6 weeks? Try a year plus for many people. You’ll be fine.

Where is the house? Call fannon in Alexandria bc they are expert in dealing w/ old tanks. The tanks are not a huge deal

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It took us more than a year to find our home, OP, and that was in 2010!

You need resilience and fortitude.

No. She needs more money. PP was right. Bid downmarket. List price is just starting bid.

More crock of shit.

List price is just starting bid...IF the list price is significantly below comps. Otherwise list price IS the asking price. Yes, yes, I know the market is crazy right now, where stupid shit like this actually becomes mainstream conversation, but it would behoove any buyer at present to be extremely cautious. There's a reason buyer sentiment for residential real estate is at rock bottom right now.

It's because of shit like what has been posted in this thread (and others).

+1

Every house that I’ve seen that is listed significantly over comps has sat for 30+ days. A lot of people who list in the winter do so because their house can’t compete in the spring.

I would disagree. We sold our house 2nd week in January. Listed at recent comps for neighborhood and it still went 300k plus over asking. It all depends on the neighborhood and the house itself.

Anecdotal. It’s long been established that January and December have lowest median sales prices. I mean if you think about it as a seller there are very few good reasons to list over the holidays. And if your kids are in school you can’t even get a rent back long enough to let them finish out the year (assuming buyer finances).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Feeling total despair at the RE market now. First time buyer. Trying to break in and get my own home. Have lost out on 5 offers. It's only been 6 weeks but feels so much longer. Just submitted another offer last night only to read in the disclosure docs that there is an underground oil tank on the property, not clear if it's been decommissioned or still in active use. Now freaking out and understand why this beautiful home has been on market 38 days when homes here are typically under contract in 2-7 days. There's literally like 3 other 4/2 houses in the huge radius I'm looking- they're all crap that have been sitting in a hot market for months. Anyone dealt with an underground oil tank on your property? All the horror stories I read are out of NJ (not where we're located).

Obviously you aren't working with an agent. Your "despair" is justified until you start thinking smarter. Get an agent and pay attention to what the agent tells you.

OP here. Yes I am working with an agent!

Befriend a real estate agent. I did and got wind of upcoming listings and made a deal with a seller without the property going on MLS.

We bought our first home in June 2021. We experienced the same despair for years wanting to buy in our neighborhood in DC. Then we started bidding on houses we could afford and got one. There are plenty of houses. We can’t afford to live in our choice neighborhood of DC but that’s not despair over real estate it’s despair over our salaries.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It took us more than a year to find our home, OP, and that was in 2010!

You need resilience and fortitude.

No. She needs more money. PP was right. Bid downmarket. List price is just starting bid.

More crock of shit.

List price is just starting bid...IF the list price is significantly below comps. Otherwise list price IS the asking price. Yes, yes, I know the market is crazy right now, where stupid shit like this actually becomes mainstream conversation, but it would behoove any buyer at present to be extremely cautious. There's a reason buyer sentiment for residential real estate is at rock bottom right now.

It's because of shit like what has been posted in this thread (and others).

+1

Every house that I’ve seen that is listed significantly over comps has sat for 30+ days. A lot of people who list in the winter do so because their house can’t compete in the spring.

I would disagree. We sold our house 2nd week in January. Listed at recent comps for neighborhood and it still went 300k plus over asking. It all depends on the neighborhood and the house itself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It took us more than a year to find our home, OP, and that was in 2010!

You need resilience and fortitude.

No. She needs more money. PP was right. Bid downmarket. List price is just starting bid.

More crock of shit.

List price is just starting bid...IF the list price is significantly below comps. Otherwise list price IS the asking price. Yes, yes, I know the market is crazy right now, where stupid shit like this actually becomes mainstream conversation, but it would behoove any buyer at present to be extremely cautious. There's a reason buyer sentiment for residential real estate is at rock bottom right now.

It's because of shit like what has been posted in this thread (and others).

OP. Someone who cannot describe the real estate market in adult terms may not provide the best price.

As others have mentioned, this is a time to bid with less competition and with less desirable houses that could also be overpriced. By mid January, better houses will be coming on the market and some may start bidding wars which will raise the market price of similar houses.

Look at houses that have not been cosmetically prepared for the market. There is a house on the market on my neighborhood that has hideous blue carpeting and dusty drapes, but underneath, it is like my house on which we have spent little money to make look great.

Good luck

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It took us more than a year to find our home, OP, and that was in 2010!

You need resilience and fortitude.

No. She needs more money. PP was right. Bid downmarket. List price is just starting bid.

More crock of shit.

List price is just starting bid...IF the list price is significantly below comps. Otherwise list price IS the asking price. Yes, yes, I know the market is crazy right now, where stupid shit like this actually becomes mainstream conversation, but it would behoove any buyer at present to be extremely cautious. There's a reason buyer sentiment for residential real estate is at rock bottom right now.

It's because of shit like what has been posted in this thread (and others).

+1

Every house that I’ve seen that is listed significantly over comps has sat for 30+ days. A lot of people who list in the winter do so because their house can’t compete in the spring.

Get a new agent. Call agents that WON the houses you lost and pick one.

A good friend tried to sell his house with a disclosed oil tank (different market, several years ago). He got nowhere. His agent finally convinced him to remove the tank and re-list. He then immediately received offers that were significantly above previous list price plus his cost to remedy. The thing is buyers, especially first time buyers, have no stomach for repairs. That can mean a property with an issue like the tank, will actually sell under market value as the repair depresses the price by more than it will cost to fix. If you’re losing out on turn key, and you have an idea what this issue could cost, it’s one way to get a house in this market. Also, you don’t need to deal with the tank day one, you just want to budget for it’s removal will before you plan to sell.

Beyond shopping for such a house you need to figure out what you can bring to the table, more money, free rent back, quicker closing, fewer contingencies. Money is the most sure fire but it means shopping bellow budget, as the PP said.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It took us more than a year to find our home, OP, and that was in 2010!

You need resilience and fortitude.

No. She needs more money. PP was right. Bid downmarket. List price is just starting bid.

When you don't have "more money", you need resilience and fortitude. Like for ALL life issues. And those who constantly throw money at problems lack the mental tools to deal with issues which money cannot cure.

Okay. so keep underbidding on houses until market crashes and your prices actually meet your expectations. I guess that is fortitude.

What exactly is your advice, when their problem is others are willing to pay more for the sale house they want?

Look, the market is fine, there are houses available. The fact that you've been outbid so many times means there is something wrong with your approach, namely that you are trying to underbid market value. That's fine but don't complain about it.

Anonymous wrote:Feeling total despair at the RE market now. First time buyer. Trying to break in and get my own home. Have lost out on 5 offers. It's only been 6 weeks but feels so much longer. Just submitted another offer last night only to read in the disclosure docs that there is an underground oil tank on the property, not clear if it's been decommissioned or still in active use. Now freaking out and understand why this beautiful home has been on market 38 days when homes here are typically under contract in 2-7 days. There's literally like 3 other 4/2 houses in the huge radius I'm looking- they're all crap that have been sitting in a hot market for months. Anyone dealt with an underground oil tank on your property? All the horror stories I read are out of NJ (not where we're located).

Obviously you aren't working with an agent. Your "despair" is justified until you start thinking smarter. Get an agent and pay attention to what the agent tells you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It took us more than a year to find our home, OP, and that was in 2010!

You need resilience and fortitude.

No. She needs more money. PP was right. Bid downmarket. List price is just starting bid.

When you don't have "more money", you need resilience and fortitude. Like for ALL life issues. And those who constantly throw money at problems lack the mental tools to deal with issues which money cannot cure.