homeowners need a reality check...

Seriously.
Do these homeowners think that the current real estate market and economic downturn doesn't apply to them?? Just saw a house that needed serious work- we put in an offer, and then revised it after the engineer's report. Honestly- the family lived there for 18 years and didn't do one thing to the house- nothing! Everything needed updating- and not the "want" stuff- but the "need" stuff- windows, siding, electrical, etc.

and they want to give us 2500 in exchange for all that work.
Also- their initial offer wasn't lower than other comps- it was right on par, and their house needs TONS of work.. tons.

this same situation happened to my sister- she had accepted offer, did engineers report- there was issue with windows, roof and floor needed joists in basement- buyer wanted 320- she said w, the work that has to be done, i'll give you 300 (it's a teeny tiny ranch mind you)- and she said no, take it for 307- so my sister walked.. and guess what- the house is still on the market and listed for 280!


guess we keep on looking

ARGH!

Message edited 2/28/2008 10:12:50 AM.

Re: homeowners need a reality check...

Sorry I know its frustrating. But the market is in your favor! There are plenty of houses out there. If these people really want to sell they will work with you, otherwise just walk away.

Re: homeowners need a reality check...

I agree. In our area, we're seeing a lot of houses that are way overpriced. We've seen many houses that haven't been touched in 20 or 30 years, yet the sellers are listing the houses at ridiculous prices. Maybe they could've sold their houses at those prices a few years ago, but not now.

We saw a house back in October or November. We liked it, but it was a little too far from work. It would have to be pretty close to perfect or at least priced a bit lower for us to be willing to do that commute. It went under contract in November. It was just put on the market again b/c the sellers are moving to another state. The sellers didn't do any updating yet they are listing it for $20,000 to $30,000 more than what they paid. I understand they don't want to lose money, but I can't imagine anyone paying that much more than what the sellers paid 3 months ago.

Message edited 10/20/2009 11:54:30 AM.

Re: homeowners need a reality check...

I agree too, walk away. When we bought our house, we knew just by looking at the house that it needed a new roof and the cement needed to be re-graded in the front, so when we put our offer in, we said this is our offer because we know we will have to do these to things. It went back and forth a little and they did come down $20k in the end. So GL....there are plenty of seller that will work with you.

Re: homeowners need a reality check...

Walk away. There are a number of homes we put offers in and they basically laughed at our office. We knew what the house was worth and were not willing to pay what they wanted. Fast forward a few months and there are two homes that are now listed under what we were offering. Wait a bit, and come back with an offer, you might be surprise at the difference in attitude.

Re: homeowners need a reality check...

This happened to us. We needed new everything. The engineer spend 45 mins in teh boiler room telling us all the issues, new boiler, 60amp electric, roof was older then we were told...the list goes on. Plus teh house had everything original--original stove, original boiler, original light fixtures and an original blue bathroom from 1956.

After getting the engineers report we told the broker that we were not paying the price we originally offered there was too much that had to be done and we based our offer on the "incorrect" information we were provided. We asked for 10k less then our original offer. We agreed on 5k off the purchase price and for them to updrade the electric to 200amp which cost them about $2000, so we got $7000 off the price kinda.

I love my house don't get me wrong but stick to your guns. When I bought my house it was a different market. If there are too many things walk away...everytime we open a wall we find a potential new issue.

Good luck. If they won't come down to the price you think the house is worth then don't even waste your time. I realize now that we shouldn't have offered more then our original offer because that was all the house was really worth.

Re: homeowners need a reality check...

i know, i don't know where some people's heads are! DH and I bought in 06 but sometimes go to an open house if we're passing by and the house looks interesting for fun. well a few weeks ago, we saw a house in our neighborhood that had one more (small) bedroom then our house has...otherwise, the rooms were about the same size. the house was a dump!!!! ours was purchased in mint condition. and the dumpy house is more than $100K more than ours was!!!!

Re: homeowners need a reality check...

IMO - you are better off!

unless you know someone who is a contractor, you will end up paying a LOT more for repairs than you estimate b/c once you start, you will uncover even more things that need to be fixed.

DH and I will not be looking at fixers anymore. and thankfully with the market coming down, we won't have to!