Real estate Question?

[poboxjosh]

Ok, Here is the deal. I'm looking to buy a house but i do not have a real estate representative yet. I found the house i have been looking for It is being sold by remax. I setup an appointment with the sellers agent to look at the home. We loved the house but kept our enthusiasm to ourselves. My questions are.

about house:
asking price 419,900 was 434,900
2700 living area
located in a good neighborhood on a golfcourse.


Should we get our own real estate agent?


What should we offer? I do not want to insult the owners by lowballing them.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[poboxjosh]

(bump)

 

[Mr. Win]

you need to first check simlar homes in the area... see what they are asking compared to yours. Then see if you can find what homes were sold for... its public record and go based on that.

 

[Alpinejwl]

If you have an agent that you have worked with before, or one that you can trust, then use an agent. Make sure that even if the agent is your friend, be sure that he knows his stuff...Afterall, it's you who will be paying the big bucks....If you don't go with an agent, I would hire at least 2 different inspectors to check out the house and make sure everything is up to code. You don't have to worry about lowballing, but make an offer about 5% less than your lowest offer, so if you are thinking about 415,000, offer 414,000. No matter what your offer is, he will always counteroffer anyways...if the house is hot. I just bought mine here in Cali, and paid 10,000 cheaper than my neighbor (we bought at the same time). =p

 

[poboxjosh]

you need to first check simlar homes in the area... see what they are asking compared to yours. Then see if you can find what homes were sold for... its public record and go based on that.

I have checked similar homes I believe the price they are asking is fair. The house on the side is comprable and is being offered for 424900. We are going to look at that house tomorrow. I was hoping to pay 400,000 I don't know how realistic that is but that is my goal. I would also like to know If i should pay the PMI or if I should take 2 mortgages out on the house. THe main mortgage for 80% at 5.50 varialble and the secondary mortgage at around 8 percent variable. That way i could avoid the PMI.


As always all any help would be great.

 

[poboxjosh]

If you have an agent that you have worked with before, or one that you can trust, then use an agent. Make sure that even if the agent is your friend, be sure that he knows his stuff...Afterall, it's you who will be paying the big bucks....If you don't go with an agent, I would hire at least 2 different inspectors to check out the house and make sure everything is up to code. You don't have to worry about lowballing, but make an offer about 5% less than your lowest offer, so if you are thinking about 415,000, offer 414,000. No matter what your offer is, he will always counteroffer anyways...if the house is hot. I just bought mine here in Cali, and paid 10,000 cheaper than my neighbor (we bought at the same time). =p

I have an agent that is a friend but im not sure if she knows her stuff so im trying to stay away from that route. As far as property being up to code its only 3 years old so i dont think that should be a problem. Do you still think I should get 2 inspectors?

 

[poboxjosh]

http://www.riliving.com/PropSearch/sfformdetails.asp?MLSid=539459 This one is 419,900


http://www.riliving.com/PropSearch/sfformdetails.asp?MLSid=544596 This one is 424,900 they are on the side of each other.

 

[mountjonas]

don't worry about low balling. the worst they can do is say no and then you submit another offer.. our townhouse was listed at 340k. i wanted to pay 330, so i offered 315. they countered with 330...sold. a realtor will help get you comperables in the neighborhood, but find one you trust. my realtor didn't want to submit my offer (obviously she was in it for the money, higher selling price=more commission) but i stood firm with my offers.

 

[poboxjosh]

Is it normal for the state appraised value to be only 65% of the asking price?

 

[poboxjosh]

don't worry about low balling. the worst they can do is say no and then you submit another offer.. our townhouse was listed at 340k. i wanted to pay 330, so i offered 315. they countered with 330...sold. a realtor will help get you comperables in the neighborhood, but find one you trust. my realtor didn't want to submit my offer (obviously she was in it for the money, higher selling price=more commission) but i stood firm with my offers.

I wanted to offer 385 for the 419. I would be more than happy to pay 400 but it just sucks how we can't be straight up.

 

[mountjonas]

I wanted to offer 385 for the 419. I would be more than happy to pay 400 but it just sucks how we can't be straight up.

It's a stupid game we play. I agree, I almost wish the prices were set. I watched my dad offer 325 on a house listed at 380. I thought the owner would laugh his ass off, but he didn't. They just played phone tag with counter offers and settled on a price.

 

[poboxjosh]

Is there a way to find out when the house was first listed on the market?

 

[poboxjosh]

I believe i just figured out a formula to find out how long the house has been on the market is 109 days a long time for a house to be on the market?

 

[poboxjosh]

Are closing costs a function of house price or are they fairly fixed. If fixed how much are closing costs usually?

 

[Alpinejwl]

I believe i just figured out a formula to find out how long the house has been on the market is 109 days a long time for a house to be on the market?

It depends on your area!. In So. Cali, no it's not normal unless there is something really wrong with the property, or you are asking for way too much.

 

[Alpinejwl]

Are closing costs a function of house price or are they fairly fixed. If fixed how much are closing costs usually?

closing costs range varies depends on the company you use. I spent about 1,000 on mine, but know friends who spent over 10,000..

 

[mountjonas]

a realtor should be able to find out when the house was put on sale, how much the previous owner bought it for, etc. a lot of times closing costs are over estimated. we just got a check two weeks ago for $900 for overpayment on our closing costs.

 

[Greg S]

Get a buyer's agent or lawyer, depending on how real estate goes in your state. Here in California we use agents since everything is done through escrow. If this is your first house do not do this without one of the above unless you have a lot of time to learn about real estate transactions, escrow processes and home inspections. I've learned a lot about all these processes having bought and sold four houses in the last 4 years and if I had the time to do all the work involved I could but it takes a lot of work and the seller pays both realtor's fees. As for escrow costs and fees you'll need to find out about those as they are different for each state. The inspection is an absolute must, I don't care if the house was just built and has never been lived in. Builders cut corners when they can to save costs, especially in tract homes. You're usually not dealing with the best labor in these cases, I've seen too many things that were built wrong and passed inspection fine.
Don't worry about low balling the seller, a house is worth what the buyer is willing to pay for it. You have a much better bargining point if you go in with your financing already approved, so get that in order before you make an offer. People with money in hand are always more attractive than those who think they might be able to get the money. Case in point i sold the last condo we flipped for $6000 less than a my listing price even though I had a full price offer due to the fact that the lower offer was from another investor who had plenty of cash and an already approved loan and she was willing to do a 20 day escrow so I wouldn't have to make another mortgage payment. with the full price offer I had they needed a 45 day escrow and were doing 100% financing so I would probably have had to make at least one if not two more mortgage payments and that would have eaten up another $3000 of the profit. Of course it helped that I was making $47,000 in profit for a 3 1/2 month flip so I could afford to not take the risk for the extra $3000.

 

[poboxjosh]

Get a buyer's agent or lawyer, depending on how real estate goes in your state. Here in California we use agents since everything is done through escrow. If this is your first house do not do this without one of the above unless you have a lot of time to learn about real estate transactions, escrow processes and home inspections. I've learned a lot about all these processes having bought and sold four houses in the last 4 years and if I had the time to do all the work involved I could but it takes a lot of work and the seller pays both realtor's fees. As for escrow costs and fees you'll need to find out about those as they are different for each state. The inspection is an absolute must, I don't care if the house was just built and has never been lived in. Builders cut corners when they can to save costs, especially in tract homes. You're usually not dealing with the best labor in these cases, I've seen too many things that were built wrong and passed inspection fine.
Don't worry about low balling the seller, a house is worth what the buyer is willing to pay for it. You have a much better bargining point if you go in with your financing already approved, so get that in order before you make an offer. People with money in hand are always more attractive than those who think they might be able to get the money. Case in point i sold the last condo we flipped for $6000 less than a my listing price even though I had a full price offer due to the fact that the lower offer was from another investor who had plenty of cash and an already approved loan and she was willing to do a 20 day escrow so I wouldn't have to make another mortgage payment. with the full price offer I had they needed a 45 day escrow and were doing 100% financing so I would probably have had to make at least one if not two more mortgage payments and that would have eaten up another $3000 of the profit. Of course it helped that I was making $47,000 in profit for a 3 1/2 month flip so I could afford to not take the risk for the extra $3000.

I am pre approved for my mortgage. I was going to get a house inspection (one) alpinejwl was saying (two). I was also going to use there realator. In hopes that i could maybe get more barganing power by having them lower there commission since they will not be splitting with another broker. Is this a pipe dream? Again thanks in advance for all the help

~Josh

 

[jurgs01]

Lol. Here in Northern Idaho it is not uncommon for Californians to come out and start a bidding war that goes ABOVE the asking price of the property.