turned 18, and have built my credit up ever since. I have maybe 3 cards now, always payed on time and usually ~$20 over every month. At my current age of 21, I was able to apply and attain a pre-approval for a 4.125% mortgage. This is solely based off my credit score and stock money that I got to become some sort of fixed income. Keep in mind, I am a college student without a job and only three years of credit history. It kinda explains a lot why there are so many foreclosures out there!

Anyway, I found a few houses I wanted pretty badly. I had interested renters already and everything was pretty much working out. I was pretty much set to own some real-estate until...

The town of Hamden and Quinnipiac University don't get along. Being a non-profit (technically), the school doesn't really pay a whole lot to the town, which also hates us because it means college kids. College kids like to drink, drive fast, and generally make towns slightly less pleasant. They issued housing permits in 2009, and haven't re-issued them ever since, even with the school population growing every year.

With that said, all my aspirations of becoming an investment property owner fell through because it's 100% impossible to attain a 'student housing permit' in Hamden, because they want to keep as many college kids out of residential areas as possible.

My other option was to get a house in the neighboring town of Cheshire, Connecticut, but Cheshire is expensive because it's nicer, making it financially stupid to get a rental property there.

Sorry, I had to vent a little. In the meantime, I put some money in a nice ETF that's safe and slowly growing.

Best of luck!

E92M3 > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 12:36

What I meant was the person selling the house has dreams of moving up. They've looked online and see all these houses for just a little more money they could get if they sold thiers. They have this idea that if they can get a contract on theirs they can find a new house in a weekend. Then they realize it's not that easy, and have 2nd thoughts.

Tohru > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 12:50

I bought my house June 2010 as a bank foreclosure. The bank didn't actually have the house listed with any realtor or MLS service, just a sign in the window that said "For Sale By Owner" with the branch phone number on it.

Called the number, got the loan officer to come unlock the house within 20 minutes, checked it out with my realtor. It had been winterized because it had sat empty for 8 months. I called and scheduled a home inspector and a plumber - inspector to make sure the house was worth buying, plumber to make sure that the house could get un-winterized without significant cash outlay.

Both inspections came back positive, so it was off to talk to the bank. They were asking $39,000, with 10% down - on a house I later learned they were into for $62,000 from the previous owner's mortgage and construction loans. I negotiated down to $35,000 and 5% down, on a 20 year note with a 3 year fixed APR, and adjustable-rate after that.

The big mistake I did - and I did this because I didn't know about it - is I did not set up an escrow for property taxes, insurance, and city sewer. If you buy a house, set up an escrow for those things. It adds some money to your mortgage payment every month, but then at the end of the year you don't have to worry about that property tax bill (~$800-850 for my house) or the insurance (~$450/yr.).

EL_ULY > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 12:56

same problem here. A buyer's market. no new home were being built and interest rate were low (I got 4.00%). As soon as a house went on the market, a million people already put bids in

DoYouEvenShift > Tripper
11/26/2014 at 13:03

Good luck to you man. Im on the same boat as you, I am not, or care to be the most patient person. Ive bought my first house 5 years ago. That was a pain in the ass in itself because of the realtors, the sellers, the paperwork, the lenders. Now I spent the 4 months buying a new home from 1800 miles away. That was a challenge that really tests your, or my case, lack of patience. The hardest part of the deal was dealing with the lender. I have a good job, very good credit, and no debt. Soooo much faxing and emailing, and phone calls. Sending the same paperwork multiple times. Everybody wants a check for this and that. All said and done, it was the 3rd house I made an offer on that finally went through. Lots of highs and lows through the whole process. Now I need someone to buy my current house so I can move into my new one. Best advice I can give is don't fall in love with anything specific, because the house you end up getting is the one you least expect. Good luck.

misfitmascots > Tripper
02/13/2015 at 12:12

I just bought one about 3 months ago. We had it built because we didn't want to deal with some sellers BS. The whole process was still long and tedious.

philsphan09 > sellphones2493
07/26/2015 at 09:09

Just reading this. Went to QU (graduated ‘09) and was invoked with SGA. We dealt with this shit all the time. One of my friends bought a house at the Hamden / Cheshire border (near aunchies) and I think they gave him less aggravation