The House Hunters Thread

[kittybean]

Thanks for the dust, NEL and Gecko! This is a short sale, and the bank has until November 17 to accept our offer (boo). I wish I could know sooner! I''d love to be moving in at the beginning of the new year. Our apartment is nice, but I can''t wait to have a place that''s really ours.

 

[Lynnie]

Anchor & kittybean... lots of dust to you!

DS... congrats!

Gecko... I''m hoping one of the houses works out for you! I totally hear you on being sick of apartments. DH & I went to our old apt yesterday to drop off the keys - we couldn''t do it last weekend because of the flu - and the landlord had already started ripping out walls. He''s going to convert it from 1 bedroom to two. It was weird... like he''s messing up ''our place'', but we know it''s not ours anymore. But then I think about all the things we have now that weren''t there- a dishwasher, washer/dryer, central air- and I''m not so upset about it - and am SO GLAD to be done with apartments. I''m sorry the last house was trashed, and I''m glad you guys are being optimistic. I can''t wait to hear those magic words from you... ''our offer was accepted!!''. It can''t come soon enough!!

NEL, I''m sorry to hear the market''s dwindling. Gosh, your road to homeownership has been LONG. I hope the owners of that house would reconsider! Both you and Gecko have amazing fortitude... I think I would''ve had a break-down by now if I were either one of you!

It''s taking sooo long to get this house painted!! This weekend was packed with obligations (a baby shower FAR away, a play, dinner with my dad), and we had no time for painting. I''m gonna start painting the trim in the MBR once I get my butt off the computer. Oh, and the main bath stinks like mold, probably because it''s wallpapered. And there''s no vent/fan. Why they would vent the downstairs half bath and not the main (with a SHOWER) is beyond me. Also, the double oven worked for about 2 days. Now, we can''t seem to get it to fire up. The owner bought it in ''76. It''s from Sears, so we''ll probably call them and see if they can fix it, because those things brand new run around 2K. I''d rather wait until we reno the whole kitchen to buy a new one.

 

[anchor31]

Lynnie - Congrats on moving into your house!

Diva - Congrats on closing!

kittybean - Good luck! Tons of dust to you to.

NEL - Sorry your offer wasn''t accepted. DH and I feel the same; if the seller can''t work with our budget, it sucks, but there are other houses out there. We won''t hang ourselves with mortgage payments we can''t make for a house.

gecko - I hope you can find something. I''m sick of apartments too... Somehow, we always end up with an upstairs neighbour that yells at her husband or children like a crazy woman at all hours of the day or the night.

Oh, and can you believe we had a parking war last weekend? The guy can''t park his Lincoln to save his life and then goes ballistic on us because he says we park too close to his car. We ended up having to take pictures to send to the landlord to get the harrassment to stop.

There was a showdown yesterday and the landlord ended up telling off the Lincoln dude. On top of all that, with the baby coming, we just don''t have enough room!!

Anyway, I got more information for the comps our agent pulled. Similar houses were sold this year between 1% and 5% below asking price. Since our absolute max budget is 4% below asking, we''re thinking about putting an offer for 6%. We want to visit a few more interesting-looking houses first (going on Sunday) and have a bit more information (age of the roof and that kind of stuff), but we''re seriously considering it. Ah, decisions, decisions.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Lynnie, I''m sorry your weekend was so busy and that the painting seems un-ending! You''ve gotten sooo much done, though!! I know you''ll get it all done, I have a feeling you''re like me in that when you move into a place, you want it to be painted and "homey" immediately. It''s going to take a bit of time, but you''ll get there!

Anchor, I definitely think you have a bit of wiggle room on price--NOTHING is selling at asking price these days. I''ve pulled THOUSANDS of comps here and less than 1% are selling for asking.

Quick update for me--just as I was talking about how nothing was coming on the market, a house popped up. A couple of months ago D and I found a house we loved and we wanted to put an offer in on it, but we were a bit late and another person put an offer in on it before we could. It ended up selling for $25K more than our budget, which made me feel a teensy bit better about it. Anyway, another house on the same street just came up today. The street is in between the ocean and a lake and this house is actually on the lake side (the other house was on the oceanside), which isn''t ideal, but the lot in front of the house is open, so there is no house blocking the view of the ocean. The house is huge (3,800SF), 3 beds, 2.5 baths with a 3-car garage and it sits on a half acre, which would be great for the dogs. The downside is that it''s at the top of our budget and I think it would need some work, so it may not be feasible at all. It''s in a town we love and since we almost put an offer in on the first house, I''ve already done a TON of research on this particular street, so I think we''ll go check it out this weekend.

 

[trillionaire]

FI and I made an offer on a short sale on Friday, and I was so excited. I LOVED that house, but honestly wasn''t 100% comfortable with the area. Well, I just literally heard from the realtor that our offer was declined, for another offer. I am so crestfallen. Looking at houses is exhausting

Sounds like a spiked hot chocolate night.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Trillionaire, ugh, what a kick in the you-know-whats. Such a crappy feeling, I''m really sorry. I hate it when you tell yourself you won''t get excited, but then you do anyway because you can''t help it--then when you find out your offer is rejected it sort of feels like somebody punched you.

I can also relate to being excited about a house that isn''t in your ideal area--we did that last week. By the time we put the offer in, I felt like I''d completely accepted the area (and am still looking at houses in that area). Truth be told, however, since our offer was rejected I''ve been looking more heavily at the areas we know we want to be in. I do believe things always work out for the best, so maybe this is an opportunity to explore the areas you love again. I don''t know, maybe I''m reaching here, haha. Or just trying to make myself feel better since I''m really frustrated with the process.

In any case, have your spiked hot chocolate and hopefully soon you can start the search again. We''re all hanging on for the ride!

 

[trillionaire]

Date: 11/10/2009 5:34:37 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Trillionaire, ugh, what a kick in the you-know-whats. Such a crappy feeling, I''m really sorry. I hate it when you tell yourself you won''t get excited, but then you do anyway because you can''t help it--then when you find out your offer is rejected it sort of feels like somebody punched you.

I can also relate to being excited about a house that isn''t in your ideal area--we did that last week. By the time we put the offer in, I felt like I''d completely accepted the area (and am still looking at houses in that area). Truth be told, however, since our offer was rejected I''ve been looking more heavily at the areas we know we want to be in. I do believe things always work out for the best, so maybe this is an opportunity to explore the areas you love again. I don''t know, maybe I''m reaching here, haha. Or just trying to make myself feel better since I''m really frustrated with the process.

In any case, have your spiked hot chocolate and hopefully soon you can start the search again. We''re all hanging on for the ride!

NEL, thanks for the words of comfort. I''ve been watching a lot of HGtv, and they say never to fall in love with a house, there are always more out there, but this one had been on the market for almost 6 months with no offers, and pretty much everything I like, no matter how long it''s been sitting, gets snapped up as soon as I develop an interest.

And I can completely relate to rationalizing the area where a home is, but my parents were not pleased when I told them the area, and I was almost embarrassed to tell our local friends where we were trying to buy. I did LOVE the home, and would have dealt, but I will NOT be looking in that area anymore. There are nicer parts, but I don''t want to fall in love with anything else that is going to make me second guess myself. So, back out tomorrow to start from scratch.

On the upside, I find it VERY romantic and sexy that FI is working so hard to buy me my dream home. (I say buy me my dream home because I am moving to his area and don''t have a job yet, and he''s totally deferring pretty much everything to what I want, as long as there is a garage for his motorcycle.) I literally found the place, and told him about it, and by then, he knew I loved it, so he just walked through and said, ''Let''s do it!" He''s really letting me take the lead on this, and I find it pretty irresistable!

I was sad to hear we didn''t get it, because I knew he felt a little like he couldn''t get the house for me

Well, lots of House dust to you! I hope you find your perfect home, and I''ll try to temper my own expectations in the future, but if I''m being honest, I''m still heartbroken over a hat I didn''t buy a month ago and sold before I got back to the store. It was THE most amazing hat though... promise!

 

[neatfreak]

Trill-if it makes you feel better short sales are notoriously a PITA. Just because there is a higher offer than yours doesn''t necessarily mean that they will even get the house. I''d keep your eye on it because sometimes months will pass without the bank even looking at it, and the first offer will find a different house and then you can swoop in. If the bank ever looks at the offers at all of course.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Date: 11/11/2009 1:11:17 AM
Author: trillionaire

Date: 11/10/2009 5:34:37 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Trillionaire, ugh, what a kick in the you-know-whats. Such a crappy feeling, I''m really sorry. I hate it when you tell yourself you won''t get excited, but then you do anyway because you can''t help it--then when you find out your offer is rejected it sort of feels like somebody punched you.

I can also relate to being excited about a house that isn''t in your ideal area--we did that last week. By the time we put the offer in, I felt like I''d completely accepted the area (and am still looking at houses in that area). Truth be told, however, since our offer was rejected I''ve been looking more heavily at the areas we know we want to be in. I do believe things always work out for the best, so maybe this is an opportunity to explore the areas you love again. I don''t know, maybe I''m reaching here, haha. Or just trying to make myself feel better since I''m really frustrated with the process.

In any case, have your spiked hot chocolate and hopefully soon you can start the search again. We''re all hanging on for the ride!

NEL, thanks for the words of comfort. I''ve been watching a lot of HGtv, and they say never to fall in love with a house, there are always more out there, but this one had been on the market for almost 6 months with no offers, and pretty much everything I like, no matter how long it''s been sitting, gets snapped up as soon as I develop an interest.

And I can completely relate to rationalizing the area where a home is, but my parents were not pleased when I told them the area, and I was almost embarrassed to tell our local friends where we were trying to buy. I did LOVE the home, and would have dealt, but I will NOT be looking in that area anymore. There are nicer parts, but I don''t want to fall in love with anything else that is going to make me second guess myself. So, back out tomorrow to start from scratch.

On the upside, I find it VERY romantic and sexy that FI is working so hard to buy me my dream home. (I say buy me my dream home because I am moving to his area and don''t have a job yet, and he''s totally deferring pretty much everything to what I want, as long as there is a garage for his motorcycle.) I literally found the place, and told him about it, and by then, he knew I loved it, so he just walked through and said, ''Let''s do it!'' He''s really letting me take the lead on this, and I find it pretty irresistable!

I was sad to hear we didn''t get it, because I knew he felt a little like he couldn''t get the house for me

Well, lots of House dust to you! I hope you find your perfect home, and I''ll try to temper my own expectations in the future, but if I''m being honest, I''m still heartbroken over a hat I didn''t buy a month ago and sold before I got back to the store. It was THE most amazing hat though... promise!

I find it uncanny how a house can sit for months and then as soon as you become interested, it gets snapped up. That is exactly what happened to us a month or two ago and my reaction was "well of COURSE there is an offer placed on it the same weekend we see at and decide to put in an offer".

I think it''s somewhat easy to fall in love with a home in an area you don''t love--because the home isn''t in as nice of an area, it feels like you can get so much more for the money. That''s part of the rationalization process ("The schools may be mediocre, but the kitchen is stunning!"). It sounds like if nothing else, it was a good exercise to determine in what areas you really do want to live.

I also find it very flattering when somebody wants to do something so grand for you. I really struggled with the whole house-buying thing at first because it''s all of D''s hard work that is allowing us to have this home. Nothing will change for me, he''s shouldering the burden of the downpayment and new mortgage (which was VERY hard for me to accept). I think the whole house-hunting thing makes you feel like more of a team and for me, just makes me feel very grateful.

I have no doubt that you will find something you love!! Who knew this required so much patience!

 

[brooklyngirl]

Greetings fellow house hungers

My DH and I live in the Bay Area, and we''ve been in the market for a house since early this summer. The market here has been extremely frustrating so far. We''ve put in 6 offers so far, and all the homes have ended up selling for tens of thousands above asking (sometimes over 100k), and way out of the range that we''re comfortable paying. A good chunk of those were CASH offers

So, here we are, still searching, and I''m starting to feel defeated about the whole thing. Bah! Hopefully we''ll find something soon.

Trillionaire I know how you feel about losing a house you were attached to. I did that once as well, and I was upset for about a week. I no longer get attached to houses.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 11/11/2009 1:25:49 PM
Author: brooklyngirl
Greetings fellow house hungers

My DH and I live in the Bay Area, and we''ve been in the market for a house since early this summer. The market here has been extremely frustrating so far. We''ve put in 6 offers so far, and all the homes have ended up selling for tens of thousands above asking (sometimes over 100k), and way out of the range that we''re comfortable paying. A good chunk of those were CASH offers

So, here we are, still searching, and I''m starting to feel defeated about the whole thing. Bah! Hopefully we''ll find something soon.


Trillionaire I know how you feel about losing a house you were attached to. I did that once as well, and I was upset for about a week. I no longer get attached to houses.

Oh I sympathize! We just bought a house in the East Bay and it is the same thing around here. Didn''t anyone around here get the memo that it is supposed to be a buyer''s market???

But we did finally find one and we are just thankful for the price we paid-some of our neighbors paid double what we paid!

 

[trillionaire]

Date: 11/11/2009 1:37:06 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 11/11/2009 1:25:49 PM
Author: brooklyngirl
Greetings fellow house hungers

My DH and I live in the Bay Area, and we''ve been in the market for a house since early this summer. The market here has been extremely frustrating so far. We''ve put in 6 offers so far, and all the homes have ended up selling for tens of thousands above asking (sometimes over 100k), and way out of the range that we''re comfortable paying. A good chunk of those were CASH offers

So, here we are, still searching, and I''m starting to feel defeated about the whole thing. Bah! Hopefully we''ll find something soon.


Trillionaire I know how you feel about losing a house you were attached to. I did that once as well, and I was upset for about a week. I no longer get attached to houses.

Oh I sympathize! We just bought a house in the East Bay and it is the same thing around here. Didn''t anyone around here get the memo that it is supposed to be a buyer''s market???

But we did finally find one and we are just thankful for the price we paid-some of our neighbors paid double what we paid!

Fortunately the market where I am looking is a little more forgiving, but I am frustrated that I second-guessed myself. I wanted to offer more than the asking price, (only 5K, nothing big) in case there were other offers, but my realtor talked me out of it. He had talked to the other agent about 36hrs before, and there were no offers. I should have followed my gut, a lot can change over 36hrs in real estate. It might not have made a difference, but I would have felt like we gave it our best shot. I was out looking at homes again today, and it was so depressing. I feel pretty irrational being so emotionally involved in a house, but you know how you are just supposed to ''know'' when you find your house? I just ''knew''. And it doesn''t help that it is gloomy and miserable out today. I just want to climb back into bed. I did go to the library... maybe I''ll curl up with a book and the dog.

I might need to take a few days off of house hunting, for my mental health. I''m also concerned that my realtor is getting too chummy and not being as professional as I would like. I don''t mind casual informality, but I was a little put off by a few things he said today, which I''d rather not go into.

Then some comment that I just used him, because I didn''t call him over the weekend after we submitted our offer. (why would I call unless we had some business to conduct? I never just ''call him.'') He also said he wasn''t available to show me homes today, and that he couldn''t show homes in another state, but when I asked him for a referral in the other state, he suddenly cleared his schedule and said he could show me the home. On the one hand, he''s been amazingly helpful, insightful, available, and easy to work with, whereas other realtors have been PITA''s... and I get the impression that he just gets REALLY close to his clients and bends over backwards for them (he''s married a few, is godfather to a few, and even helped some literally move), but I like to keep a certain level of professional distance. He grabbed my hand today to look at my engagement ring... I don''t like to be touched. So confusing. I''m not feel uncomfortable at this point, but I am paying attention to flags on the play. I guess I''ll see how the rest of the week goes. I might take next week off.

I might have to shop for new realtors... next time, a woman.

I wish we had just gotten the GD house, I wouldn''t have to deal with ANY of this...

 

[brooklyngirl]

NF I would be glad to drive around the Bay Area (large as it is) distributing this memo LOL. I'm thinking the issue here is that house prices were so inflated here for so long, that when they dropped to a more reasonable level, people started thinking that they're getting a bargain. I can imagine, if I lived here through the boom years, and saw houses that once went for 700K selling for 400k, I would definitely snap one up for 500k. It looks like a huge bargain

Trill I know you're upset about the house, but there's no sense in beating yourself up about it. There are so many steps to the process, and you could lose a house even if your offer is accepted. The bottom line is that you should pay only what the house is worth in the current market. You're not doing yourself any favors by overpaying.

Besides, you said yourself that the area is not what you wanted, so maybe not getting this house will have turned out to be a good thing. IMHO it's so important that the house buying process is not driven by EMOTION. You have to look at the big picture. For instance you may love a house in a bad area. If there is a lot crime in that area, you may not love the house so much once you move in, and are afraid to walk around your neighborhood at night.

There is a lot to consider, but don't get so discouraged just yet. You've just started your search, and there WILL be other houses that you love. But hopefully, you won't get attached before your offer is accepted. That's lesson in all this.

As for your REA, that's a tough one. I'd wonderful to have an agent who will bend over backwards for you, but if that comes with strings, I'm not sure that's a good thing. I don't like to mix business with pleasure, so I certainly understand how you would be uncomfortable with your agent's behavior. I think I would be uncomfortable too. Do you think it might be a good idea to look at properties with your FI, so you don't have to be alone with your REA?

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I had no idea the real estate market was still that hot in SF! I can''t believe houses are selling for over asking!! I do understand the "getting a bargain" mentality to an extent--in fact when I look up the sale price for homes we''re interested in that were bought in 2005 - 2007 and they are now selling for 20%+ less, I can''t help but feel a bit bad. Still, I refuse to pay more than market value in this market, even for a home I love. There are too many opportunities right now to get more for your money. D and I had a discussion last night about our budget vs. market value and even if overpaying slightly is in the budget, we are simply unwilling to do so...which is why we haven''t resubmitted an offer on the house we love. I figure that one of two things will happen: either the homeowner will realize that they cannot have an overpriced house in this kind of market or we will eventually find something we love equally for a fair price.

Brooklyngirl, are you looking again this weekend?

We''re going to look at a few this weekend, but I''m setting my expectations low.

 

[Lynnie]

brooklyn... I didn''t know the market was so hot there either! That''s nuts. I hope you find a house you love!

trill... I''m sorry you lost out on the house. We lost out on the first house we put an offer on and it turned out to be a huge blessing in disguise. About your RE agent - that''s really weird. Some people are like that, though - super chummy. He probably doesn''t mean any harm, but I understand your uncomfortable-ness.


Okay, guys. I''m gonna stop dumping this dust on you - it''s not working!!!
Gecko - here''s a rabbit''s foot for ya
NEL - WATCH OUT! Horseshoe comin'' at ya!

Seriously, though, good luck this weekend to all who are looking!

 

[anchor31]

It''s crazy how the market varies from area to area. So far, where we''re looking houses are selling 1%-5% below asking. It doesn''t give us as much negociating power than we would like, but at least they''re not selling above asking!

We''re going to look at more house this weekend too, but my expectations are not too high either. Since the house we saw last weekend and liked has everything we''re looking for (except for a garage, but we can buy one of those Tempo car shelters), we''ll most likely end up making an offer next week.

Good luck and lots of dust to everyone!

 

[trillionaire]

Date: 11/12/2009 10:37:21 AM
Author: anchor31
It''s crazy how the market varies from area to area. So far, where we''re looking houses are selling 1%-5% below asking. It doesn''t give us as much negociating power than we would like, but at least they''re not selling above asking!

We''re going to look at more house this weekend too, but my expectations are not too high either. Since the house we saw last weekend and liked has everything we''re looking for (except for a garage, but we can buy one of those Tempo car shelters), we''ll most likely end up making an offer next week.

Good luck and lots of dust to everyone!

where I am, things are going at, above and below the asking price, depending on the property. I makes it difficult to know what to do. The house we put in the offer for was selling for less than 50% of what it sold for in 2006, for perspective. It was still priced below market value, so even if we paid slightly above asking, we would have been getting a great deal.

At any rate, looked at houses for the last 2 days... one was mildly intriguing, but I''m getting better at being more detached. I''m taking the next three days off of looking at least... FI has off tomorrow, so hopefully we can just have a fun day watching movies, reading and hanging out around the house in our PJs, drinking hot chocolate! I don''t know about you all, but its AWFULLY cold here!

 

[brooklyngirl]

NEL: We planned to do another round of property viewings over the weekend, but my agent called this afternoon and said there wasn''t anything worth seeing. So, unless something comes on the market tomorrow, we''re waiting another week.

I hope you have better luck this weekend. Much dust to you!

Lynnie: The market is hot here, but it also looks like people are listing houses for a lower price then their actual market value (based on selling prices for comparable homes in the area). We''ve seem many listings where the listing price is 25K less than the market value. Whenever we offer, we base our offer on the comps, what we can afford. But yes, properties have been selling for higher than the comps.

anchor: I think it''s great to not get attached to this process. It can begin to be quite disappointing when you can''t find a decent house for a reasonable price. At least in your area you know what to expect as far as offering, when a house you do like comes along. Good luck!

Trill: Being detached is key to this process, but I know a great house will come along. Have a great day off with FI!

 

[geckodani]

Sorry I''ve been MIA folks. Needed a break.

Trill - Huge, huge hugs. I totally understand how that feels.

Don''t give up!

Brooklyn - good luck with your search!

NEL - Ooooh, sounds like you might have a prospect or two!

Something lit a fire under our realtor''s ass - she''s got 12 houses for us to go see tomorrow.

Some of them look like duds, but nice enough to investigate. 3 of them... well... I''m gonna have to try not to fall in love if they look as good in person as they do on the listings! Including one I wanted to go and see, but had an offer already. It''s back on the market. It''s... almost perfect on paper. 2279 sq feet. 2.5 baths. Master suite has 2 sinks, and this ginormous tub that makes me weak in the knees just thinking about it (I''m a tub person). It''s in the city we wanted. It''s.... a short sale. *sigh* We''ll go see...

 

[geckodani]

See me banging my head on my desk. Apparantly the perfect house DOES have an offer pending. The listing agent did not change the status. My realtor told him he has until the end of the day before she reports him.

I'm so sick of people not following the rules!!!!

It's such a f&#%$&^ tease!!!!

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 11/13/2009 10:59:07 AM
Author: geckodani
See me banging my head on my desk. Apparantly the perfect house DOES have an offer pending. The listing agent did not change the status. My realtor told him he has until the end of the day before she reports him.


I'm so sick of people not following the rules!!!!


It's such a f&#%$&^ tease!!!!

Gecko I am so sorry. BUT...can I ask why you can't put in an offer too? Often the way SS's work is that an offer is submitted to the bank...but then they still keep collecting offers after that and ALSO submitting them to the bank. The bank wants as many offers as possible so if they do decide to ultimately approve the short sale they can have their choice of offers. Plus, during this long process, people lose interest, find another house, etc. So almost always the sellers encourage people to put in other offers...

The seller's agent doesn't really seem to understand how short sales go down if they aren't collecting more offers still. Otherwise she/he may be waiting for MONTHS to hear back on an offer and then what if the original party loses interest? Then they start all over again? Doesn't make sense.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Gecko, oh my lordy, 12 houses?? I get to the point where I mix them up around 6. Hopefully you're splitting those up into 2 days or you're going to spend 8 hours looking at homes! But even if you come away really loving one of them, it would be worth it!

Our realtor got very ambitious this weekend, too, but we only have 4 on the list. The issue is that three of them need some work--one needs minor work (maybe refinish the floors, update kitchen countertops, etc.), one seems to need a medium amount of work (the listing just says "needs TLC" but the outside looks very nice...) and one needs A LOT of work. As in we'd need to hire a contractor to assess the amount of work before bidding and that is just not appealing to me. The fourth house doesn't need work, but I don't love the lot. It is literally across the street from the house we loved and missed out on, but it sort of sits on a decline, so you can't see the ocean at all (unless you go up to the widow's walk). The only house I think I might have interest in is the house that need a medium amount of work, but I won't really know until we get in there. Also, it's overpriced and has only been on the market for 3 days, so there's that...

All of these homes are in the town we want to be in (none in the town where we made the offer last week), but we might walk away from this weekend wanting to put in a higher bid on the other house...maybe that is our realtor's plan

Good luck this weekend, Gecko! I'm also interested to hear what is happening with the SS house, especially since (as NF said) you should be able to submit multiple offers...

 

[geckodani]

Date: 11/13/2009 11:04:22 AM
Author: neatfreak

Gecko I am so sorry. BUT...can I ask why you can't put in an offer too? Often the way SS's work is that an offer is submitted to the bank...but then they still keep collecting offers after that and ALSO submitting them to the bank. The bank wants as many offers as possible so if they do decide to ultimately approve the short sale they can have their choice of offers. Plus, during this long process, people lose interest, find another house, etc. So almost always the sellers encourage people to put in other offers...

The seller's agent doesn't really seem to understand how short sales go down if they aren't collecting more offers still. Otherwise she/he may be waiting for MONTHS to hear back on an offer and then what if the original party loses interest? Then they start all over again? Doesn't make sense.

The bank has changed the lockbox. The house is no longer showing.

ETAA: Here's the email from our realtor: "Well, nothing happened to this one-it’s still pending! Apparently the agent doesn’t even have access to the house now. The bank came in and changed the lockbox.

I was really upset when I found this out and told the listing office if they don’t change the status I’m reporting them to the board. It’s a bunch of crap that they continue to “tease” us with an active status. I told the office I’m keeping my eye on the listing; if it’s not changed by today I’m definitely calling the board."

 

[geckodani]

Date: 11/13/2009 12:25:38 PM
Author: NewEnglandLady
Gecko, oh my lordy, 12 houses?? I get to the point where I mix them up around 6. Hopefully you're splitting those up into 2 days or you're going to spend 8 hours looking at homes! But even if you come away really loving one of them, it would be worth it!

Our realtor got very ambitious this weekend, too, but we only have 4 on the list. The issue is that three of them need some work--one needs minor work (maybe refinish the floors, update kitchen countertops, etc.), one seems to need a medium amount of work (the listing just says 'needs TLC' but the outside looks very nice...) and one needs A LOT of work. As in we'd need to hire a contractor to assess the amount of work before bidding and that is just not appealing to me. The fourth house doesn't need work, but I don't love the lot. It is literally across the street from the house we loved and missed out on, but it sort of sits on a decline, so you can't see the ocean at all (unless you go up to the widow's walk). The only house I think I might have interest in is the house that need a medium amount of work, but I won't really know until we get in there. Also, it's overpriced and has only been on the market for 3 days, so there's that...

All of these homes are in the town we want to be in (none in the town where we made the offer last week), but we might walk away from this weekend wanting to put in a higher bid on the other house...maybe that is our realtor's plan

Good luck this weekend, Gecko! I'm also interested to hear what is happening with the SS house, especially since (as NF said) you should be able to submit multiple offers...

We're doing all 12 in one shot! Well, 11 now. We've done it before, it usually doesn't take long with some of them to know if they are duds, or if they warrant closer scrutiny. We shall see.

NEL - Good luck to you too! I hope you find something that knocks the socks off the other house, or that maybe makes you reconsider? That could very well be your realtor's plan.

ETA: We may weed out a few based on short sale status...

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 11/13/2009 12:26:04 PM
Author: geckodani

Date: 11/13/2009 11:04:22 AM

Author: neatfreak


Gecko I am so sorry. BUT...can I ask why you can't put in an offer too? Often the way SS's work is that an offer is submitted to the bank...but then they still keep collecting offers after that and ALSO submitting them to the bank. The bank wants as many offers as possible so if they do decide to ultimately approve the short sale they can have their choice of offers. Plus, during this long process, people lose interest, find another house, etc. So almost always the sellers encourage people to put in other offers...


The seller's agent doesn't really seem to understand how short sales go down if they aren't collecting more offers still. Otherwise she/he may be waiting for MONTHS to hear back on an offer and then what if the original party loses interest? Then they start all over again? Doesn't make sense.

The bank has changed the lockbox. The house is no longer showing.


ETAA: Here's the email from our realtor: 'Well, nothing happened to this one-it’s still pending! Apparently the agent doesn’t even have access to the house now. The bank came in and changed the lockbox.



I was really upset when I found this out and told the listing office if they don’t change the status I’m reporting them to the board. It’s a bunch of crap that they continue to “tease” us with an active status. I told the office I’m keeping my eye on the listing; if it’s not changed by today I’m definitely calling the board.'

Just so you know the listing office may still have it as active because they are dealing with the clients and the bank is not their client. If their clients (the owners) still own the house and are desperately trying for a SS-the listing may still be active even though the bank is taking steps to foreclose. So if the bank changed the lockbox it usually means they are foreclosing on the property-NOT that they are moving ahead with a SS. The bank doesn't "own" the house until they foreclose on it-so my guess is that is what is happening...

 

[geckodani]

Date: 11/13/2009 12:50:26 PM
Author: neatfreak

Just so you know the listing office may still have it as active because they are dealing with the clients and the bank is not their client. If their clients (the owners) still own the house and are desperately trying for a SS-the listing may still be active even though the bank is taking steps to foreclose. So if the bank changed the lockbox it usually means they are foreclosing on the property-NOT that they are moving ahead with a SS. The bank doesn''t ''own'' the house until they foreclose on it-so my guess is that is what is happening...

The whole think makes my head hurt.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 11/13/2009 2:09:32 PM
Author: geckodani

Date: 11/13/2009 12:50:26 PM

Author: neatfreak


Just so you know the listing office may still have it as active because they are dealing with the clients and the bank is not their client. If their clients (the owners) still own the house and are desperately trying for a SS-the listing may still be active even though the bank is taking steps to foreclose. So if the bank changed the lockbox it usually means they are foreclosing on the property-NOT that they are moving ahead with a SS. The bank doesn''t ''own'' the house until they foreclose on it-so my guess is that is what is happening...

The whole think makes my head hurt.

ITA! Short sales are a total pain in the butt especially if you are working with an agent that doesn''t have a lot of experience with SS''s.

Has your agent contacted the listing agent herself? I bet she could get the real scoop if she did...and if it is going into foreclosure you''d want to know because they might relist it as a foreclosed house-which is actually MUCH easier to deal with than a SS.

 

[geckodani]

Date: 11/13/2009 10:24:27 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 11/13/2009 2:09:32 PM
Author: geckodani

The whole think makes my head hurt.

ITA! Short sales are a total pain in the butt especially if you are working with an agent that doesn''t have a lot of experience with SS''s.

Has your agent contacted the listing agent herself? I bet she could get the real scoop if she did...and if it is going into foreclosure you''d want to know because they might relist it as a foreclosed house-which is actually MUCH easier to deal with than a SS.

Ugh. I''ll ask her tomorrow. I honestly don''t really want to deal with it. And since my realtor talked with the listing agent earlier, and basically threatened to report him/her I doubt they''d be all that forthcoming. We''re going to go see our 11 tomorrow... and I''m going to try to avoid falling in love with any short sales!!!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Good luck tomorrow, Gecko! I''m keeping my fingers crossed that you find something you love...and that it''s not a short sale!

I guess it couldn''t hurt to keep your eye on the SS that you love...it seems that NF is right and it''s about to be foreclosed on. I admit I know very, very little about short sales and foreclosures, but I''ve heard several times that foreclosures are easier to deal with than short sales.

I do think you can still find a good deal on a house you really like without having to go the SS route, which would be ideal. Let us know how it goes!

 

[Lynnie]

Gecko & NEL... GOOD LUCK today!!!!! Gecko, fingers crossed that you love a non-short sale house!!!

I really really hope this is ''the'' weekend for you!

I hope to have some before/after pics by Sunday night for you guys.

We painted the MBR a greenish blue (Mystic Sea, it''s called). I have to shop for a yellow and white bedspread and yellow curtains. I''m kinda liking this: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/matine-toile-duvet-cover-sham-marigold/?pkey=cpatterned-duvet-covers-shams
I''ve always wanted a beachy-feeling bedroom. After living in a neutral apartment for so long, we''re craving color! Oh, and we ripped that awful carpet out of the BR, and the floors underneath look amazing! Tim''s gonna get some kinda of wood cleaner to shine them up.
We decided on a celery green (celery stick) for downstairs, with an accent wall that''s a dark greenish brown (mushroom field, I think). Shopping for paint colors can make you hungry

All the trim''s painted, everything''s taped and ready for color (yay!).

Gecko - that sure is a lot of houses!! I hope I''ll see some exciting news here later!