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The Poojer

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1 hour ago, Buffalo_Gal said:


I want my next house to be next door to my favorite winery.  ???

49 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

Napa?  Sonoma? France? 

 

Can I visit????

 

We need more Bills fans here in Sonoma...If your favorite winery isn't here, there are over 400 to sample from to find your new favorite :D

 

 

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2 minutes ago, 707BillsFan said:

 

We need more Bills fans here in Sonoma...If your favorite winery isn't here, there are over 400 to sample from to find your new favorite :D

 

 

 

 

If you’ll buy me a house.... 

 

The wife was offer the San Francisco market. Cost of living was one serious part of the decision. (Proximity to family was #1)  And they ship Silver Oak everywhere!  :)

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17 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

 

If you’ll buy me a house.... 

 

The wife was offer the San Francisco market. Cost of living was one serious part of the decision. (Proximity to family was #1)  And they ship Silver Oak everywhere!  :)

This little beaut recently sold for a reasonable price. Right down the road from Charles Schulz' ice arena (Snoopy's Home Ice)  :lol:  https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/137-Anacapa-Dr_Santa-Rosa_CA_95403_M17292-77164

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7 minutes ago, 707BillsFan said:

This little beaut recently sold for a reasonable price. Right down the road from Charles Schulz' ice arena (Snoopy's Home Ice)  :lol:  https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/137-Anacapa-Dr_Santa-Rosa_CA_95403_M17292-77164

 

That’s a real charmer! Do they still have the wheels? 

 

I’ve been in thousands of properties reviewed appraisals from almost every state. There’s some crazy arse stuff out there! And crazy values to go with it! Good and bad. Both how could this be worth so much, and how could this be worth less than ZERO?  Sometimes that’s the case...less than zero. 

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1 hour ago, The Poojer said:

 

Buying 

That’s the issue. If you tell a “buyer agent” you want to buy a house, and let’s say your budget is 200k, they will make an offer and every listing agent will want to maximize their commission (or be a buyer/seller agent and not have to split commission with a buyer’s agent). On a 200k sale at 6%, the listing agent is much more likely to dicker on price if they know they are getting the FULL 6% than if they have to split it with a buyer’s agent. Sometimes it’s ok to deal with the listing agent directly...especially if you can’t find an agent to handle your side. In that case, hire an atty to represent you but cut out the buyer’s agent. You may find it easier to get where you want to be. 

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7 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

That’s the issue. If you tell a “buyer agent” you want to buy a house, and let’s say your budget is 200k, they will make an offer and every listing agent will want to maximize their commission (or be a buyer/seller agent and not have to split commission with a buyer’s agent). On a 200k sale at 6%, the listing agent is much more likely to dicker on price if they know they are getting the FULL 6% than if they have to split it with a buyer’s agent. Sometimes it’s ok to deal with the listing agent directly...especially if you can’t find an agent to handle your side. In that case, hire an atty to represent you but cut out the buyer’s agent. You may find it easier to get where you want to be. 

We bought a house in Chevy Chase without an agent. Made an offer that clearly represented no buyers side commission, listing agent was very forceful she could not present offer nor change listing agreemnt..i said I believe you not only can do both, you are Obligated to present the offer.  We got the deal, she changed agreement from 6% to 4%. 

 

Montgomery County Realtors had all the necessary paperwork in terms of the standard offer, spaces to put in our contingencies etc, quite easy. We did not hire an attorney, did not see a reason too. But we had bought two houses together before that, 4 total, knew the drill a bit. 

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i've bought two houses in my life.  both times i thought looking for a house would be fun.   both times i was very wrong.  

 

in the rochester area, (i'm sure it's the case with most areas) the realtor mostly depends on the house pricing.  for instance, a woman named holly creek has her own team here that sells houses that are half a million and up, (which for rochester is expensive).  they're notoriously difficult to work with, act like they're doing you a favor, and are dislike by every other realtor.  they do manage to sell houses though.

 

my first realtor was useless.  she did nothing other than open doors for me.  i actually found my first house online, and she didn't even want to show it to me because she didn't love the look.  sure enough i made her open it for me, and it was perfect.  for our second house, we used the person who found my sister in law a house.  she just seemed to have good connections, and actually showed us our house before it went on the market.  in other words, i have no idea how to help.  i think it's just luck to an extent.

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55 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

That is where a well connected/tuned in agent for a particular neighborhood and price point awesome!!!

i think that's where they're worth their weight in gold.  my sister in law bought an extremely nice home in a neighborhood that people overbid for houses.  she was able to get it before it hit on the market because this same realtor is a member at a country club where most of the neighborhood belongs.  apparently the houses never hit the market.  it's all word of mouth, and there's still bidding wars for houses that aren't on the market.  she has such a perfect niche.  

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On a somewhat related note, is it still popular to write a letter to the sellers(when there are multiple bids) explaining why they should accept your offer?

 

If so, F that.  If my offer alone isn't good enough, I'll move on.  I'm not begging or kissing your ass via letter.

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I've bought three houses - the last one being 9 years ago.

 

My best advice would be to work with a realtor who's been referred by someone you know - preferably someone who's actually worked with them to buy a house.

 

Secondly - realtor.com has all the info you need and is kept up to date - possibly even real-time.

 

By the time I bought my last house, the only thing I used the realtor for was to see the houses I found on realtor.com, then, ultimately, to make an offer.  Everything else, I did/coordinated on my own (financing, closing, etc.).  But a decent realtor will assist with those things, as well.

 

Just do your homework, so you know the offer YOU want to put in.  When I bought my house, I knew it had been on the market a) multiple times and b) for a long time.  I told my realtor the number I wanted to offer (it was a lowball offer) and that's what she did.  Maybe I'm just lucky, but the two realtors with whom I've worked always tried to guide me in such a way that I'd pay the least amount of money possible.

 

Good luck, Pooj.

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47 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

On a somewhat related note, is it still popular to write a letter to the sellers(when there are multiple bids) explaining why they should accept your offer?

 

If so, F that.  If my offer alone isn't good enough, I'll move on.  I'm not begging or kissing your ass via letter.

I would absolutely outline in my offer why someone should accept and why it is in their best interest to accept my offers over others. I  did it t day in and day out selling software in order to not only secure a deal but get the best possible price, why would I not do it for myself personally?

 

POinting out things like allowances on house inspections, cash offer, pre-approved for mortgage etc can make a big difference in the quality of any offer, why would you not want to take 10 minutes and write that down if it gets you the  house you want at the price you want?

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8 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

I would absolutely outline in my offer why someone should accept and why it is in their best interest to accept my offers over others. I  did it t day in and day out selling software in order to not only secure a deal but get the best possible price, why would I not do it for myself personally?

 

POinting out things like allowances on house inspections, cash offer, pre-approved for mortgage etc can make a big difference in the quality of any offer, why would you not want to take 10 minutes and write that down if it gets you the  house you want at the price you want?

I was referring to personal letters extoling the virtues of your family and why they should live in the house up for sale.  

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55 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I was referring to personal letters extoling the virtues of your family and why they should live in the house up for sale.  

this still happens a lot.  my sister in law still gets random letters in her mailbox, stating if they want to sell the house in the future, contact them first.   i say why not?  houses are an emotional purchase.  some sellers feel a connection with their home, and want a family, or someone similar to them to move in.  if you really want a house, why not write a simple letter?  it could put you over the top.  

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Every home I bought (3 since 86) was a new build.   When you look for financing shop around.  

The last purchase was in 2009. I found a realtor who was pretty and nice.  Her office had a financing agent that I worked through as well as the the builders financing agent. 

 

The builder tried everything to get me to use their financing and I used my "competitive" bid to get them to lower the interest rate and points paid and I asked for a few upgrades. 

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16 hours ago, Augie said:

 

Napa?  Sonoma? France? 

 

Can I visit????


Tuscany if I had my way.  Last time we were there we had some super Tuscans I can only dream about getting shipped here.  There's also a nice little "Italian method" vintner in the Finger Lakes. We stop there quite frequently!

On a realistic note, we keep searching through Niagara County for something that will work. It is amazing how tight the market for a house on an escarpment next door to a winery is.

15 hours ago, 707BillsFan said:

 

We need more Bills fans here in Sonoma...If your favorite winery isn't here, there are over 400 to sample from to find your new favorite :D

 

 

 


Sonoma is just a little bit outside my price range...

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Look in the paper for realtors who have listings in your price range.  Don’t think the ones with the big dollar listings are better— they’re not and will likely give you worse service.

 

Other than that, look at the pictures and call one who’s hot.

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