S/O How many houses do you need to look at?

[Anonymous]

2

[Anonymous]

I saw a ton of them (63) but saw all the open houses on my own and saw the ones that didn't have an open house with my realtor. We saw almost everything in my range in the few square miles I was considering. In all, I think I went out with my realtor 3 times and I think it was pretty obvious that I was a serious buyer.

I think realtors (rightfully) get annoyed when a buyer doesn't seem committed and waffles a lot, or never seems happy with anything. That would annoy me too. But looking at a bunch of houses is a great way to zero in on what you can and can't live with, and a great way to figure out what certain $ amounts will buy you.

[Anonymous]

We've probably seen 40 homes in person, but that is almost a year of looking. What's changed is the proportion that we see from what is out there - earlier on we saw probably 70% in person of those we saw online, but now we see 10% or less.

Earlier on we saw a lot in person that took 5 seconds to realize it wasn't the one but was worth seeing to rule out certain things and areas and decide dealbreakers, and most importantly, what you can get for XX cost in YY area.

Also our number is skewed higher because we have put offers on 3 homes unsuccessfully and have a bid on one currently, so it's not as though we've needed to see 40 to find simply one that we like.

[Anonymous]

On our first home, we saw 10, put in an offer on one, didn't get it. Saw 8 more, put in an offer, didn't get it. Saw 10 more, put in an offer, didn't get it. Saw 9 more, put in an offer, got it. So 37 total, but we were actively trying the whole time, just without success. Thankfully, that whole process only took 4 Saturdays.

This time I see it going much the same since the area we are looking has low inventory and multiple offers on anything that's relatively decently priced for the area without any major flaws that would cost $$$$ to resolve.

[Anonymous]

I saw a lot, but we were sort of looking casually over the course of a year and a half and the great majority of the looking happened without our agent we saw maybe 5 or 6 houses total with him. When we finally got very serious and very specific about our criteria, we really saw only three, and only one of them with our agent. We put an offer on two of them (not simultaneously) and the second one worked out.

[Anonymous]

We looked at 9 houses in just under two weeks. We went everyday after work (with the kids!). It was hell but it helped us get a handle on what we really wanted and what we were willing to compromise on. Some required more work than others. Some required no work but the location wasn't great. We put an offer on a house and closed in just under 4 weeks. Luckily the sellers had to relocate and we had already begun the underwriting process so it went quickly. It was a pretty fast turn around but we knew what we wanted and found a house that had everything on our list.

[Anonymous]

I think your strategy is fine. Looking at two different price ranges for updates/fixers is perfectly normal. The important part is narrowing down your area, which you've done. Look at everything that may interest you. Check for pics and descriptions online before looking. Really, you know pretty much as soon as you set foot in the door whether it's something you want to put an offer on.

[Anonymous]

OP, we had the same conversations during our housing search. There was one house that, based on the listing, generated a lot of conversation because it offered a lot of space for the price, but needed work. Ten minutes in the house determined that it was beyond what we could do--and it set off my husband's allergies!

We had done a ton of research looking at listings and visiting open houses before we were looking with a realtor, but when push comes to shove, there are some decisions you can't really make until you are deciding whether to put an offer on the house.

All told, with a realtor, we looked at ten houses and bid on two over the space of not quite three weeks. We were really fortunate to find a sweet spot in terms of the "how much to fix" quandry: an estate sale at the low end of our budget that had been kept up with basic maintenance, with fresh paint and refinished floors, but otherwise not updated.

[Anonymous]

Gosh I don't know- you're making realtor do twice the work and then if you decide on cheaper house to renovate they get less commission. No wonder he/she is hesitant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gosh I don't know- you're making realtor do twice the work and then if you decide on cheaper house to renovate they get less commission. No wonder he/she is hesitant.

Thanks, realtor, for chiming in.

[Anonymous]

A Realtor would never jeopardize a potential transaction by recommending something that is less optimal to the buyer. Any Realtor knows, that getting an offer accepted is only a portion of the work. The rest is driving everyone towards closing. Closing = pay day. You get to closing by ensuring that the buyer's needs are taken care of.

Well, a good Realtor would never do that. There are some inexperienced and foolish Realtors out there - just like any profession.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand why your RE agent doesn't understand that OP. What you describe is very common.

[Anonymous]

We looked for more than year. Maybe a 100? More than that?

We were ready to wait for "our" house, and we found it

[Anonymous]

This seems pretty easy to understand, like you have a price range up to 1 million, but at that price it needs to be updated and turnkey, 800k with good bones and the right layout, location ,etc you can put in some money, what's not to understand

[Anonymous]

40-50 over a year. The house we ended up buying was one we originally deemed not worth checking out, and only looked at it to be sure. Big surprise!