patrick.net

I think that's extremely unlikely that he/she falsified numbers (they may use comps that aren't exactly comparable but that's different). Sales are public record - easily verified. A house selling for $50k over asking by itself doesn't mean much. If someone lists a house for $1 and it sells for $300k, then technically it sold for ~$300k over asking.
You could even use zillow.com (although they are sometimes a little slow in updating) to check for sales information. Their graphs are a little sketchy but the actual sales history data seems ok.

Thanks other homes in this same neighborhood have all sold under 490K, and these 2 just this past week sold over 550K even though only estimated at 415K on Zillow and cyberhome.

Where can one verify the sale?

This looks like it requires a fee but could work:
http://www.ccclerkrec.us/content.aspx?id=22&s=22

Someone else here may know how to check your local recorder's office in CC.

Does zillow say the houses sold recently? If so, there's your answer, unless the "recent sale" is actually the bank taking the house back in a foreclosure.

Don't put too much stock in zillow's estimate. It doesn't seem to be too accurate.

Right, only the counties have the official data, and even then, it can be manipulated. For example, you can overpay the transfer tax in San Mateo county, and the recorded price will be higher than the buyer actually paid for the house.

I checked www.zillow.com and www.cyberhomes.com and neither list either sale. According to the realtor's comps report they just occured this week. I suspect they may not be true, but the realtor might be using the false comps to encourage the home owner to list and sell even though the market dictates otherwise. I guess once the person signs the contract to list, the deal is closed and if the home sells great and if it doesn't or sells for less, "oh well." who knew?

I don't think somone in todays market would be that uniformed to pay 50 k more than market even with the prognosis getting worse and a large hidden inventory just sitting there.

Am I missing something?

It depends. If they see that supply appears to be shrinking, mortgage rates are on the rise and the government is doing everything they can to re-inflate the bubble - maybe someone would pay $50k more than market. That brings up the question of the appraisal though. Unless they paid cash, the bank shouldn't have approved the deal. I thought they were getting tougher about that stuff, maybe not.

One week is not enough time for zillow. When I check it usually takes about 3 wks or more for a sale to pop up there.

If this whole question is about the comps presented by a realtor, ask for comps from another realtor or present your own comps to this one and see what they say. There's no point in wondering about something that is easily verified.

Yes, and through decit effecting the owners decision to sell or rent. Could be a very costly decision to the owenr and perspective buyers, and if that is allowable it should be disclosed that comps are a sham, so everyone can make well informed decisions. It goes beyond false or unrealistic promises, I would classify it as Fraud, Theft, and obtaing a contract under false pretenses.

Something they should be criminally and civilly accoutable for.

G

Why on earth would you use a realtor to give you comps? Hire a fee appraiser and/or go to the county assessor. The assessor can provide you comps. Realtors are salespeople. Fee appraisers are paid to do comps. It's not a realtor's job, and whatever they give you is designed to encourage a sale - that's it.

Sales records are at the clerk recorder or title company. Propertyshark is a good site that usually has all the sales info. Good luck, and please, remember realtors are there simply to get a commission on a sale -

The sale prices listed on www.cyberhomes.com was exact. The estimate is just that, but based off of the exact sale prices homes sold for.

The California Market is still ridiculously and fraudently over inflated and over priced. It could easily drop another 20-40 % before coming back into an honest range.

Bottom line is realtors use decitful tactics and lie in order to make money. They should be investiagted and prosecuted when obtaing profit based upon fraud.

Greedy Realtors and unethical shennigans is what caused th crisis.

I see some conflict of interest b/w two groups, "soon to be buyers" and "believe me I sold a lots".
Hearing different opinions on the same matter is very interesting and also educational regardless of where they stand. I think that's real beauty of patrick.net.

And G. I mostly agree with you and I hope to see your bottom line become a reality someday. But that won't happen as long as they play their games well enough outside the radar. See how well those wall st fatcats do in these days.

I asked the new home owners living in the homes and they confirmed the exact price. www.cyberhome.com posted the exact selling prices and current estimated values, based upon the exact sale prices. All these homes were built in 2006 and later and without any problems except buyers bought into the grossly inflated hype and now the homes are selling at least 40% less than purchase price and still dropping. Face the reality; greed and profit under false hype significantly over inflated the values of real estate and now the market is in a steady decline, with the worse yet to come. Buyers believe the prices you see on www.cyberhomes.com and www.zillow.com and pay less than what they recommend, not a penny more. There about as honest answer as you will see when it comes to current real estate values.

The market is going down more in 2010. Don't be fooled and ripped off
by realtors, desperate sellers, and their decietful tactics anymore.

There are a lot of neighborhoods without sufficient turnover to get decent comps. Most realtors want to dump your house and talk you up when you buy. They never seem to want to fight over money for your house, or dicker with the seller's agent.

Wow - it's incredible to me how many people are actually so uneducated when it comes to real estate. Of course, when you have a place like patrick.net to educate you on how the real estate industry works and how agents practice real estate, I can then understand the crap spewing from your mouths. And YES - I am a real estate agent, a REALTOR in fact. Are you people for real? With all the viable resources online, THIS is your point of reference? All I can say is that explains EVERYTHING.
Firstly, you need NOT use the term Realtor so freely. Not all real estate agents are Realtors. Of course, I'm sure you neither knew that nor understand what that means. Nonetheless, there are real estate agents, real estate brokers, sales agents, real estate attorneys, Realtors, etc. There is a federal law and there is local law that governs real estate. Maybe you should try to get your facts straight before you point fingers at an entire group of hardworking people with ambiguous accusations. Granted, there are many crooked people in any industry. That is true. Real estate is no exception. However, guess what genius - there ARE rules in place. And the Realtors you keep talking about, they are even further held to a higher standard. We are expected to follow a Code of Ethics and your local real estate commission is more than happy to hear your complaints about fraudulent activity by any real estate agent in your area. Your local commission is easy to contact, easy to find online, and the process for filing your complaint is painless. You can also contact the real estate boards in certain areas.
Again, this is not to say that ALL Realtors follow the ethics. But MOST do. You are making a blanket statement about the profession with no real evidence or foundation. Maybe you got screwed by your real estate agent. Guess WHAT? I feel your pain. I have also been screwed, by uneducated, ignorant buyers and sellers just like you. You created the agent of which you so fondly speak. Congratulations, genius. They got tired of dealing with uneducated crap spewing buyers and sellers just like you. I can’t say I blame them as I get tired of hearing the rants of people like you as well. However, I am an educated Realtor who understands that not all buyers and sellers are like you. Not all agents are bad people and not all agents are just looking out for their own best interests.
I have advised sellers NOT to list their houses in this market unless they absolutely HAD to. Short sales and foreclosures have plagued the real estate markets and play an increasing role in decreasing pricing. Buyers are coming out of the woodworks trying to take advantage of the financial hardship that sellers are going through. Homes already below market value (based on today’s market) are being offered $30,000, $50,000, $75,000 less by unscrupulous buyers looking out for their best interest. Of course again, they don’t have a clue what they are doing since they themselves are further pulling prices down! HELLO. Realtors and/or real estate agents don't set prices - we only provide the facts. Of course sellers never want to hear the facts. They just want to hear that the house next door to them sold for $175,000 but their house is worth $320,000. Comps don’t lie – look at the MLS sheets. It shows you what a house sold for, what concessions were, what the buyers loan amount was, and what the interest rate they got for the loan was. I also provide a listing history so you can see how long the house was on the market so you can see what you might expect once you get ready to sell the house. Not getting that from your Realtor – FIND ANOTHER ONE! Our job is not tell you what you want to hear. The facts are the facts. Just because you can't sell your house for $50,000 doesn't mean it's the agents fault. You are part of the problem but of course I would not expect you to understand that or admit it even if you did.

You know what I find most amusing about your arguments is that you claim we as agents want to sell your house for the lowest possible price. HA! Our income, which, by the way, we use to feed our families and keep a roof over our heads, is directly impacted by how much your home sells for. It is in MY BEST INTEREST to sell your house for the highest possible price. Period. Not to mention the fact that we spend our hard earned and infrequently paid money to market your house without any money coming out of your pocket. And do we come back and ask you to cover those expenses when you decide it’s the agents fault your house is NOT selling? NO, we don’t. We look at this as the cost of doing business and hope the next transaction leads to a successful close. You are NEVER stuck with an agent by the way. In case you didn't know, you can cancel your agreement with an agent anytime you are not satisfied with their performance. Did you ASK this question when you were interviewing them? Oh you say you didn’t interview them because you were just anxious to get your house on the market and you choose the agent with the lowest fees. Maybe do some research next time and educated yourself on the process rather than blaming the agent for your mistake or lack of knowledge. You hired them, you can fire them. Yes, I'm sure some agents will give you a hard time over cancelling the agreement but in the end, they can't force you to work with them. And if this concerns you have your agent put in a clause that you can cancel anytime. Of course that would require thinking and negotiating which most of you are not skilled at as some have admitted already.
Just to be very clear, most of the time I work for free and have no commitment from the buyer or seller to work with me after I have spent hours, days, months, or in some cases years to help them find the home that fits their needs. We are treated disrespectfully and have to deal with forums like this one while trying to defend our integrity, morality, and ethics. You know, why would you ever respect a real estate agent or a Realtor? After all we are just money hungry selfish people concerned with only our bottom line. Have any of you ever looked at the income of the average real estate agent? Average income for most agents is pathetic. You can find a job just about anywhere making the same as the average agent. Oh and of course that does not include our expenses - you know, like the expenses that we pay to market your property and that we never recoup because you decide that if a buyer doesn't like to see your dirty underwear on your bathroom floor then they shouldn't come see your house. Of course I do understand that you all need someone to point a finger at, after all, you could not possibly be responsible for your own mistakes now could you?
How small a world do you live in that you actually believe that the housing crisis was created by real estate agents? Some of you are trying to sell your homes for more than they are worth and are doing exactly what you say got us to this housing crisis. You blame the agents for inflating prices but YOU are doing exactly that. Selling your house for $320k when houses in your neighborhood are selling for $175k. Seriously. I don’t for a second believe you sold the house for the price you say anyway. I’d like to see your closing documents so I can report the appraiser who didn’t value your house for market value but ABOVE. Did you pay him under the table to appraise your house for that amount? And then I’ll make sure to report the bank that didn’t question the appraisal. Just to be clear – the laws have changed and this NEVER happens anymore. Don’t lie just so you can prove a point that has no foundation. Not that anyone on this forum would even know to correct you. I got a link to this site by someone who is launching a new website for their health consulting business and I could not just stand by and read this crap without comment.
You want to sell your house on your own - go ahead. Your county website will give you all the information you need to determine a fair price and most of those sites if not all will provide that information for free. An agent provides the same thing and it is VERY easily verified. You can even find out the terms of the loan since that is required information in some states. Of course I'm sure your house is worth much more than your neighbor’s house which is larger, updated, and CLEAN! But hey, don’t let that stop you from listing it for $100,000 more. I’m sure some sucker from California or NY will come along and buy it with cash.
It was the perfect storm. So many factors played into our housing crisis. Don't spew a bunch of crap because of what you hear. Educate yourself and get the facts so you don't embarrass yourself.

Catsmouth- I appreciate you standing up for realtors, but the deciet and non-disclosure tactics used to create bidding wars is factual. Realtors make a 6% commission off the sale price regardless of their effort. Some do nothing except have you sign the contract. They try to drive the prices up to keep the commisions high. Uneducated buyers buy it and sellers go along with it as they profit as well.

I have purchased and sold two homes by owner and kept the 6% commision myself both times. I made nearly $50,000 dollars by investing in a $5 sign and $35 newspaper add.

Bids should become public record and all bids should be handed over to the banks and sellers, not just the ones the realtors want to.

LMAO @ catsmouth -- shall I?

>>"Again, this is not to say that ALL Realtors follow the ethics. But MOST do. You are making a blanket statement about the profession with no real evidence or foundation."

so are you. Where is your proof that what we say about MOST REpukes is false? You pretend to know something nobody does, or to have some ability that is unique to only you. The FACT that REpukes want all dealings hid from the public eye is your biggest hurdle.

>>"Of course, I’m sure you neither knew that nor understand what that means."
>>"I have also been screwed, by uneducated, ignorant buyers and sellers just like you."

wow .... I'm kinda happy all REpukes are going down now.

>>"It is in MY BEST INTEREST to sell your house for the highest possible price. Period."
>>"Homes already below market value (based on today’s market) are being offered $30,000, $50,000, $75,000 less by unscrupulous buyers looking out for their best interest."

lol ... priceless ..... ok ... ummm ... so, when a best interest is "pro you" it's good, and when it's "pro buyer" it's bad ... gotcha. Who is the only party that brings money to the table again? Idiot.

>>"I’d like to see your closing documents so I can report the appraiser who didn’t value your house for market value but ABOVE."

lol ... where were you in 2001? Why so angry towards appraisers? They have kids to feed too.

>>"Comps don’t lie"

nope, but REturds do.

>>"HELLO. Realtors and/or real estate agents don’t set prices - we only provide the facts."

Ok, now you have fibbed. The shortsale and REO process uses BPO's exclusivly for listing a home. BPO's are the price suggestions of REpro's -- so, your assertion is incorrect in today's market that you said was all shortsales and REO. YOU DO SET PRICES. Only the lender's appraisal saves a stupid buyer from paying as much as some idiot greedy REpuke thinks a home is worth. Thought I'd clear that up.

You're angry ... and that's good. Too bad you were not so interested in finding some honesty in RE about 10 years ago .... darn the luck.

So far, I found 3 types of realtors.

The greedy, the dumb and the angry.

What the hell, I still think there might be another type.

Why would anyone trust or believe a person regardless of profession that what they tell you, doesn't have to be right or factual, and profit from getting you to believe it?

ptiemann says

knewbetter: that’s your perception as a buyer.
Believe me, if you are a seller, many seller’s agents try to talk the seller into listing at a low price to get the deal done quickly.
-Peter

Actually, my opinion is of both seller and a buyer. When listing and buying at the same time, a realtor wants concessions from you for the new buyers, but won't do the same from the seller's of you next home. I'm sure there are honest realtors who live by a code from a galaxy far far away, but after 10+ houses I have yet to meet one of them. Maybe its the paltry sum of money they make for 3 phone calls and 1/2 dozen pieces of paper. Paper? Who am I kidding, they don't even have to type anymore!

When selling my wife's grandmother's home, we had several realtors (oh, sorry, not sure if they were real estate agents or what) bide for the listing. It went up and up and up from the point that the same realtor was calling back almost daily with an ever increasing listing price. My point is once a home is under contract a realtor has very little incentive to work very hard to get you a good price. First week, then the calls start coming "I think we may have to adjust". Take a look a the stats of how long a realtor will hold their own price on their own house and it gives you pause to think what they feel for us.

Selling my wife's grandmother's house was only one of the several transactions I've had with "realtors".

While we were cleaning the house out there was a dumpster in the yard. No less than 5 people stopped to give us cards to ask if we were selling. Two of them offered cash prices then and there, saying they've been looking for that neighborhood and would we sell. Their offers were about 80-100k below market value, but their cards did say real estate investor so they should of course know a good price. Without fail, everyone who stopped asked to list the house for us, some with "buyers waiting" who would allow us to avoild the expense and possible tax concequences of MLS listing!

When it became apparent we were not to be bullied (one person stuck their sign in the yard like a claim marker and was pissed when I burned it in 1/2 with a propane torch) the sweet-talking began. The price started at 210k, then 230k, then 260k. Finally, we stuck the FSBO sign in the lawn and they stopped upping their estimates. Then came back some of the same realtors with their sheep, letting us know the comps had mysteriously changed, and now 210k was the MAX the market would bear. Shameless.

Here's the best part: We finally sold FSBO for 230k. The buyer was a Californian couple who claimed they flipped for a living. 230k for a 1950s 900sqft ranch, all original including bad septic. That house isn't worth 150k right now.

Catsmouth-1,

No one here at this site wholy blames real state agents for what's going on in the housing market right now. They for the most part were just as clueless as everyone else. What you will find on this site is the general consensus that Realtors (I love how you capitalize it, makes is seem importaint) are about as importaint as Phrenologists, or Dowsers, or a Slubber Dofferor. My favorite more recent relic is travel agent; those usefull people who can get you a great deal on a plane ticket AND a hotel all at once!

In other words, (R)ealtors are as useless as tits on a bull.

knewbetter says

Here’s the best part: We finally sold FSBO for 230k. The buyer was a Californian couple who claimed they flipped for a living. 230k for a 1950s 900sqft ranch, all original including bad septic. That house isn’t worth 150k right now.

good story. seriously, good story. I recently made the mistake of calling an auto dealership about price(a couple of them, actually) and found that they have caller ID. Salesmen calling all flipping day long!

I'm not a data finder .. but, my RealtyTrac account shows the REO / Auction / NOD amounts have exploded in Merced County. Is anyone else seeing a surge?

on a related note, all REturds I contacted today while home shopping ALL started each call with "are you pre-Quald" and then about a dozen more questions about getting financed .. the next question is "do you have a REturd already?" .... and then they finally ask me what house I want to see...... "is this the house you asked about the kind of house you are looking for?" ..... after that they tell you the house is pending with a full price offer, but you can offer over asking "incase something happens to the first offer." I kid you not. Same ol same ol.

same old BS techniques used to start bidding wars.... same thing that got us into this mess.... nothing more than a ponzi scheme..... fraud is fraud.... this is why Bids should be recorded, discoverable, and only accepted when made by qualified buyers. Realtors who get caught lying and engaging in this type of behavior should loose their license and be prosecuted.

The venom on this site is amusing. All realtors are thieves? The same can be said about any profession. Obviously, most of you have felt taken advantage of.... probably because you are a fool and too immature to admit it.

No one can force you to sell or buy a house (or anything else for that matter) at any price. I challenge any one of you to show the muzzle print or the powder burn on your forehead. YOU are responsible for your own actions. That's what's wrong with this country. A lack of character. It's more of a cultural crisis in that people feel that it's never their fault when something goes wrong and that the government or someone else should pay for their stupidity. They're all victims. Boo hoo.

I am not a realtor. Never been one. Probably never will be. With that said, I have had excellent realtors and amateurs that couldn't close a door. I have always sold my properties for a premium over competitive properties, and many on the first day they were listed. Why? They're sale ready. No dirty floors. No worn carpets. No leaky pipes. No peeling paint. The house is clean and looks like a builder's model. Beds are made. Dirty clothes in the hamper. Personal collections of clutter packed and put away - just like the real estate professionals recommend.

I just bought a home for my daughter in the East Bay. I paid list price. I was informed that there were higher bids. I said "So what? That doesn't change the value of the house. If someone wants to pay too much, that's there business." Someone did. $40,000 more. Guess what? They were FHA and our bid was selected by the seller because we were a clean deal. Our realtor never made any suggestion other than report facts. She didn't say "bid higher". She just informed us of the situation and I made the decision. I've walked away from houses, even after having a bid selected - after I did my due diligence. That's what intelligent and informed people do.

Unfortunately, most people are payment buyers. That's is confirmed by the "prices go down when interest rates go up" observation - which is correct, by the way. It shows you how stupid people are. Remember cash for clunkers? Dealers made more money on the clunker fools than the regular customers. Was it the dealer's fault? No. It was the customer's fault. Why? Because they should have walked away and told the dealer to shove it. If enough people did that, putting the emotional "mob mentality" aside and made business decisions, they wouldn't get cheated. But they won't. Then they complain because they wore a big sign that said "sheep" and ended up getting sheared. Stupid is as stupid does.

Here's two lessons my father taught me:

1. Experience is something you get shortly after you needed it the most.
2. When "everyone" is doing "it", the smart money has left the room. Only the suckers are left.

And before you all jump on the "you're stupid to buy" bandwagon..... I fully congnizant of the fact that I may lose money on the house I just purchased and fully prepared to do that. I'm okay with that. Why? I view a house as a place to live - not an "investment" or a way to get rich quick. If you approach it from that perspective, it makes sense. Keep in mind that you lose 100% of the value of a Starbucks when you buy it. You lose 20% of the value of your new car when you title it - even if you never move it. You lose 70-80% of the value of your MacBook Pro when you walk out of the Apple store. A diamond ring has little value (other than intrinsic) but people spend 6 month's salary to buy one for their betrothed as a "symbol" of their love. The same people who do this flap their arms about purchasing a house.

Now, if you're crunching numbers to make it pencil and confirm your argument, save your breath. Where and how you live is a personal choice. I prefer the solitude of a single family home. I don't like neighbors above and below me. I don't like hearing arguments or people stomping up and down the stairs at all hours of the day. If you live a single family home long enough, and actually pay out your mortgage, you'll eventually own the home free and clear - with your living expenses being taxes, insurance, and maintenance. Try that with rent. My daughter's rent on a 950 square foot apartment is $1,650 - plus utilities (water, heat, electric, etc.). Her payment on a 1,250 square foot home - taxes and insurance included - is less than that. Add to that the tax benefits (deduction of mortgage and taxes from income tax), and her net rent is still less - regardless of "maintenance" costs. The good news is that she eventually gets her "pop bottle deposit" back on the "rent" she pays to the bank in the form of equity - unless the value of the house adjusts to zero, which is unlikely. If it does, your landlord will lose your place too and we'll all be living under a bridge. However, this advice does not apply to a condo. I wouldn't buy a condo with your money. Those are losers as you have little or no control over your maintenance costs and "assessments".

Maintenance costs? Learn how to mow your own lawn, paint your own walls, and fix your own plumbing. Your maintenance costs become very affordable. Walk away from the X-Box and Netflix and actually learn how to do something. It may help you in the future if you have to survive in the woods. If nothing else, every $5 you save on doing your own work yields $10 you have to earn. Not a bad ROI for a few hours a week that would otherwise be wasted watching TV or whining about scum bags who took advantage of you.

Finally, HOA's are there for all property owner's protection. It's very rare that you will find a fuscia colored house, with a boat in the front yard, and a 12 foot diameter satellite dish in the yard in a HOA community. Yes, some are vigilantes. However, most are managed by like minded residents who are there protecting the value of both your and their homes. A smart person attends the HOA meetings or reads the CC&R's before purchasing a home. They read the minutes of the meetings and see what is going on in the community before buying and moving in and being surprised that they can't paint their front door lime green with pink trim. HOA hell? Bet you a dollar the guy who's bitching is at least 50% of the problem. Oh. Forgot. This is a site for victims.

false comps, lies, deceit, same old BS techniques used to start bidding wars…. same thing that got us into this mess…. nothing more than a ponzi scheme….. fraud is fraud…. this is why Bids should be recorded, discoverable, and only accepted when made by qualified buyers. Realtors who get caught lying and engaging in this type of behavior should loose their license and be prosecuted.

Buyers and Sellers Beware. The so called professionals are their to rob you blind. Worse then the crack addict on the street stealing your wallet or breaking into your home. Shameless.

thomas.wong89 says

It was common 5 -7 years ago around here that the realtors would tell the buyer, there are 4-6 other bidders, so add in 1-2% for each other bidder. And this was before any homes were viewed or offers made. And the same tactic was repeated by realtors with the next buyer they met.
So how did we get 20% year over year appreciation? You guessed it! Realtors as sales people, they have a quota and they did push the envelope on ethics. There is no transparency, verification, and controls in this industry to eliminate this kind of abuse. Appraisers have been well aware of this. That is why they have been complaining for the past decade.

I agree that practice was deceptive, but come on. Noone had a gun to the buyer's head. Realtors work for the seller, pure and simple. They want to get the most money for the house. Buyers should know this going in and shouldn't be so easily fooled. And if they are, it's their own fault.

Do you pay list price when you buy a new car?

Well buyer's agents are having people sign forms to clear up any misconception that they are acting in the Buyer's interest. How is knowingly (or suspecting) lying about competing offers in the buyer's interest. I agree with Gina, public bidding would do a lot to stabilize prices.

ErikK says

Well buyer’s agents are having people sign forms to clear up any misconception that they are acting in the Buyer’s interest. How is knowingly (or suspecting) lying about competing offers in the buyer’s interest. I agree with Gina, public bidding would do a lot to stabilize prices.

Public bidding wouldn't help. Selling your home ? just pay a friend to keep raising his hand at the auction.

I am pretty sure what was meant was public bidding for public owned homes (yes, we taxpayers now own Freddy And Fanny so we own their homes). Not private sellers. Private sellers can sell whatever they have for whatever amount they wish .... except for sex.
remove the BPO fraud .. a device used to help local REmafioso conduct price fixing
remove all of this bank to assett manager to listing agent to buying agent to buyer to buyers agent to listing agent to assett manager to bank bullcrap. Just a dude with a loud speaker, a few guys working the crowd, and a straight auction to a person that does not own a home. Thats it.

Since all other public held assetts MUST be auctioned off in public to the highest bidder, why not these REO's help by Freddy and Fanny and CountryWide et al?

@@Not A Victim,
""I just bought a home for my daughter in the East Bay. I paid list price. I was informed that there were higher bids. I said “So what? That doesn’t change the value of the house. If someone wants to pay too much, that’s there business.” Someone did. $40,000 more. Guess what? They were FHA and our bid was selected by the seller because we were a clean deal. Our realtor never made any suggestion other than report facts. She didn’t say “bid higher”. She just informed us of the situation and I made the decision. I’ve walked away from houses, even after having a bid selected - after I did my due diligence. That’s what intelligent and informed people do.""

How do you know - for sure - that there were other offers? how much they were? and the bull crap about FHA? You don't. You trust a REwhore, that is your business. FLIP SIDE: Is it not possible that your REwhore lied about the entire deal? Is it not possible that they wanted to avoid a particular inspection or ideal that FHA has to protects buyers, making avoiding FHA a bad idea for the buyer? Is it not possible that your REwhore, or the REwhore thatwas telling yours this bullcrap, was just trying to get yu to move up off your price? It is impossible for you to know if the other REwhore is fibbing ... even if yours aint.... but yours still may be fibbing.

This is why open dealing is a must.

@everyone,
There are loans getting made ABOVE asking to allow for the buyer to use loan money for the DownPayment -- I shit you not. Just came from the lenders office and he was red-faced angry knowing that all that this crap is doing is recycling. Bottom aint in in the valley, gaurenteed.

Bap33 says

@@Not A Victim,
“”I just bought a home for my daughter in the East Bay. I paid list price. I was informed that there were higher bids. I said “So what? That doesn’t change the value of the house. If someone wants to pay too much, that’s there business.” Someone did. $40,000 more. Guess what? They were FHA and our bid was selected by the seller because we were a clean deal. Our realtor never made any suggestion other than report facts. She didn’t say “bid higher”. She just informed us of the situation and I made the decision. I’ve walked away from houses, even after having a bid selected - after I did my due diligence. That’s what intelligent and informed people do.”"
How do you know - for sure - that there were other offers? how much they were? and the bull crap about FHA? You don’t. You trust a REwhore, that is your business. FLIP SIDE: Is it not possible that your REwhore lied about the entire deal? Is it not possible that they wanted to avoid a particular inspection or ideal that FHA has to protects buyers, making avoiding FHA a bad idea for the buyer? Is it not possible that your REwhore, or the REwhore thatwas telling yours this bullcrap, was just trying to get yu to move up off your price? It is impossible for you to know if the other REwhore is fibbing … even if yours aint…. but yours still may be fibbing.

So what if the RE agent was fibbing. Doesn't change the point of his story--bid what you think the house is worth and no more. Don't be afraid to walk away from a deal. If you overbid, you have no one to blame but yourself.

>> Someone did. $40,000 more. Guess what? They were FHA and our bid was selected by the seller because we were a clean deal.

Or maybe, just MAYBE, the other bid was just a fake bid and the FHA story was just another lie they told you to explain why you were suddenly considered the top offer again.

Gina says

I asked the new home owners living in the homes and they confirmed the exact price. www.cyberhome.com posted the exact selling prices and current estimated values, based upon the exact sale prices. All these homes were built in 2006 and later and without any problems except buyers bought into the grossly inflated hype and now the homes are selling at least 40% less than purchase price and still dropping. Face the reality; greed and profit under false hype significantly over inflated the values of real estate and now the market is in a steady decline, with the worse yet to come. Buyers believe the prices you see on www.cyberhomes.com and www.zillow.com and pay less than what they recommend, not a penny more. There about as honest answer as you will see when it comes to current real estate values.
The market is going down more in 2010. Don’t be fooled and ripped off
by realtors, desperate sellers, and their decietful tactics anymore.

Are you talking about Windemere? because quite honestly, I don't know how Windemere is staying afloat. I'd like to see what happens up there over the next couple years... Windemere was built in the bubble, and many of those houses went for 1M + ...

BAP33 - what area of the valley was your lender refering too? - just out of interest, in my area it seems like if teh houses get listed for just under a $1m they are suddenly bargains and are going under contract - just crazy!

Central San Joaquin Valley - Merced County specificly. It seems there was some type of "FDA" loan that was 0% down, but that ran out of money so now the non-buyers (mostly hispanic still - in both cases) are using this system of offering more but asking the seller to pay all closing and inspection and everything else. Once again it is 0% down, sign here, e esta es su casa. And the REpro's are the major force for all of the gov non-buyer programs.

My lender is also a life long buddy .. so he does speak freely.

justme says

>> Someone did. $40,000 more. Guess what? They were FHA and our bid was selected by the seller because we were a clean deal.
Or maybe, just MAYBE, the other bid was just a fake bid and the FHA story was just another lie they told you to explain why you were suddenly considered the top offer again.

I said that .... but I said it all messed up and wordy. lol