Is it good to be a picky buyer?

[Anonymous]

OP, you won't find a perfect house WITH a custom build. Trust me, I've built two homes. No home is perfect and you always have to compromise. Even when money is not an object, there are limitations. And builders, even the great ones, aren't perfect either. There is simply a certain degree of error in home building. We live in reality, not a fantasy.

Some issues are big enough of a red flag to be worth walking away. Finding out a house regularly floods because of it's location, that it is dire need of a costly repair and the sellers will not provide a subsidy for it, etc. But it sounds like you are ready to walk the second any issue comes up. In that case, I think you may not be cut out to be a home owner because something always comes up.

Even if you found a house went zero issues, I guarantee you within a year or two of buying, something would come up and you'll be livid and talking about suing the seller or whatever. You honestly might be better off renting.

I will say one advantage to building a custom home (with the right builder) or buying a new build is that with a builders contract, as opposed to a sellers contract, there is usually a warranty period where if you find issues, you can have them remediated by the builder. This can be useful both for small things like finishes and for major issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you won't find a perfect house WITH a custom build. Trust me, I've built two homes. No home is perfect and you always have to compromise. Even when money is not an object, there are limitations. And builders, even the great ones, aren't perfect either. There is simply a certain degree of error in home building. We live in reality, not a fantasy.

Some issues are big enough of a red flag to be worth walking away. Finding out a house regularly floods because of it's location, that it is dire need of a costly repair and the sellers will not provide a subsidy for it, etc. But it sounds like you are ready to walk the second any issue comes up. In that case, I think you may not be cut out to be a home owner because something always comes up.

Even if you found a house went zero issues, I guarantee you within a year or two of buying, something would come up and you'll be livid and talking about suing the seller or whatever. You honestly might be better off renting.

I will say one advantage to building a custom home (with the right builder) or buying a new build is that with a builders contract, as opposed to a sellers contract, there is usually a warranty period where if you find issues, you can have them remediated by the builder. This can be useful both for small things like finishes and for major issues.

Walking away from a house with flooding issues means you’re not cut out to be a homeowner?


You sound like a greedy realtor. You probably are.

[Anonymous]

Drainage issues can mean full on flooding or something much smaller.

Bought a house from the 1950s. Moisture in basement upon inspection but no actual leaks. Fix was remediate mold (paid for by seller). Then, extended downspouts. Dig out one underground downspout and replaced with stronger PVC and redirected. Very minimal regrading next to one side of house where dirt eroded. Then added rocks to slow water absorption.

Any basement in the metropolitan area will require a dehumidifier.

Other than the mold remediation, this was not very expensive.

However, if the problem were full on flooding or the house on a downgrade from a lot of other properties I would definitely pass.

Before I started this project I got 5 estimates which were wildly different. Not everything is a $30,000 problem despite what people tell you.

[Anonymous]

There’s nothing wrong with walking away from a home with major issues like flooding, but the whole “Maybe I’m built differently” vibe of OP’s post is giving off “I’m not like other girls, I’m a cool girl vibe.”

Like we get it OP, you are just that much smarter than all the other buyers out there throwing their money at dud homes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to lower your budget so you can have money to fix whatever you find. You will not find a perfect house. Houses here are from 1970s and have issues. You can fix the majority of issues! If you have been seriously looking for a year and walked from multiple properties then yes, it seems you are too picky and I don’t blame your realtor for moving on.

Is this your first property?

This is the real answer. No home is perfect. Budget for the repairs/updates you want.

Being somewhere where groundwater intrusion is a constant would be my biggest issue. Otherwise, everything is reparable. Just need to do the cost analysis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I’m built differently, but when it comes to a home, I want to make sure that things are correct. Such as foundation, walls, plumbing, electrical, drywall, flooring. I want everything to be as right as can be or I don’t want the house.

I’m about a year in with the home building process. Looking in either Montgomery County or in NOVA (Fairfax/McLean)Recently we really liked a house that met all the checkboxes, but there was an issue with drainage and flooding that the seller didn’t care to disclose…they always tried to avoid the subject. So I walked. My realtor got upset with us to the point where she isn’t speaking to us and said we should’ve taken it anyway. But if I find one red flag, I’m out. The way I see it, this is my biggest purchase of 1.5 million+ dollars, I want it to be right and not run into a trap that’ll costs time and money down the road. Now I know I’ll never find the PERFECT house without doing a custom build, but I just expect the quality to be on par with the price.

But is my realtor right? Am I too picky? I’m just patient in making sure we find the right place for the right fit. Am I asking too much to want a quality home?

You are smart - we’re in Fairfax/McLean and were not picky about drainage and flooding and the seller didn’t disclose. Let me tell you, mopping up the basement and bailing out the window wells during downpours over the past decade or so has been no fun. Not to mention the fear every time it rains. We’ve made improvements so it isn’t so bad but when it comes time to sell, we are definitely disclosing and going as is. We figure the buyer will tear it down anyway, because that happens to about 50% of home sales in my neighborhood.

And when we move we are looking to buy a house WITHOUT a basement. I’m so over basement issues and it just gets crammed up with stuff we didn’t bother to get rid of because there was room for it in the basement.

Kills me when I see renovated properties where the sellers actually dug out the basement - OMG, NO…… if you visit on a rainy day, you can smell the potential issues…..

Now that is stupid. My front yard is a hill. My basement is nine feet deep. But my house is 12 feet up from street so my basement floor is three feet above street level. My whole basement is wall to wall carpet installed in 2010. Bone dry.

My house actually when pours water in backyard rolls away too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s nothing wrong with walking away from a home with major issues like flooding, but the whole “Maybe I’m built differently” vibe of OP’s post is giving off “I’m not like other girls, I’m a cool girl vibe.”

Like we get it OP, you are just that much smarter than all the other buyers out there throwing their money at dud homes.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As long as you're smart about being picky then it's fine. What you're describing is very expensive to fix, so it makes sense that you're picky. If you pass on a home because you don't like the cabinet handles, then that's not smart.

Ignore your former realtor. They just want to close the deal and get their money. They couldn't care less if you overpay or get stuck with a costly repair.

+1

The realtor doesn’t care. They want to make their sale and move on. They don’t give a shit about your bottom line at all. You’re spending a million on a house. I’d want it to be right. Not half-assed.

+2

The realtor is PO'd that she didn't get a surefire commission like she thought she would. These things happen and she should be prepared for that; her reaction is extremely immature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I’m built differently, but when it comes to a home, I want to make sure that things are correct. Such as foundation, walls, plumbing, electrical, drywall, flooring. I want everything to be as right as can be or I don’t want the house.

I’m about a year in with the home building process. Looking in either Montgomery County or in NOVA (Fairfax/McLean)Recently we really liked a house that met all the checkboxes, but there was an issue with drainage and flooding that the seller didn’t care to disclose…they always tried to avoid the subject. So I walked. My realtor got upset with us to the point where she isn’t speaking to us and said we should’ve taken it anyway. But if I find one red flag, I’m out. The way I see it, this is my biggest purchase of 1.5 million+ dollars, I want it to be right and not run into a trap that’ll costs time and money down the road. Now I know I’ll never find the PERFECT house without doing a custom build, but I just expect the quality to be on par with the price.

But is my realtor right? Am I too picky? I’m just patient in making sure we find the right place for the right fit. Am I asking too much to want a quality home?

Buy what your money can afford in your target area and which passes inspection and has decent COMPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I’m built differently, but when it comes to a home, I want to make sure that things are correct. Such as foundation, walls, plumbing, electrical, drywall, flooring. I want everything to be as right as can be or I don’t want the house.

I’m about a year in with the home building process. Looking in either Montgomery County or in NOVA (Fairfax/McLean)Recently we really liked a house that met all the checkboxes, but there was an issue with drainage and flooding that the seller didn’t care to disclose…they always tried to avoid the subject. So I walked. My realtor got upset with us to the point where she isn’t speaking to us and said we should’ve taken it anyway. But if I find one red flag, I’m out. The way I see it, this is my biggest purchase of 1.5 million+ dollars, I want it to be right and not run into a trap that’ll costs time and money down the road. Now I know I’ll never find the PERFECT house without doing a custom build, but I just expect the quality to be on par with the price.

But is my realtor right? Am I too picky? I’m just patient in making sure we find the right place for the right fit. Am I asking too much to want a quality home?

Find a good home, forget finding perfect house.

[Anonymous]

Actually to me it sounds like the real issue is OP doesn't want to be pressured by realtors. That's the biggest reason why DH and I used Redfin. They didn't push us to buy, very low pressure. We eventually found what we want and got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually to me it sounds like the real issue is OP doesn't want to be pressured by realtors. That's the biggest reason why DH and I used Redfin. They didn't push us to buy, very low pressure. We eventually found what we want and got it.

OP here. That’s exactly what it was. We felt pressured to buy anything when the homes had several issues. We almost did buy a home but the seller changed their mind on selling at the last minute when the rates started going up. If they didn’t change their mind, we’d have moved in by now. I don’t blame them for not selling. But once that happened, our realtor finds any rando place and wants us to sign on it asap and I’m not wired like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually to me it sounds like the real issue is OP doesn't want to be pressured by realtors. That's the biggest reason why DH and I used Redfin. They didn't push us to buy, very low pressure. We eventually found what we want and got it.

OP here. That’s exactly what it was. We felt pressured to buy anything when the homes had several issues. We almost did buy a home but the seller changed their mind on selling at the last minute when the rates started going up. If they didn’t change their mind, we’d have moved in by now. I don’t blame them for not selling. But once that happened, our realtor finds any rando place and wants us to sign on it asap and I’m not wired like that.

OP, this is a different problem. The issue is that your realtor is greedy and just wants you to buy anything so she can get paid. Most of them are like that. You need to evaluate homes on your own without trusting any input from realtors. I had to tell my former realtor to stop sending me stuff that didn't meet the requirements I sent her. They're corrupt and you need to keep them on a short leash. They're truly only good for opening doors and 9 times out of 10 will get in the way of a deal instead of sealing it.

[Anonymous]

I think you just need to find a better real estate agent who understands your priorities/ what you want, and will be patient. Be up front. If you are totally unreasonable and have a budget that doesn't match your priorities, that may also be something you need to think about. For the ideal house, you may have to up your budget or change your location. That's just the reality of the market.

Signed,
Real estate agent that actually thinks the same way as the OP. Not all of us are greedy and out for a quick buck. And I hate a wet basement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe I’m built differently, but when it comes to a home, I want to make sure that things are correct. Such as foundation, walls, plumbing, electrical, drywall, flooring. I want everything to be as right as can be or I don’t want the house.

I’m about a year in with the home building process. Looking in either Montgomery County or in NOVA (Fairfax/McLean)Recently we really liked a house that met all the checkboxes, but there was an issue with drainage and flooding that the seller didn’t care to disclose…they always tried to avoid the subject. So I walked. My realtor got upset with us to the point where she isn’t speaking to us and said we should’ve taken it anyway. But if I find one red flag, I’m out. The way I see it, this is my biggest purchase of 1.5 million+ dollars, I want it to be right and not run into a trap that’ll costs time and money down the road. Now I know I’ll never find the PERFECT house without doing a custom build, but I just expect the quality to be on par with the price.

But is my realtor right? Am I too picky? I’m just patient in making sure we find the right place for the right fit. Am I asking too much to want a quality home?

Realtor should take you over there on a heavy rain day and see if the basement leaks or the landscaping pools water into the house. Or they should make a clause that any leaking or flooding issues be 100% remediated by the seller for up to 12-24 months.

Don’t buy a lemon. Fixing a foundation or basement or gradient of an entire lawn is a costly PITA. And yes a dealbreaker for most people.