Buyers can't have it both ways

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anything that's been updated and offered at a reasonable price on the lower end of the market is selling immediately. This 1BR condo in Arlington was listed Friday and was supposed to have an open house today. I and several others went to the open house, only to find out it was cancelled on short notice due to multiple offers already received on Friday and Saturday.

https://redf.in/WwF2JR

To add to that, anything that’s reasonably priced will move. Every buyer has seen HGTV and thinks they’re the next Chip and Joanna. Most are not afraid of painting, ripping up carpet, etc. and if they are afraid, there’s a dozen people behind them ready to bid on the property.

+1

I live in N Arlington and the granny houses are flying off the market still with multiple offers from young families.

What sort of cold a$$ market are these posters living in if the houses near them aren’t selling because a coat of paint? Must be some pretty undesirable zip codes if some minor cosmetic updates are the only thing keeping buyers away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Calm down, millennials, and stop spewing insults at boomers.

You have a few excellent sources of information for determining if granny's place just needs a coat of paint or if there's more going on.

1. Sellers' disclosures, unless it's an estate sale (granny died). If you don't see that they replaced the HVAC in the last 10 years, well there's your answer.
2. Get your agent to ask theirs.
3. Inspections. You're an idiot if you didn't get one before you put in your offer, or if you didn't make that a contingency. Yes, a year or two ago people were waiving inspections, but this has changed.

So there's need to catastrophize about how granny's brown furniture means the roof will fall in the day after closing.

Equally, every smart seller knows their house and what's a reasonable ask. And they're going to reject your demand for a $50k cut ... just because you have to deal with a painter.

THIS is why *some* millennials (including several here) are having a tough time in the market.

Uhhh, all the rude behavior is coming from one majorly unhinged self identified boomer.

Uhhh, there's an unhinged millennial posting here on Saturday night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also of course buyers want a 50k discount on a house that needs 25k in work. A 25k discount on a house needing 25k in work isn’t a discount.

Just like sellers will spend 25k on updates and price it 50k higher.

That is just people valuing their time and effort. Duh.

No, sellers are charging what the market will bear. I'm impressed that buyers think their time is so valuable that calling a few contractors, and maybe living with one bathroom for a month, is worth $25k.

[Anonymous]

Are any of you in the DC area? Because as is, waived inspections, no contingencies, cash offers winning was still very much the situation this summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are any of you in the DC area? Because as is, waived inspections, no contingencies, cash offers winning was still very much the situation this summer.

Same thing in Boston suburbs and in southern NH, where I'm from/have friends looking. Anything sitting in my town is overpriced on a veryyy main road. Otherwise, everything goes contingent or just right to pending within a week of being listed.

[Anonymous]

This is why I always say that young people should be more focused on saving for life than saving for retirement. Mainstream advice tells people to contribute to their retirement accounts from the day they get their first job because of compound interest and blah blah blah, but that’s how they end up in these types of situations. Oh, you’ve contributed 20% of your income to your 401(k) since age 22? Congrats, now you can’t afford to do some basic repairs so you don’t hate your house.

Young people should first save one to two years of living expenses in cash (the traditional 3 to 6 months is absurdly low). Then, if they want to buy a house, they should save a 20% down payment plus an additional amount for closing costs, the inevitable repairs that always come up, and some cheap furniture (I’ve seen new homeowners who spend all their money on their house and then have to leave it unfurnished for two years). After you’ve done that, THEN start contributing to your 401(k). Or just don’t buy a house if you value your 401(k) so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but I doubt any neighborhood in the DC area is "selling like hotcakes" in September 2023.

And if the market was truly as hot as you describe, then any house in any condition would sell, to developers, for instance, who will raze properties and build new.

So I don't dispute that un-renovated homes sell more slowly (DUH!), but I do dispute your description of your neighborhood.

DP here. I live in Loudoun in a neighborhood that is highly desired but other locals. DCUM couldn’t care less about it. And yes any SFH that goes for sale is still selling in less than a weekend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I'm not understanding why people think that just because some old lady likes her outdated paint colors and dark brown furniture, it means that she didn't maintain other aspects of the house. Maybe she's just not a real estate visionary and her agent is another old lady who doesn't understand the millennial market?

My mother keeps repairing things and doing maintenance and putting in the same exact stuff. She complains about how hard it is to find wallpaper borders nowadays. The inside of the house is perfectly maintained. In my house I still have one extremely ugly bathroom because I keep spending the money on boring things like plumbing, insulation, the roof and HVAC. But hold out for your horrible gray-toned floors and marble bathrooms that you will later realize you hate to clean.

Yeah this is me, too. I live here so I want a roof that doesn't leak, lights that come when I hit the switch, pipes that don't leak, heat and a/c, hot water and so on. I can live with the old wrought iron stair rails and no shower in the basement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Oh, you’ve contributed 20% of your income to your 401(k) since age 22? Congrats, now you can’t afford to do some basic repairs so you don’t hate your house....Or just don’t buy a house if you value your 401(k) so much.

You make an interesting point here. I've maxed out my 401K and Roth IRA every year for the last 20 years. I got started at age 23. I never owned a home. I've done an excellent job of saving for retirement (just over $1M now), but realize it's time to work on increasing my taxable brokerage accounts, and increasing my cash savings. I'm the guy that's in the market for a 1BR or 2BR near Arlington with a tight budget of $300K to $500K (all cash), but it's a very crowded and competitive market at that low price range.

[Anonymous]

So lets say I want to sell, and I live in Capitol Hill directly on Lincoln Park. What kind of shape does my house need to be in for it to sell relatively quickly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's one reason we got such a great deal on our house, which is in a very competitive neighborhood/area. First they were divorcing, but also the home had dark floors, old furniture that was oddly placed and off-scale for the rooms, one room was staged in such a way that even though it was a bedroom it didn't look like a bedroom - so it sat and sat even with two price drops. We made a below list offer, they negotiated up a bit - we accepted. We landed at $180K below their original ask. We painted, changed all the floors, repainted the kitchen cabinets, ripped out the 90's travertine in the bathrooms.

It's ruthless to take advantage of people in one of the most stressful times of their lives, but this is how you get a deal.

It’s not ruthless. It’s what they market will bear or the owners will accept. Obviously it’s their choice. No one is taking advantage of anyone. It’s business. They got a good deal. Many cannot overlook the cosmetic and want it staged because they have no creativity. Congrats to the buyer!

[Anonymous]

I guess I'd worry that the seller is spending all their money on the new kitchen and is ignoring the bigger problems, like pipes and HVAC. Especially if it's granny on her fixed income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So lets say I want to sell, and I live in Capitol Hill directly on Lincoln Park. What kind of shape does my house need to be in for it to sell relatively quickly?

Oh gosh, I love those old houses and that location so based on a survey of 1 I would say absolutely nothing if the house is in reasonably good condition underneath the decorating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So lets say I want to sell, and I live in Capitol Hill directly on Lincoln Park. What kind of shape does my house need to be in for it to sell relatively quickly?

Why are you leaving that gorgeous and walkable neighborhood? I think about aging there sometimes, but we are now priced out I'm pretty sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So lets say I want to sell, and I live in Capitol Hill directly on Lincoln Park. What kind of shape does my house need to be in for it to sell relatively quickly?

It appears the quickest and highest selling units have been updated in the last 10 years and are close to being turn-key.