We've seen 20 houses, offered and outbid on 2, we are still looking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m in the same situation. Actually had the highest bid on one but the seller sold it to a family friend at a lower price. Ugh.

Is that legal?

[Anonymous]

We saw over 100 houses, mostly at open houses to get a feel for the market and to track sale prices, and at least 15-20 with our agent. Our 4th offer was accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m in the same situation. Actually had the highest bid on one but the seller sold it to a family friend at a lower price. Ugh.

Is that legal?

why not -- they can take any offer they want right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We viewed 100 houses before got one. It was 2020. Our budget was 1.2-1.3. We looked at houses between 900 - 1.3. Outbid by 10 times. Finally got a house for 1.2, which required about 200k in fixing up, and came with a tenant living in it for another couple of months after closing.
Now all remodel is done under budget. Our house is appraised for 1.75. We are happy living here forever.

So my advise is: keep looking and keep compromising. You will get there.

Good advice. Find something good enough and make it great.

I think this is good advice but would add the caveat that if you have kids don’t buy a house made before 1978.

Why not? That is a lot of the housing stock here.

[Anonymous]

We looked at 3, bid too low on the first 2, and then offered $50K over asking on the third one which we really wanted. They canceled the open house and took our offer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, unfortunately you do need to see a home within 24 hours of it being listed. This is why home buying is such a headache. You have to constantly drop everything without notice.

It sounds like you need a better realtor. Find one who can preview homes for you so you don't waste your time on homes that don't meet your requirements. The realtor needs to show you the good homes prior to the open house too.

I find this challenging when people don't allow viewings after 4pm, for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They’re not bidding on 50 houses, have SEEN 50 houses and bid on two and lost. 0 for 2.

They must be local and taking their time. Lots of agents have 50+ clients like that that take 1-2 years to trade up. However that still means you have to move fast for a house that’s a 9 or a 10z otherwise the truly motivated buyers (relocations, need schools by august, big shot new job/no time to mess around).

OP here- we've seen about 20 houses, bid on 2, lost them both. Of those 20, we've seen maybe 15 with our realtor and the rest were open houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They’re not bidding on 50 houses, have SEEN 50 houses and bid on two and lost. 0 for 2.

They must be local and taking their time. Lots of agents have 50+ clients like that that take 1-2 years to trade up. However that still means you have to move fast for a house that’s a 9 or a 10z otherwise the truly motivated buyers (relocations, need schools by august, big shot new job/no time to mess around).

OP here- we've seen about 20 houses, bid on 2, lost them both. Of those 20, we've seen maybe 15 with our realtor and the rest were open houses.

this all sounds very normal, no? I'm guessing we saw 50+, maybe 10-15 with our realtor, bid on 3. and this was all between 2019-2020 when market was competitive but not crazy like now.

[Anonymous]

I had no idea it was this crazy out there until I listed my mother's tiny tiny retirement home and it basically sold within minutes. The lady that bought it said she saw the listing come online at midnight, called her realtor at 8 am, and put in an offer 10,000 over asking by 9am (sight unseen). mind you, this is a tiny home that sold for $165,000, so 10,000 over asking was a lot.

I feel bad for anyone looking for a home right now, but you never know when you will be that person that makes the right offer, so keep trying.

[Anonymous]

You just need to check for lead paint, asbestos, etc. Older homes can be great! A relative has lived in a home from 1700s and she's 91! She has lived there since her late 20s and all her kids grew up there. No issues, you just need to maintain an older home more. You might have issues with newer construction too. Who knows, maybe in 10,20,50, years from now some kind of drywall or pipe will cause cancer or some kind of other issue?Remember drywall from 2001-2008? Google it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We viewed 100 houses before got one. It was 2020. Our budget was 1.2-1.3. We looked at houses between 900 - 1.3. Outbid by 10 times. Finally got a house for 1.2, which required about 200k in fixing up, and came with a tenant living in it for another couple of months after closing.
Now all remodel is done under budget. Our house is appraised for 1.75. We are happy living here forever.

So my advise is: keep looking and keep compromising. You will get there.

Good advice. Find something good enough and make it great.

I think this is good advice but would add the caveat that if you have kids don’t buy a house made before 1978.

Why not? That is a lot of the housing stock here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m in the same situation. Actually had the highest bid on one but the seller sold it to a family friend at a lower price. Ugh.

Is that legal?

Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We viewed 100 houses before got one. It was 2020. Our budget was 1.2-1.3. We looked at houses between 900 - 1.3. Outbid by 10 times. Finally got a house for 1.2, which required about 200k in fixing up, and came with a tenant living in it for another couple of months after closing.
Now all remodel is done under budget. Our house is appraised for 1.75. We are happy living here forever.

So my advise is: keep looking and keep compromising. You will get there.[/quote]

Good advice. Find something good enough and make it great. [/quote]
I think this is good advice but would add the caveat that [b]if you have kids don’t buy a house made before 1978.[/b] [/quote]

In this market, you are going to have to do work on the house unless you have an astronomical budget. Fresh paint is one of the cheapest things you can do. And really, that’s all that’s needed. Paint and being mindful of sanding and watching for chips/peels. Maybe replace a few doors or end of life windows if they are painted with lead-based paint. Encapsulate anything asbestos.

- Always lived in pre-1978 houses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are putting our house on the market soon! Alexandria, walk to Metro, 5br, super cute Craftsman, likely price 1.35ish. Respond to this with an email if you are interested, OP, and i will send you info. I would LOVE to sell it fast and avoid the hassle of staging and having to make it look like no one lives there for an unknown period of time. And would consider a price reduction to avoid all that.

(It is weird that the convention is that sellers do a ton of disruptive and costly cosmetic work to get houses on the market... only to have buyers immediately change everything because naturally they have different taste. I do wish there was some way to avoid all that, since it seems kind of pointless for all involved.)

Not OP but curious what neighborhood? I am looking in Alexandria

Rosemont -- near Beach Park

[Anonymous]

I saw 63. Most of them sucked, but I ended up with a good one. Not a perfect one, but a good one.

[Anonymous]

I had my 11th offer accepted, don't lose hope.