Corp000085 Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 This is more of a rant, so hear me out... We've known we'd move this spring/summer, since we were married last summer. We currently rent, never owned a house before. Anyways, we've only been formally looking with an agent for the past 2 weeks or so. Yesterday we found the perfect house. The only glaring needs would be a refrigerator and new carpet. They're offering a carpet allowance/discount. So, i'm going back today to do a more detailed lookthrough before we put down a bid. So, for experienced homebuyers, is this the time to start losing sleep and becoming excited, or am i getting ahead of myself?? I have a mortgage approval and funds for the down payment/closing costs set, so unless i see a crater under the house, or something to that effect, i could potentially have a bid worked out by tonight. I've just never done this before. My parents are telling me to slow down and look more, but i've already looked at every single house in town at our price range. They keep using their example of looking for almost a year, and bla bla bla. We're in a military town and houses go extremely fast, so this house could be gone by monday. Yes, this should be in a blog, move it if you have to, but at least i'm using the ot icon!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 If you really love the house then go for it. Just have a professional home inspector go thru the house and look for problems. Have a contingency to back out of the deal if the inspector gives you a report that makes you nervous. After that, dont worry and enjoy your new house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted April 21, 2005 Author Share Posted April 21, 2005 Well, i'm about 99% sure about the house. I just would like to go back and check out plumbing, the crawlspace, attic, foundation, garage floor, roof, etc. carefully before i put a bid down. I will know by the end of the day though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albany,n.y. Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Make sure to talk with the agent on how to structure the bid. This includes price & all contingencies. If you're in a real hot area & there are multiple bidders make sure not to underbid the house. Many new buyers assume that one should bid under asking. Sometimes you have to bid over asking. How much $ the bid is, is very important & have the agent-who better know-guide you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Don't worry about it. Just make the offer contingent on an engineer inspection and/or home inspection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted April 21, 2005 Author Share Posted April 21, 2005 If you're in a real hot area & there are multiple bidders make sure not to underbid the house. Many new buyers assume that one should bid under asking. Sometimes you have to bid over asking. How much $ the bid is, is very important & have the agent-who better know-guide you. I'm going to bid under, but ask for less on the carpet allowance. I'd be the only bidder currently. Also, the owner decided to stay outside while we were inside. Her husband is military, already at his new base, and she's about 8 months pregnant. The agent seemed pretty confident that the bid she drew up would work, as the asking price is slightly higher than the neighborhood average. She's going to do more research on things today while i'm at work. Don't worry about it. Just make the offer contingent on an engineer inspection and/or home inspection. She already stated that this would be a standard portion of the bid. It might even be NC law, but i'll have to ask. Either way, she'd put it in the bid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 My parents are telling me to slow down and look more, but i've already looked at every single house in town at our price range. They keep using their example of looking for almost a year, and bla bla bla. 311181[/snapback] People have told me this also. We just found the house we want to get, and this is the first one we've looked at the inside. Ou realtor kept sending us info on houses that were in our price range, and we were able to dump alot of them either because of size, or location, or features. Then the ones that survived that first go through, we drove to the area to see the outside. This one though did not come from the realtor, it was a friend of my GF's that owns it. It hadn't even gone on the market yet. We're getting the home inspection done Friday afternoon. After that will decide if we'll either stick with the offer price, change it, or not get the house at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Congrats! My opinion -- if you love the house, put down the bid and go for it. My wife and I actually bought our first home when we weren't even looking for one. We used to do the "Parade of Homes" around the area as something to do for a weekend, just to see some nice houses. Well, we went into one and really liked it. It was a townhome, had a basement, was pretty big, had a nice master bathroom, and best of all - in our pricerange! We talked to the builder (new construction) and said we were interested in one of the corner units, but we found out that they only had one left in that phase and if we didn't buy it, we'd have to wait at least 6 months for the next phase to begin. Also, that corner unit didn't have a master bathroom. He agreed to hold the house for us for a few days and we had my wife's parents come in from out of town to look it over as well. They really liked it as well, so we put the offer down and bought the house. Short answer - if you like it, go for it. There's no "required looking time" before you make a purchase. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownBillsFan Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Please do get it inspected though. I have a cousin who didnt and now is dealing with a black mold problem. A contractor is going to find things that "the average joe" would never. If there are problems, you can always drive the price lower because of the need to fix. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 The agent seemed pretty confident that the bid she drew up would work, as the asking price is slightly higher than the neighborhood average. She's going to do more research on things today while i'm at work.She already stated that this would be a standard portion of the bid. It might even be NC law, but i'll have to ask. Either way, she'd put it in the bid. 311196[/snapback] Two things. 1) make sure to include a financial contingency. From what you said the house is pricing higher than others in the neighborhood. While you are "preapproved" for a mortgage(hopefully not prequalified, big differance), an appraisal of the house will still need to be done. If that appraisal is for less than your bid, you may need to come to the table with more jack. If thats the case, you want an out with the seller, hence the contingency that your bid is contingent upon obtaining financing at your terms, and spell those terms out. IE 10% down, 10% second, 80% first, , and what you expect those numbers to be. 2) If you know the neighborhood great! If not, try to visit at rush hours to get a sence of traffic(have a friend that takes him 15 minutes to get out of his development in the morning), and also at night to see if your neighbors are out all night partying. Also, if possible, visit Saturday afternnon and see what the weekend looks like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewin Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 The obvious thing is to make sure it gets inspected - but also realize, there is always something which can be fixed/improved in a house - even a newly built one. Major structural items or big ticket items (ie., needs a new roof) - which any decent home inspector can find - should be the things that you should really worry about. It probably won't be long until you are ripping out carpet and installing floors and taking down walls yourself There are many things which need repair which can always be fixed - but think more about the things that can't be changed - location, schools, lot etc. If you like the house and are comfortable with the condition and the intangibles, just be happy you found something you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Corp, I am playing golf this weekend with some good ole boys from Fayville, at least thats how it sounds when they say it. Both guys born and bred there. As a matter of fact, I'll be driving through there tomorrow on my way to SC. If you are rather new to the area, anything you want me to ask them? Not sure it would do any good, but thought I'd mention it anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted April 21, 2005 Author Share Posted April 21, 2005 Corp, I am playing golf this weekend with some good ole boys from Fayville, at least thats how it sounds when they say it. Both guys born and bred there. As a matter of fact, I'll be driving through there tomorrow on my way to SC. If you are rather new to the area, anything you want me to ask them? Not sure it would do any good, but thought I'd mention it anyway 311267[/snapback] thanks, we've lived here for 2 years so we know the area. Ok, my kids are here so i have to go teach. i'll check my thread around 1. thanks for the input everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Tate Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Yesterday we found the perfect house... So, for experienced homebuyers, is this the time to start losing sleep and becoming excited, or am i getting ahead of myself?? ... We're in a military town and houses go extremely fast, so this house could be gone by monday. Congrats, and heed the advice about a home inspection. Should cost between $200-300, and agents always know a guy they use all the time who has their trust and respect. The bonus is they will list all the relatively minor things as well, and that provides you with your "to do" list for your own work. Your entire contract will be "subject to" the inspection, so you have the opportunity to adjust your offer price based upon it, or back out completely if it's really bad news. Go ahead and get excited, it's a major life experience and there's a lot to enjoy about it. It's a good thing though - so still get your sleep. Don't worry so much about "losing" a house in a hot market; houses not only can sell extremely fast, there are always new ones coming on the market. If you don't get a contract done for whatever reason on the perfect house, another perfect house is going to appear in short order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Well, i'm about 99% sure about the house. I just would like to go back and check out plumbing, the crawlspace, attic, foundation, garage floor, roof, etc. carefully before i put a bid down. I will know by the end of the day though! 311193[/snapback] Get a inspection done. 1. Those guys are pretty good at spotting most of the problems especially roof leaks, wet basements etc.. 2. These guys are insured. If they make any mistakes in the inspection and the problem is found later, those insurance can cover the costs for fixing the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Make sure the deal is "subject to buyer's lawyer approval". Write that in by hand if you have to. That single statement allows you to change your mind for any reason. Remember the realtor works for the SELLER. Definitely follow other advice here - lots of very good input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Remember the realtor works for the SELLER. 311312[/snapback] For the most part that is correct. However, one can sign a buyers agent agreement stating that the agent is now working on the buyers behalf, and this must be disclosed to the seller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfmeister Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Do the right thing. Have your parents pick out the house you should buy and have them tell you when to buy it and how much to spend. If you don't, they will be telling you it was a mistake for the rest of their lives. Oh, and one more thing, have them pay for it too or get out of your way. With that said, after renting for so long you are going to LOVE owning your own place. It will be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 You've had enough people tell you one way or another, but it bears repeating in a more firm tone: if you think by looking at this house on your own that you don't need a professional inspection, please send me your downpayment money right now and I will make better use of your money. For example, I'd burn it, which is a considerably better use. Home inspection protects you and in many cases gives you leverage in case the inspector finds something you both overlooked. It's the most rudimentary of steps toward buying a home, and people who think they can bypass it almost ALWAYS end up regretting it. And yes, being nervous is normal at first. But you adapt, as we all tend to do. Don't get an inspection and being nervous will be the last of your worries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gantrules Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 FYI...Get the best inspector there is. I bought my house which was built in 2000 and though everything was peachy keen. Come to find out there is some massive water underground. That was a lot of fun finding out when the power went out and I didn't have a generator. 8K in repairs later and I still have to have mucho amount of devices in the basement for the water levels. Yes, I had the home inspected. Unfortunately it was the middle of August and it was dry....but the sump was running at the time. I should have know better.... Anywho, get an inspection and yes it's normal to be nervous. It's a big step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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