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Put an offer in on a house today


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2011 May 25, 7:28am   6,983 views  31 comments

by Tude   ➕follow (0)   💰tip   ignore  

Offered 23,000 over asking (260k) with a 20% down conventional 15 year loan in West Contra Costa County. Supposedly there are 10 offers and 2 all cash. We want to buy the home to own for the rest of our lives, but anticipate like most actual decent deals this home will sell for cash to vulture. We would not bother except that the house has everything we want (perfect size (1500sf) and floorplan on a 2/3 acre lot with side yard access and a small garage/shop). House sold for 190k in 1995 and has had some significant upgrades since then, the 237k price was significantly under market for the condition and price/sf.

Will be interesting to see what happens!

I will be sorta happy to get it, but probably more relieved if I don't, but because of the uniqueness of the property and the price we felt we needed to put an offer out there.

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11   corntrollio   2011 May 25, 11:33am  

Tude says

It’s El Sob, and without traffic I have been seated at dinner in downtown SF within 30 minutes (it’s 18 miles) on multiple occasions.

I'm not sure I believe that as a door to butt-in-seat time and not just because you might be circling for parking :) . Google maps says 19 miles/28 mins from off of San Pablo Dam Rd to 4th and King, for example, if you work South of Market, and 19 miles/30 mins to the TransAmerica Pyramid, if you're in the Financial District. At many times you'd be going to dinner, there will probably be *some* traffic on the Bay Bridge and its approaches. I'm not saying it's a bad location to live, but rather that people often grossly underestimate their commute. "Oh, I didn't include the part to get out of the neighborhood; the time to get to the freeway; and didn't include the walk from the parking garage to the office," etc.

Tude says

But it really is a horrible place to live. Seriously. Don’t come here. Please spend 500k++ to live in the “real” Bay Area (TM).

I wasn't saying it was a horrible place to live. I was just saying that your judgment of time was inaccurate. Most people's judgment is inaccurate because they don't include certain things when they say "about 20 mins."

12   seaside   2011 May 25, 12:06pm  

Tude, good luck to you. I wish you can get what you want.

Talking about 18 miles and/or 30 min drive... Heck, that's a lot. I commute to DC and that's 12 miles. Can be done in 20 min before 6 am in the morning, 1 hour when I got caught in rush hour traffic, 2 hours if there's an accident or two in the way. That's why I hit the road early in the morning before sunrise. Do I go DC for dining and stuff? Hell, no. Hope the traffic in your area is not this bad.

13   Tude   2011 May 26, 7:25am  

Well it was "delisted" today, looks like it went to another CASH offer. The vultures are out in force still. Every house that comes up for sale in my current neighborhood has gone on to become a rental unit as well, and I know people have made offers on them for primary homes. Kinda sad.

14   corntrollio   2011 May 26, 7:34am  

Tude says

Every house that comes up for sale in my current neighborhood has gone on to become a rental unit as well, and I know people have made offers on them for primary homes. Kinda sad.

Aren't you planning the same thing? :)

15   EBGuy   2011 May 26, 7:48am  

Since Tude no longer has to worry about chicken rustlers, here's the property in question.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/775-Kelvin-Rd-El-Sobrante-CA-94803/18517069_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-bubble-address}

16   Tude   2011 May 26, 8:06am  

corntrollio says

Tude says

Every house that comes up for sale in my current neighborhood has gone on to become a rental unit as well, and I know people have made offers on them for primary homes. Kinda sad.

Aren’t you planning the same thing? )

No, I will be an unfortunate landlord if I buy another house, and will sell it once I am no longer losing money. I would never go into working class neighborhoods with loads of cash and outbid local residents who want a lifetime home so I could turn around and rent it.

17   corntrollio   2011 May 26, 9:23am  

Tude says

No, I will be an unfortunate landlord if I buy another house, and will sell it once I am no longer losing money.

Fair enough, although I think part of the problem is that many people who used to be homeowners during the boom weren't necessarily good candidates for being homeowners.

I didn't realize that El Sobrante was unincorporated west county -- had always assumed it was a municipality. Big lot compared to many others in the neighborhood too -- more than half an acre.

18   EBGuy   2011 May 26, 9:49am  

Tude, Have you thought about sticking some of your cash into your existing home and refinancing to a lower rate? If not that, then perhaps it is time to exercise your put option.

19   corntrollio   2011 May 26, 9:52am  

EBGuy says

If not that, then perhaps it is time to exercise your put option.

But EBGuy, wouldn't it make sense to buy a new house first before short-selling your old house? That way, you can buy the new house on your good credit rating before the short-sale (or foreclosure) lowers it. I'm not convinced that putting good money after bad is the way to go here.

20   Tude   2011 May 26, 10:02am  

EBGuy says

Tude, Have you thought about sticking some of your cash into your existing home and refinancing to a lower rate? If not that, then perhaps it is time to exercise your put option.

Yes, but then we lose our down payment money for if/when these opportunities do come up. We have also considered putting in a second bathroom in our current home, but because of the layout of the house/lot/sewer line and the fact that it is a slab foundation, just adding a bathroom, laundry-room/closet onto our bedroom would run in the 40k range, and that is with a bros deal. Maybe worth it if we could enlarge the garage and had side access parking, but we can't and don't.

fwiw, we are the perfect homeowners, we just happen to be in a home that doesn't quite work for us. My husband is a mechanic and does a lot of side work for friends in trade and really needs a large garage/shop and a space to park and work on a car. And because we both work full-time having one bathroom that is only big enough for one person to even stand in makes getting up and ready for work a real pain.

I don't really know what you mean by the put option. Bailing on our current house isn't really an option for us as we really like our neighbors and our little house is completely rebuilt from the roof to floors. We could not rent anything near as nice for the $$.

21   corntrollio   2011 May 26, 10:36am  

Tude says

I don’t really know what you mean by the put option.

He means that home loans in California are largely non-recourse, so you can short-sell or get foreclosed on with impunity. It's a put option to sell your house to the bank for the price of the loan.

22   EBGuy   2011 May 27, 5:25am  

Its baa-aaack. New photos. New agent. (Perhaps the bank thought there was some double dealing?).
http://www.redfin.com/CA/El-Sobrante/775-Kelvin-Rd-94803/home/1120185

23   Tude   2011 May 27, 9:07am  

EBGuy says

Its baa-aaack. New photos. New agent. (Perhaps the bank thought there was some double dealing?).

http://www.redfin.com/CA/El-Sobrante/775-Kelvin-Rd-94803/home/1120185

yep. The bank fired the original listing agents. They were HELL to deal with. We have to resubmit. Typically it's delisted when they sell to a cash offer and the listing agents were hinting at that, but instead they were fired.

24   corntrollio   2011 May 27, 10:39am  

Tude says

Typically it’s delisted when they sell to a cash offer and the listing agents were hinting at that

Well, of course. All houses in the Bay Area sell for "all-cash, above asking." :) It's special here.

25   GlobalRoamer   2011 May 31, 12:40pm  

Dude! You should have used Mr. Cash Services. I buy houses with my cash for clients - from auction, short sales, etc. - and sell them back to clients who are using bank financing.

Most of the time I do not charge for the service - I get the 'margin' between what your bid would have been and what I can get it for in cash. Not all cash buyers are 'vultures' - some are services like mine.

You need to be much more creative and open minded to get a deal in today's market. And that was a nice property - lots of potential. Good luck in finding another.

Why don't you do some leg work and quickly find the buyer and make them an offer? I bought a house off of auction in Phoenix and the next day the previous owner contacted me (got my name from court house. He visited in person) to buy the house (they were still living in it!). He bought it with financing in his father-in-law's name for about 1/3 what he originally paid in 2006 and I made 15% on my cash and never, ever set foot in the property.

26   Tude   2011 Jun 2, 7:55am  

I finally received notice today that the house was sold to an all-cash offer of well over 300k. There were 19 offers and 5 of them were for all-cash.

No doubt it sold to a speculator assuming he could subdivide the property with spec-homes. Just what the area needs. The "investors" and speculators are quickly ruining this community with development and rentals :(

27   corntrollio   2011 Jun 2, 9:06am  

E-man says

My in-laws recently bought 2 homes for their sons with ALL CASH, and both were FTHB’s.

That seems internally contradictory. :) Your brothers-in-law were not actually home buyers, but rather gift recipients (and some might give them a less charitable name).

I don't disagree with the overall point -- just because someone paid more doesn't mean they are a specuvestor. And what's with the knock against renters? In some neighborhoods, there are renters who have lived there longer than many of the owner-occupied people because there has been so much turnover.

28   edvard2   2011 Jun 3, 2:49am  

Well... Like I and others have said, prices around the Bay Area- even in the far-flung burbs- are still heavily overpriced. Any prices are are event remotely close to being affordable seem to be getting bought up by investors. Thus my observation that in all reality, a home in the Bay Area that is more likely to be 450-500k in the immediate Bay Area and probably more like $350-400k in the far-flung burbs.

29   PDM   2011 Jun 3, 3:00am  

Good luck.

30   corntrollio   2011 Jul 6, 9:30am  

Sold as of June 27 for $317K:

http://www.redfin.com/CA/El-Sobrante/775-Kelvin-Rd-94803/home/1120185

This is after a 2003 purchase at $519K and a foreclosure at $250,515, so the price doesn't seem unreasonable. It seems like it was wildly underpriced when listed at $236,950.

31   Tude   2011 Jul 7, 2:30am  

Exactly. I have several others that I have experienced the same thing on in Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Pinole and Pleasant Hill as well. Low price, bidding war won by cash offer. Over and over.

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