Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

DH and I are getting very frustrated by our home search. There just does not seems to be any inventory within our price range in the areas we are looking (we also have expended our search area). A house that we saw when we first began our search has been re-listed and had a price drop. I was thinking of going back and taking another look. In hindsight, I think we might have had unreasonable expectations of what we thought we could buy with our money. The house has all of our must haves but layout and other things (which I cannot remember after all this time) bothered us DH thinks it is a waste of our time (he cant remember the other things either).

Has anyone ruled out a home and then gone to actually purchase it?

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

Couldn't hurt to go for another look.
Neither one of you can remember everything that bothered you about the house. If they bothered you that much I think you would remember. So who knows, they may not be an issue anymore and may be something you can work with.

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

I would take another look. DH and I have been house hunting for a couple of months and we ended up going back to a house we had seen early on and written off, and then ended up making an offer on it. It didn't work out (seller wasn't willing to negotiate) but I would do it again if we really weren't finding anything.

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

i can understand your frustrations - DH and i were in the same boat!
we had our price range and were not thrilled with any houses we have seen. we increased our budget and still werent thrilled with anything

there was one house we saw that we like, but werent 100% certain about so we went back the next day and put in an offer a day later. we came to the realization that we wont get everything we want unless its a brand new construction (which we cant afford).

we looked at our wants (# of bedrooms & bathrooms, basement, garage, space, layout etc) and realized this home fit all of those criteria and the price was right. there are things we want done (a newer kitchen, central air, etc) which can always be added to the house eventually. something like a basement cannot be added.

i would definitely go back to the house and look again. see why you didnt like it - if its things that can ultimately change/upgrade it may be worth it to make an offer and the money you save with the lower price can be used to do those upgrades.

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

I just had a buyer go back to a house for the 3rd time and they are in contract now

the price dropped- we couldn't find anything else that worked for them

they got it for $22K less then they orginally were going to offer

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

It's true. Sometimes you go out there with these expectations and the first few houses you thought were a total no become maybes. Go take a look. It won't hurt.

What I did when looking at houses (I also did this when looking at reception halls for my wedding) as soon as I got in the car from looking at a house, I would write down everything I liked and didn't like. This way I had clear notes on every place I saw. And yes, we went back to those notes at some point and put in an offer on a house that didn't work out. Thankful for that because then we found this house and I fell in love as I stepped through the front door

Message edited 10/10/2013 12:00:39 PM.

Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

I did. When we first looked at our house it seemed a bit dark inside. Just before looking at it we looked a a house with tons of light and 400 square feet more for the same cost. We actually put an offer on the house with more light but the seller was playing games with the contract. So we decided to take a look at more houses and I really wanted to see this house again. The second time we looked at the house we came earlier in the day and went around and opened all the blinds --it made a huge difference...I realized that the seller's decor was dark and every blind in the house was closed. Once we let in a little light the place was perfect for us. I knew at that moment this was the house I wanted. We realized during our second look at the house that the seller's had done many improvements to the house such as installing French drains, etc. that made this home worth more even though it was not as big as the other house.
I recommend taking a second look at the house you are considering looking at again- it does not take much time to take a look at a house.

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

eta- didn't buy it but did go back to look

However, when I went back, it still wasnt what I wanted in my heart so I passed on it again.

Go see again and see what you think.

Message edited 10/10/2013 2:03:04 PM.

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

Kind of. We had an accepted bid and then I had a freak out moment and wanted to keep looking. We looked for a month more. This house was still on the market and i realized it was the best bang for our buck and in the area/school district we wanted. Luckily the seller took our original offer. We moved in this spring and I don't regret reconsidering at all.

My friend also took a second look at a house they initially rejected. I believe the price dropped. They decided it was better than they remembered so they made an offer and ended up buying the house.

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

We did....

We saw a house that had a tiny backyard so I immediately dismissed it. Our real estate agent convinced us to go back since this house was the most updated one we had seen throughout our entire search. After going back (with my parents) and discussing it with DH we ended up buying it.

Of course I miss having a big backyard, but we also bought this house knowing it was just a starter home and one day we would buy our dream house.

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

I definitely agree that expectations can be a bit unrealistic when you first start house hunting. So at least take a second so you won't have any regrets.

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

Not the exact same situation , but I was dead set against a ranch , and after two years of looking this house had everything we wanted so we went for it, I am very happy hear now.

I would go back, you might like it better for the new price.

Message edited 10/14/2013 10:54:46 PM.

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

I saw the house online and dismissed it. I went and saw it in person by myself and was like no way! My dad went and saw it and convinced me to bring DH. We saw it together and made an offer that afternoon!

Like a pp mentioned, it had everything we were looking for. I couldn't get past some of the cosmetic stuff. We are now renovating and will hopefully be in the house over the next 5-6 weeks, fingers crossed!!

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

I agree that you have nothing to lose by looking. As others have said, expectations start out very high when most buyers -- esp. first-time buyers -- begin their house hunt. And people always say they don't want to "settle."

However, once buyers look at a lot of homes in their desired area, they become more educated on what they can get for their money and more understanding of the fact that some compromises/trade-offs usually need to be made.

I've often had buyers regret not purchasing a home they saw early on in their search, but often by the time they reach that point, the house they saw a couple of months ago is no longer available.

So if there's a house you dismissed originally but you think might actually be a good fit for you, now that you've seen what's out there, why not go look again? At worst, you will have wasted a small amount of time, but then you won't have to wonder "what if"?

Personally, I was very sure early on in my own house hunt that I didn't want a split level, and my dh was adamant about no corners. But after looking for awhile, we found a split level on a corner that worked perfectly for us and we bought it. I have no regrets!

It's just a natural thing that home buyer criteria evolves as you search and get more information about the market and what's available. Things that were so important at first tend to become less important, especially if they are things that can be changed (like cosmetic finishes, as opposed to something like location).

Good luck!

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

We did, but we hadn't seen it in person, just nixed it based on MLS listing. When we did see it we fell in love. It's not 100% perfect but it fit 99% of our criteria and we couldn't beat the price.

Definitely worth another look if you ask me!

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

Sort of. It was the first house we looked at, I hated it (and I rarely use that word) -- it was dirty, ugly, very little parking, no basement, no storage, small closets and had a weird layout. We both passed on it but DH kept thinking about it and bringing it back to the front of the list. We made a low-ball offer and it was accepted.

It's been 10 years, lots of renovating but now it has almost everything we could want in a house.

Re: Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

Go back and take a second look! I think so many people (ourselves included) go out there thinking their money will go farther than it will, regardless of budget. Once you actually go look at homes, look at the lots, the neighborhoods (much different than browsing MLS) you get a totally different perspective on houses.

It certainly can't hurt to look and you might like it much more this time around. Even if you still don't make an offer it's not like you're losing anything.

Anyone actually buy a house that they originally rejected?

I'd definitely look. Especially now that you have seen what is out there, you might be looking at it with different eyes. If it layout that is an issue, then think about why it is a problem - such are there too many walls and you want a more open space? maybe you can knock the walls down. etc etc.