ONE House in Neighborhood Where We Really Want to Live (Wootton School Cluster) -How Much To Offer?

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP but we actually have two good friends in the neighborhood and are very confident in our decision to move here and the value of living in the neighborhood and attending the zoned schools. I am not sure if you are trying to be helpful(?) or antagonize me.

[Anonymous]

If there was a house I had my heart set on- I sure as hell wouldnt advertise it. Also- some of your future neighbors could be reading this and get an idea of your values, etc.

[Anonymous]

I'm 20:39 - and we're not making an offer on this house, OP. But I do think it's rather unwise of you to provide a link to the actual house you plan to bid on. At first I thought you might be the agent trying to gin up interest, but it appears this is real. Good luck. I hope you get it.

[Anonymous]

OP, go for it, and don't listen to the posters that are just trying to antagonize.

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised it's priced that low....

[Anonymous]

The price is cheap. I'd low ball it b/c that's what you're supposed to do, and once they counter offer, you can meet midway.

Anonymous wrote:We have been trying to find a house within our price range in a specific neighborhood (Westleigh) for about a year but not much has come up so we stopped looking for awhile. We finally started looking again last week and have now found the perfect house. The neighborhood works well for our family - it is very walkable; has a great recreation center with swimming and an active tennis program; no low income housing in the area and it is in a school cluster that we really like - Wootton. Here is the link to the listing below:

http://www.homevisit.com/mlsTour/?id=56307

We really like the house but we are not sure what to offer, given that there are not many comparative sales for guidance. Also, given that there is an open house this weekend are we are in a stronger position if we put in an offer BEFORE the open house or wait until after the open house (hoping that they don't get any other offers) and are more inclined to take ours? Yes, I am working with an agent but she is a relative , a whole other story - it would be too sticky to get out of her representing us without World War III in our family.

[Anonymous]

I live in North Potomac. I neither care that it's a fancy name for Gaithersburg nor that it's not the "desirable" Potomac/Bethesda. It's silly that some posters even care to make that distinction on here.

OP, I enjoy this area very much. Originally, I thought it might be too rural for me. Having lived here for over two years, it is actually very convenient. We're close to the major highways (ICC/270). I also like the nearby communities and easy access to lots of stores/Rio/Kentland. My only objection (a minor one) to living here is that it's not walkable--of course this is because there's so much more land and we're not congested like Bethesda or DC. The schools are top-notch and our neighbors are nice. I hope good families will continue to move here.

Best of luck. I do second some of the posters' advice not to post your desired home on here ! Not good to show all your cards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in North Potomac. I neither care that it's a fancy name for Gaithersburg nor that it's not the "desirable" Potomac/Bethesda. It's silly that some posters even care to make that distinction on here.

OP, I enjoy this area very much. Originally, I thought it might be too rural for me. Having lived here for over two years, it is actually very convenient. We're close to the major highways (ICC/270). I also like the nearby communities and easy access to lots of stores/Rio/Kentland. My only objection (a minor one) to living here is that it's not walkable--of course this is because there's so much more land and we're not congested like Bethesda or DC. The schools are top-notch and our neighbors are nice. I hope good families will continue to move here.

Best of luck. I do second some of the posters' advice not to post your desired home on here ! Not good to show all your cards.

+1!

[Anonymous]

Offer asking.

Homes in our neighborhood have been going fast and above asking especially after an open house.

[Anonymous]

OP I'm not sure if this is helpful but we looked in this neighborhood back in the fall of 2004. The prices back then were almost identical to what this house is listed. It seems that the 500K-800K houses have stayed the same in terms of cost over the bubble burst.

Its the 1M houses that are seeing the big reduction. The 500K-800K houses are attractive to people moving into the area or people who really need more space and are coming from townhouses. Before the bubble, it would be common for people who were doing well financially to sell their Westleigh house and then move up to a new 1M house and stay there until the kids went/graduated from college. Now, everyone is just staying put and the "upgrade" market has really fallen off.

My suggestion would be to find out what comps the appraisal company would be pulling. This is important because if you offer full price but the appraisal comes back lower you may have a financial problem. I don't think appraiser are still appraising high anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Offer asking.

Homes in our neighborhood have been going fast and above asking especially after an open house.

RIGHT!! good advice. BIG HIGH on a property thats been sitting for 30 days. NO, bid a bit lower than the zillow price and escalate.

Is that how you win your ebay auctions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP I'm not sure if this is helpful but we looked in this neighborhood back in the fall of 2004. The prices back then were almost identical to what this house is listed. It seems that the 500K-800K houses have stayed the same in terms of cost over the bubble burst.

Its the 1M houses that are seeing the big reduction. The 500K-800K houses are attractive to people moving into the area or people who really need more space and are coming from townhouses. Before the bubble, it would be common for people who were doing well financially to sell their Westleigh house and then move up to a new 1M house and stay there until the kids went/graduated from college. Now, everyone is just staying put and the "upgrade" market has really fallen off.

My suggestion would be to find out what comps the appraisal company would be pulling. This is important because if you offer full price but the appraisal comes back lower you may have a financial problem. I don't think appraiser are still appraising high anymore.

How do you find out this info.? ordinarily don't you have to make an offer and then once you have a contract, they start the whole process of appraising etc. If you want to find out what comps the appraiser is using how would you find this out beforehand? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I did NOT in any way mean that I have something against low income people but I work in law enforcement as an attorney and am not blind to the fact that crime is higher and schools do not perform as well when the low income population is large. It is a fact - not my opinion. I have children and want the best for them. I did not mean to offend anyone but w/ 15 years in my field, I think I am qualified to make this statement.

Way to dig yourself in deeper OP!

Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP I'm not sure if this is helpful but we looked in this neighborhood back in the fall of 2004. The prices back then were almost identical to what this house is listed. It seems that the 500K-800K houses have stayed the same in terms of cost over the bubble burst.

Its the 1M houses that are seeing the big reduction. The 500K-800K houses are attractive to people moving into the area or people who really need more space and are coming from townhouses. Before the bubble, it would be common for people who were doing well financially to sell their Westleigh house and then move up to a new 1M house and stay there until the kids went/graduated from college. Now, everyone is just staying put and the "upgrade" market has really fallen off.

My suggestion would be to find out what comps the appraisal company would be pulling. This is important because if you offer full price but the appraisal comes back lower you may have a financial problem. I don't think appraiser are still appraising high anymore.

How do you find out this info.? ordinarily don't you have to make an offer and then once you have a contract, they start the whole process of appraising etc. If you want to find out what comps the appraiser is using how would you find this out beforehand? Thanks.

More evidence you should fire your realtor. If you are considering an offer, your realtor should be providing you with a thorough list of comps in the area. This will help you decide on a good offer, and will help her make a strong argument to the seller's agent as to why your offer is a good one. Id make an offer close to, but below asking. Not everything they want, but strong enough that they cant afford to walk away from it. After about 30 days Sllers start to get nervous without any bites, and agents start flaoting the idea of a price reduction.

[Anonymous]

All I can say is NEVER use a relative as your realtor!