FREAKING out! Please tell me more is about to come on the market!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - can you ask your buyer for a rent back period of a month or two so you can stay put while you look?

Unfortunately no, since they have no place to go. We already asked for an extra 10 days to settle. They have to get out of their current home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can always put letters in the mailboxes of the neighborhoods you're targeting.

"Greetings! We're a family of four who loves this neighborhood and are hoping to buy a house here. If you have been planning or considering selling, please contact me at [e-mail] to see if we can work something out. We may even save the 6% agents' fees."

Does this actually work?
I've thought about doing this it then I think I look like a stalker. Plus, in this market, wouldn't you rather take your chances with a bidding war than selling to some weird, stalker family?

(Sorry if I'm negative, I'm nervous)

I have gotten such letters (we are in a low inventory, fast selling NWDC neighborhood), and I did find them a bit weird. For one, we only bought a few years ago, so it's kind of unlikely we are already planning to sell, and secondly, currently many houses around here get bid up like crazy, and I would want to know what the highest bid for our house is. So I think you have the right intuition if you are looking in a really hot market.

You realize that people were just putting letters out to everyone, and not doing research on who bought when and trying to decide if enough time had passed that they might like to sell now?

This. Some of you are incredibly self-absorbed.

So they just randomly litter people's mailboxes with trash? How rude. (And illegal by the way, unless they mail the letters by USPS.)

NP. Ok, so put the flier in the door, not the mailbox. ?
Personally, I wouldn't find it rude, I would be flattered/excited that my area is so in demand. I'd probably play the market as a seller, but I could see a case for those that wouldn't (older people, dated home, no-hassle folks).

So you litter their porch? Or their yard, since these often blow away? Seriously, if you are going to do this with any hope for success, at least try to find out if the owners might be the type of people who might be interested in this (i.e. older, have owned the home for a long time, haven't renovated recently, etc.). If there are strollers on the porch and the house sold three years ago, don't do it.

oh god shut uppppppp. you're such a closeminded loser. and PS a home like this just sold in my neighborhood!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I don't understand why you sold your house without some place to go?

You could have put a home contingency on offers you make on other houses or you could have made home-of-choice contingency in your selling contract.

Your agent must really suck.

Because people are not accepting contracts with contingencies so we have to sell first. Our realtor has been very optimistic that there are about to be many houses in the market so we followed his lead

And we do have someplace to go, just not our own house yet.

Your agent has served you poorly. Just wanted to push you to sell for the commission. You can buy houses with home contingencies.

PP This is DC Urban Moms not Iowa where no one wants to live Moms. It is rare to find a buyer in a sub $1 million price range in a decent inside the Beltway neighborhood who will take an offer contingent on the sale of a house. Maybe the settlement if the buyer's house is under contract, but not the sale.

[Anonymous]

50k is barely an extra 400 a month, stop being so damn cheap this is DC not the failing jobless mid west

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I don't understand why you sold your house without some place to go?

You could have put a home contingency on offers you make on other houses or you could have made home-of-choice contingency in your selling contract.

Your agent must really suck.

Because people are not accepting contracts with contingencies so we have to sell first. Our realtor has been very optimistic that there are about to be many houses in the market so we followed his lead

And we do have someplace to go, just not our own house yet.

Your agent has served you poorly. Just wanted to push you to sell for the commission. You can buy houses with home contingencies.

PP This is DC Urban Moms not Iowa where no one wants to live Moms. It is rare to find a buyer in a sub $1 million price range in a decent inside the Beltway neighborhood who will take an offer contingent on the sale of a house. Maybe the settlement if the buyer's house is under contract, but not the sale.

It's really not that rare. NP.

[Anonymous]

OP, I don't understand why you sold your house without some place to go?

You could have put a home contingency on offers you make on other houses or you could have made home-of-choice contingency in your selling contract.

Your agent must really suck.

Home of choice contingencies are unattractive. There are some flexible people out there, but most people do not want to be at the mercy of a seller who can't find a home. In my recent home search, we would have bid much higher value on a house, but it had a home of choice contingency in it. You're better off getting the market price without annoying contingencies and renting if you have to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can always put letters in the mailboxes of the neighborhoods you're targeting.

"Greetings! We're a family of four who loves this neighborhood and are hoping to buy a house here. If you have been planning or considering selling, please contact me at [e-mail] to see if we can work something out. We may even save the 6% agents' fees."

Does this actually work?
I've thought about doing this it then I think I look like a stalker. Plus, in this market, wouldn't you rather take your chances with a bidding war than selling to some weird, stalker family?

(Sorry if I'm negative, I'm nervous)

You're worried about *that*?

Damn, neurotic much? Chill girl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I don't understand why you sold your house without some place to go?

You could have put a home contingency on offers you make on other houses or you could have made home-of-choice contingency in your selling contract.

Your agent must really suck.

Because people are not accepting contracts with contingencies so we have to sell first. Our realtor has been very optimistic that there are about to be many houses in the market so we followed his lead

And we do have someplace to go, just not our own house yet.

Your agent has served you poorly. Just wanted to push you to sell for the commission. You can buy houses with home contingencies.

PP This is DC Urban Moms not Iowa where no one wants to live Moms. It is rare to find a buyer in a sub $1 million price range in a decent inside the Beltway neighborhood who will take an offer contingent on the sale of a house. Maybe the settlement if the buyer's house is under contract, but not the sale.

It's really not that rare. NP.

It's pretty fucking rare if you want to live somewhere good instead of whitebread suburbia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:hey OP, you're okay.... i would always sell first before buying. Worst come to worst you rent it out for a few months... But you have the money, you won't face foreclosure on two properties...The right house will come.

+1. Out in our area of Fairfax County, the market has not yet begun. There's only been a trickle of weak properties trying to beat the rush (some combo of ugly, on a bad lot, feeding to bad schools, crazy "updates," bad layout, poorly maintained, and ALWAYS overpriced). Per my agent and another I know socially, all of their clients, to a one, were planning to list after Easter. And almost all of them are planning to list in late April/early May because they don't want to have to move before the end of Fairfax public schools, which is super late this year thanks to Snowzilla.

Hang in there! The market is going to start this weekend and really pick up steam over the next several. We're impatient, too, and also in a tricky situation with housing (our lease ends soon), so I feel your pain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can always put letters in the mailboxes of the neighborhoods you're targeting.

"Greetings! We're a family of four who loves this neighborhood and are hoping to buy a house here. If you have been planning or considering selling, please contact me at [e-mail] to see if we can work something out. We may even save the 6% agents' fees."

Does this actually work?
I've thought about doing this it then I think I look like a stalker. Plus, in this market, wouldn't you rather take your chances with a bidding war than selling to some weird, stalker family?

(Sorry if I'm negative, I'm nervous)

Yes, always go with the open market if you're in a desirable market. But some older people don't want the fuss so might be willing to sell their dated shit shack to someone like this.

My neighbors (2) just sold to developers this way. It seems sellers prefer developers with cash in hand. Older people know their house is a knockdown - they don't care because they are likely leaving the area, anyway.

Eh, who knows. My older neighbors (one couple) who are moving out of the area just sold to a family they were out in contact with specifically because they know, or sincerely believe, that the buyers will not tear down the house. The house was never on the market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can always put letters in the mailboxes of the neighborhoods you're targeting.

"Greetings! We're a family of four who loves this neighborhood and are hoping to buy a house here. If you have been planning or considering selling, please contact me at [e-mail] to see if we can work something out. We may even save the 6% agents' fees."

Does this actually work?
I've thought about doing this it then I think I look like a stalker. Plus, in this market, wouldn't you rather take your chances with a bidding war than selling to some weird, stalker family?

(Sorry if I'm negative, I'm nervous)

It certainly can. I know some people who have initiated sales, both as buyers and sellers, in unconventional ways like this without realtors at mutually beneficial prices (basically, 3% lower price).

+1 we are selling to someone our neighbor got us in touch with. Our house never went in the market and we never had to stage it. Win win.

We bought from a neighbor of a friend. The house never went on the market. Talk to people you know in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I don't understand why you sold your house without some place to go?

You could have put a home contingency on offers you make on other houses or you could have made home-of-choice contingency in your selling contract.

Your agent must really suck.

Because people are not accepting contracts with contingencies so we have to sell first. Our realtor has been very optimistic that there are about to be many houses in the market so we followed his lead

And we do have someplace to go, just not our own house yet.

Your agent has served you poorly. Just wanted to push you to sell for the commission. You can buy houses with home contingencies.

PP This is DC Urban Moms not Iowa where no one wants to live Moms. It is rare to find a buyer in a sub $1 million price range in a decent inside the Beltway neighborhood who will take an offer contingent on the sale of a house. Maybe the settlement if the buyer's house is under contract, but not the sale.

It's really not that rare. NP.

It's pretty fucking rare if you want to live somewhere good instead of whitebread suburbia.

We just bought last year in a very desirable location with generally low inventory. First house on the market in several months. Sellers could ask anything they want - including HOC contingency. We did the same on our old home (also desirable area). Contracts on both in days. Our agent said it was fairly common.

Maybe they are more common in desirable areas where the seller has more control.

[Anonymous]

I live in 20853 and have noticed things seem slow this year. Of the last 4 or 5 houses to sell on our block, 3 were sold without going on the market. It wouldn't hurt to aggressively put the word out that you are looking, including working connections and the letter thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I don't understand why you sold your house without some place to go?

You could have put a home contingency on offers you make on other houses or you could have made home-of-choice contingency in your selling contract.

Your agent must really suck.

Because people are not accepting contracts with contingencies so we have to sell first. Our realtor has been very optimistic that there are about to be many houses in the market so we followed his lead

And we do have someplace to go, just not our own house yet.

Your agent has served you poorly. Just wanted to push you to sell for the commission. You can buy houses with home contingencies.

PP This is DC Urban Moms not Iowa where no one wants to live Moms. It is rare to find a buyer in a sub $1 million price range in a decent inside the Beltway neighborhood who will take an offer contingent on the sale of a house. Maybe the settlement if the buyer's house is under contract, but not the sale.

pp, I live in North Arlington and bought my house with a home contingency.

The other thing is with 60-day closings now becoming common, it's easy to buy and then sell without the contingency if you know your house will sell quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hey OP, you're okay.... i would always sell first before buying. Worst come to worst you rent it out for a few months... But you have the money, you won't face foreclosure on two properties...The right house will come.

+1. Out in our area of Fairfax County, the market has not yet begun. There's only been a trickle of weak properties trying to beat the rush (some combo of ugly, on a bad lot, feeding to bad schools, crazy "updates," bad layout, poorly maintained, and ALWAYS overpriced). Per my agent and another I know socially, all of their clients, to a one, were planning to list after Easter. And almost all of them are planning to list in late April/early May because they don't want to have to move before the end of Fairfax public schools, which is super late this year thanks to Snowzilla.

Hang in there! The market is going to start this weekend and really pick up steam over the next several. We're impatient, too, and also in a tricky situation with housing (our lease ends soon), so I feel your pain.

Fairfax schools are not ending late because of Snowzilla. Who told you such foolishness?