Stussy109 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!! 311181[/snapback] You sound a lot like me, I'm "impulsive" in the sense that I know what I want fast. There's a theory in counseling/psychology that states that the decision process is an illusion of the mind. In fact, your decisions are usually made before you may consciously realize it. So If looking around is going to make you feel that the house you want IS the right one, and will prevent you from 2nd guessing yourself, then by all means look. Otherwise, you walked into the right situatin early and thei's nothing wrong with it. Secondly, parents aren't always right... Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted April 21, 2005 Author Share Posted April 21, 2005 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. this is what i have done. The seller is using a different agent, so we don't have to worry about the dual agent agreement. And guys, my realator won't hand me a contract without a provision for a home inspection. For all that i feel about picking a house quickly, we did our homework with the real estate agency selection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RastaMouse Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 CONGRATS, stay focused, listen to the solid advice of your fellow TSWers and get your house. Be aggressively cautious, doggedly reserved, and calmly euphoric. That's my .03 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernMan 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!! 311181[/snapback] First off, congratulations. Secondly...yes, this is the time to get butterflies, lose sleep, and get excited. You're about to put your personal stamp on sticks and bricks and make it your home. The sleeplessness should pass within a few days. Me and my wife were in excitement stage a few weeks ago after seeing the house we knew would be ours. Both our house and our future house are under contract with our names at the bottom. BTW - like my parents, your parents are also idiots. Things are much different than they were "back in the day". Back in their day, people weren't as transient. Someone moving from South Buffalo to Amherst was considered a mysterious figure from a far away land. With greater access via internet and more people competing to find the right house, it's a good idea to get the one that feels right, without too much hesitation. That's not to say that there won't be another perfect house a year from now, but why wait when interest rates are going to do nothing but go up. May as well get the home you're excited about, get a low interest rate, and get a year's worth of equity and interest deductions. The fact of the matter is that you can now get more house for the money than you'll be able to when interest rates go up. Imagine (for example) if you could only look in a price range about $25,000 less than what you think you can now afford. That's about where you'd be (more or less) if you wait another year. With interest rates as low as they are, renting is foolish for most people who intend to remain in the same area for more than a few months. Even parents of college students are discovering the benefits of ownership. Many students are now living in condos their folks have purchased near their campuses. Obviously I don't know your situation, but generally speaking, adjustable rate mortgages are not the smartest way to go right now. Sure, they'll be slightly smaller payments, but you'll more than pay the piper if you end up with a 8 or 9% rate in 5 or 7 years. Don't do it!!! I'd advise staying away from interest only loans for the same reason. If you can swing a 15 year loan, go for it. At the very least, think about making bi-weekly payments rather than monthly onws. It's like making 13 payments a year instead of 12. Also, if you get any bonuses or tax refunds, put it towards your principal. With the bi-weekly schedule, you can knock off about 7 years worth of payments and a ton of interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillnutinHouston 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. 311195[/snapback] Agreed. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 At the very least, think about making bi-weekly payments rather than monthly onws. It's like making 13 payments a year instead of 12. Also, if you get any bonuses or tax refunds, put it towards your principal. With the bi-weekly schedule, you can knock off about 7 years worth of payments and a ton of interest. 311956[/snapback] Bi-weekly repayments are folly at current interest rates. If you get a 5.2% loan and make an extra payment, that's basically the return on your investment. Let's say your payment (P&I) is $1200 per month. Making an extra payment a year gets you about $15K off your mortgage after 10 years, but it costs you on your taxes as well. If you took that same $1200 a year and invested it at 8% return, you'd have almost $19K PLUS the full tax break. Young people should fully fund their Roth IRAs instead of paying extra on their mortgage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarthur31 Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Good luck, Corp. Hopefully, all turns out for the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted April 21, 2005 Author Share Posted April 21, 2005 Well, the bid is in. We bid above the market value of the house, but below what they were asking. Also, we bid about $500 more for the carpet allowance than the estimates we received. Hopefully after some dickering on the two prices, i'll be set to close by monday or tuesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Young people should fully fund their Roth IRAs instead of paying extra on their mortgage. 312108[/snapback] Read this statement and make it your financial mantra! Hell if you ever really need the money, the amount you put in (not any accrued interest, principal, or capital gain) can be withdrawn at no penalty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Well, the bid is in. We bid above the market value of the house, but below what they were asking. Also, we bid about $500 more for the carpet allowance than the estimates we received. Hopefully after some dickering on the two prices, i'll be set to close by monday or tuesday. 312131[/snapback] ... with what contingencies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Well, the bid is in. We bid above the market value of the house, but below what they were asking. Also, we bid about $500 more for the carpet allowance than the estimates we received. Hopefully after some dickering on the two prices, i'll be set to close by monday or tuesday. 312131[/snapback] You may get to an agreement by Monday or Tuesday, but you probably won't close for another 30 days. Whatever you do, start convincing yourself NOW that you don't want this house. Trust me. It's a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Tate Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Whatever you do, start convincing yourself NOW that you don't want this house. Trust me. It's a good idea. 312192[/snapback] You're going to keep him awake all night with stuff like that. I think what he means is don't get too emotionally involved in the transaction. Negotiating can be stressful for many people (this is why there are Saturn car dealerships), and getting your emotions involved makes people do silly things. For example, I just came to agreement to buy a house on Tuesday. I made my offer on Monday, giving the seller 24hrs to respond. Got a call from my agent Tuesday morning, all conditions acceptable except price - seller made a counteroffer coming down off his price, but not all the way down to mine. I immediately made a counteroffer a little higher than my last; got a call back 30 minutes later - seller made a counteroffer a little lower than his last, saying that was his bottom price. My wife gets angry, saying that's it - tell him we don't want it then. I had to laugh - at this point his last counteroffer split the middle between his original list, and my first offer, and was exactly where I told my wife was fair market value for the house, and I got him to come down about $5000 in a seller's market, but my wife is mad because he doesn't accept our last counteroffer. I calmed her down, we signed a contract; closing date in a few weeks, but we may move it up. I once made an offer on a house, I honestly was within fair market value, P.O.'ed the seller so much he made a counter-offer above his original list price. I laughed, and kept looking, found another house to buy. Guess who's house sat on the market for months and months? It used to bring a smile on my face to see his for sale sign from my house on the hillside property overlooking his. Hope it was worth it to wait a year for that few thousand dollars. I've heard of people walking away from deals in the mid-150's for a item that costs about $300. You don't neeeed this house. If the deal doesn't make sense, there'll be one that does in pretty short order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted April 22, 2005 Author Share Posted April 22, 2005 Well i know it won't close for a while, but it might be squared away quickly. Dad is already at his new base and mom is 7 months pregnant. One kid is in 3rd grade (the big testing year in NC), so they're going to be staying in town till at least may 25th. I'd be happy going back and forth with the contract a few times till we agree. This is just the first offer. As for contingencies, the bid will be accepted and the good faith offer given to them with the condition that it would be rescinded and we'd be paid back fully if the home inspection is unsatisfactory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Read this statement and make it your financial mantra! Hell if you ever really need the money, the amount you put in (not any accrued interest, principal, or capital gain) can be withdrawn at no penalty! 312153[/snapback] I've been procrastinating on my RothIRA for far too long lately. I've started a new thread on the Consumer board to discuss it and would appreciate input. http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=22712 CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Tate Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 I'd be happy going back and forth with the contract a few times till we agree. This is just the first offer. As for contingencies, the bid will be accepted and the good faith offer given to them with the condition that it would be rescinded and we'd be paid back fully if the home inspection is unsatisfactory. 312270[/snapback] Sounds like you have it under control. Hope the seller is cool-headed also. Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted April 22, 2005 Author Share Posted April 22, 2005 I believe they'll be in control. I met with the wife the other day. She explained the new lots that were being cleared for houses, but mainly talked about school. My wife is a 3rd grade teacher, so they were discussing that test i was talking about. We're not lowballing them in any means. It's just the initial offer that will get tinkered with slightly and signed unless someone else comes into the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 unless someone else comes into the picture. 312281[/snapback] You know, you can hire people to hack the realestate websites to remove all traces of that house you want.... CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 You know, you can hire people to hack the realestate websites to remove all traces of that house you want.... CW 312741[/snapback] Now there's an honest thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Now there's an honest thing to do. 312745[/snapback] You do know I was kidding, right? Or was I...? CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zow2 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Houses in my area are selling so fast that buyers are "sweetening the pot" by waiving the right for home inspections. It's getting so out of hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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