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Our House Buying Experience


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2012 Dec 11, 9:39am   27,869 views  86 comments

by varmint   ➕follow (0)   💰tip   ignore  

I saw the thread: http://patrick.net/?p=1219707 asking users to chronicle their house buying experiences and figured I would give it a go.

My girlfriend and I live in a small community in the east bay. I've rented here for about 6 years and really like it. She grew up here and her folks still live here so we really don't want to leave. We are first time buyers and are looking for a 2 bedroom. I'm not interested in condos, so the search is for a single family residence.

We have been frustrated with the lack of inventory. At any time there are may be only 2 or 3 houses available in our price range. Usually half of these need extensive foundation or other work that makes it not workable. We've been looking for 6 months and our price range has expanded from 350 to 400 to now 450+. Most of these houses are around 1000 square feet.

As the summer went on it seemed like prices were inching higher and we decided to wait it out until the fall when the market traditionally cools down. But it hasn't. Prices have continued to rise quite dramatically. Selling agents have been accepting offers on a set date to try to get bidding wars and it's working. We've put in a few offers but I don't think we've been very close to actually getting a place. The last one I bid 22k (5%) over asking and weren't even selected as a backup.

I really don't want to move away and don't see why we should have to leave a town that I enjoy and my girlfriend has grown up in. I'm not looking for anything fancy, even a fixer upper is ok as long as it doesn't have major structural problems. We're just not finding it. It sucks. I don't know where all these people with all this money are coming from. It's not like we want to buy in some super ritzy place, we do better than the average income for mortgage payers in our town (mostly single family houses here) according to citydata. If we have to go any higher we'll be eating ramen every day and that is just not worth it.

#housing

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80   RentingForHalfTheCost   2012 Dec 19, 7:04am  

David Losh says

There were plenty of Real Estate agents who urged people to sell in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

It's a two way street for transactions.

So, by urging to sell, what are they saying to the buyer? Hey, now is not a good time to buy. They play both sides all the time. "It is a great time to sell". Oh, but also, "It is a great time to buy". They will always look brilliant when you show just one side of their transaction scam.

81   David Losh   2012 Dec 19, 8:01am  

RentingForHalfTheCost says

by urging to sell

People had plenty of equity in 2006, 2007, and 2008, they could sell fro below market value, and many people did.

There were a lot of people who saw the hand writing on the wall, and made Real Estate moves accordingly. You are saying you didn't see the bubble, even though prices were going up by double digits each year for the first time ever.

Well, most Real Estate agents did see the bubble, and turned business around. Many people sold in 2006, 2007, and bought again in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Real Estate is a business.

82   RentingForHalfTheCost   2012 Dec 19, 9:46am  

David Losh says

RentingForHalfTheCost says

by urging to sell

People had plenty of equity in 2006, 2007, and 2008, they could sell fro below market value, and many people did.

There were a lot of people who saw the hand writing on the wall, and made Real Estate moves accordingly. You are saying you didn't see the bubble, even though prices were going up by double digits each year for the first time ever.

Well, most Real Estate agents did see the bubble, and turned business around. Many people sold in 2006, 2007, and bought again in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Real Estate is a business.

I actually saw it and benefited. However, I also saw the same realtor who sold my house, telling people to buy. Remember, it takes both a seller and buyer to make a transaction happen. There is no such thing as below market. The market is the actually transaction. Don't fool yourself. People don't give away money for any reason. They might say they sold under market, but that is not true.

83   David Losh   2012 Dec 19, 11:09am  

RentingForHalfTheCost says

People don't give away money

People give away money every day. Many people didn't care about how much they were making, they were trading out equity. It depends on the deal.

People sold because it made sense to sell. People bought because it made sense for them to buy.

OK, look at today's market, prices are rising, and if some people are smart they are refinancing to pay down the principal balance faster.

It's a game you are either good at, or not, so it's in your best interest to get an agent who is good at the game.

84   RentingForHalfTheCost   2012 Dec 19, 10:50pm  

David Losh says

People give away money every day.

Don't agree. If there is money to be had, then people will take it. If there is two buyers out there and one will give more (with all things equal) then I have never seen anyone take the lesser. Just common sense. Saying, people are selling below market to a stranger just isn't true. They could do it to a friend or relative.

If you think there are people giving money away, I'll send you my bank info and I'll then sit back and see it grow. ;)

85   RentingForHalfTheCost   2012 Dec 19, 10:52pm  

ducsingle5313 says

pkennedy says

By the end of next year, I think we'll see close to a 30% appreciation.

You should really lay off the crack.

Why, so he can think straight and benefit from all the real estate fools? Buy now because interest rates can't go lower. That has been the moto for the last 5 years. Guess what, interest rates are lower and they will keep going lower. So, why buy now when you can buy later and have a monthly payment of a box of chocolates. ;)

86   New Renter   2012 Dec 19, 11:38pm  

bmwman91 says

Zakrajshek says

My opinion, at 200 million people, the USA was a much better place to live.

I'll take it one further. At 3 billion, EARTH was a much better place to live.

I do not see this ending well.

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