Home Purchase Negotiation Thread (1 Viewer)

[Doctor Detroit]

I hate you all.

When we were house hunting we were dying to get inside this one, which looked like a decent deal:

Link

There's a reason there are no pics of the inside. Also, it's two blocks from a major street, a busy/annoying area, and, oh, literally falling apart. Literally. The house was built around 1920 and I can assure you little has been done to maintain it since then. uke:

"Old World Charm" None of your neighbors speak English and many have the plague.

 

[Epic Problem]

:X

I hate you all.

When we were house hunting we were dying to get inside this one, which looked like a decent deal:

Link

There's a reason there are no pics of the inside. Also, it's two blocks from a major street, a busy/annoying area, and, oh, literally falling apart. Literally. The house was built around 1920 and I can assure you little has been done to maintain it since then. uke:

"Old World Charm" None of your neighbors speak English and many have the plague.

 

[Hipple Long Ware & Peete]

SLB and the rest of you non-NYCers... you would be shocked at what 250-400k gets you here. And by shocked, I mean disgusted. Pretty much a studio apartment- and not even a really nice studio apartment.

This.My Brooklyn apartment -- it's a good apartment, in a nice building, but under 1200 square feet and requires a nearly 1,000 a month common charge as well -- probably fetches 600k. It's nothing fancy mind you, not at all.The more I look at numbers, the more nauseous it makes me to realize the premium I pay to live in NYC. As a young single man I was capitalizing on being here, so arguably it was worth it. Now? Eesh.

u should seriously check atlanta. like grant park, the highlands, ansley park. ur money goes over twice as far, the proprty is half as cheap, and you can have a yard/deck/pool/indoor movie theatre for that price (or even 300 k or 150 if u pick up an overpriced foreclosure like so many yuppies gave back last year) + all areas are intown/downtown so you can 'visit' the city in 10 minutes if you so desire.

 

[Big_Russel]

8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize New York City Is A Horrible Place To Live

 

[Tuco]

My house has been on the market for about 3 months now. I don't have to move, but I would like to upgrade. I have a very nice house that is competitively priced compared to other homes in the area. I have had 25 showings in the 3 months.My first offer came in this past week. They offered 85% of my asking price and for me to pay all closing costs. I did not accept the offer and did not counter. I wasn't offended by the offer, but if this buyer is looking to get a great deal off of someone's situation, they're looking at the wrong house. I'm open to other offers from them, but I haven't heard anything. Their realtor told me (my realtor) that this isn't how you do business. That their buyer got an initial offer of 100k less than their asking price and they were able to negotiate to an acceptable number. I simply said to make another offer.I had two more showings yesterday. One buyer was seeing it for a second time and the other buyer said they will be making an offer.Everyone's situation is different. It depends on a lot of factors, especially the interest being shown for the home. I will accept down to 95% of my asking price, but again, I don't have to move.

***Update***Over the past week, the buyer and I have been going back and forth. It looks like we are agreeing on a price just under 96% of my asking price and we are splitting closing costs traditionally.Now I have to wait and see what happens with the short sale I put an offer on. In-laws, here we come.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

:X

I hate you all.

When we were house hunting we were dying to get inside this one, which looked like a decent deal:

Link

There's a reason there are no pics of the inside. Also, it's two blocks from a major street, a busy/annoying area, and, oh, literally falling apart. Literally. The house was built around 1920 and I can assure you little has been done to maintain it since then. uke:

"Old World Charm" None of your neighbors speak English and many have the plague.

<_<

 

[Rohn Jambo]

Stop posting pics of palaces on sale for 200k! I can maybe buy an outhouse for that price.

 

[Hipple Long Ware & Peete]

Origins of the name

There are a few explanations as to how the neighborhood received its name. One is that the mostly transplanted poor Appalachian residents (largely of Scots-Irish descent) who worked in the nearby Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill, would grow cabbages in the front yards of their shotgun houses, and one could distinctly smell the odor of cooking cabbage coming from the neighborhood. This term was used originally with derision by people outside the neighborhood, but it soon became a label of pride for the people who lived there.

Another explanation is that a train carrying a load of cabbages derailed by the mill adjacent to the neighborhood, and the poor residents quickly accumulated the cabbages, and used them in just about every meal. A variation of this legend has a Ford Model T taking a sharp turn at one of the main intersections of Cabbagetown, and flipping over spilling its cargo of cabbages across the street. Someone yelled "Free Cabbages!" and they were soon carted away by the residents.

A third explanation of the name is that a local cab company operating off Memorial Drive gave nicknames to various neighborhoods that they serviced. The mill town was called Cabbagetown (maybe because of the cooking cabbage) and it stuck.

Yet another story involves a neighborhood baseball team.

References in the Atlanta History Center also show references to the name Pearl Park. Pearl was the daughter of a developer who built houses directly to the east of the mill houses in the area of modern day Pearl Street.

 

[Orange&Blue]

Stop posting pics of palaces on sale for 200k! I can maybe buy an outhouse for that price. :(

lolYeah but how much are you making?

 

[Rohn Jambo]

Stop posting pics of palaces on sale for 200k! I can maybe buy an outhouse for that price.

lolYeah but how much are you making?

Not as much as Otis.

 

[Grace Under Pressure]

I was thinking something in your price range in Westport, but if you'll only have a 35 min commute on the LIRR, that's probably too far.

We're looking at CT. Would love to be closer to the Merritt like Westport, but we're not rocking $990K, more like $490K. We've looked in Stamford and surrounding areas. Big move though, from Scottsdale. May be a while before we can make it happen. Trapped here by marginal success, it's a real #####.

 

[Random]

Houses around here dont even list for half a million, let alone a million. Here's the two most expensive houses on the market in my zip code

6 bed 5 bath 6,000+ sf $450K

4 bed 4 bath 2,100 sf $390K

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Since Otis decided to wait, I won't feel bad hijacking.

I put an offer an a short sale today. Listing price is $519 and I offered $500. House would probably get appraised for $550, and I would pay it. Neighboring houses were going in the high 6's a year or two ago. I'm interested to see how this plays out. Any short sale experience in the past year? I did a search and didn't find anything recent.

I would come in way lower than that on a Short Sale. The bank will jump on that offer in a heartbeat, unless it is a big bank, and then it will sit on someones desk for 30 days before it goes to a committee, which will then be another 2 weeks before it is accepted and by that time you will have moved on.

On short sales I would offer probably 90% of list at most, depending on what needs to be done.For example this house I've been looking at I would probably offer 85% for since it needs a roof and flooring.

Holy crap

 

[Dragons]

I was thinking something in your price range in Westport, but if you'll only have a 35 min commute on the LIRR, that's probably too far.

We're looking at CT. Would love to be closer to the Merritt like Westport, but we're not rocking $990K, more like $490K. We've looked in Stamford and surrounding areas. Big move though, from Scottsdale. May be a while before we can make it happen. Trapped here by marginal success, it's a real #####.

Where would you be commuting to?You should be able to find sub-$500k houses both in Stamford and Westport, but generally speaking, the closer you get to NYC, the more expensive things get. You can get more house for the money the further north/east you go. On the other hand, southbound traffic on the Merritt is a ##### in the morning and northbound is a ##### in the evening. If you're not tied to the Metro North train line, there are more cost effective areas north of the Merritt. If you're willing to go as far north/east as Westport, you may look at Easton. Trumbull is further out, but also comes with a price reduction.

 

[culdeus]

Going to see the house i'm interested in again today. Intend on putting my lowball offer in perhaps by EOD.

 

[Battles]

Going to see the house i'm interested in again today. Intend on putting my lowball offer in perhaps by EOD.

Remember to answer my question.

 

[Grace Under Pressure]

I was thinking something in your price range in Westport, but if you'll only have a 35 min commute on the LIRR, that's probably too far.

We're looking at CT. Would love to be closer to the Merritt like Westport, but we're not rocking $990K, more like $490K. We've looked in Stamford and surrounding areas. Big move though, from Scottsdale. May be a while before we can make it happen. Trapped here by marginal success, it's a real #####.

Where would you be commuting to?You should be able to find sub-$500k houses both in Stamford and Westport, but generally speaking, the closer you get to NYC, the more expensive things get. You can get more house for the money the further north/east you go. On the other hand, southbound traffic on the Merritt is a ##### in the morning and northbound is a ##### in the evening. If you're not tied to the Metro North train line, there are more cost effective areas north of the Merritt. If you're willing to go as far north/east as Westport, you may look at Easton. Trumbull is further out, but also comes with a price reduction.

Not sure yet. We have to find jobs, of course. We have a 7 month old, we need to consider her daycare/schooling situation. The move is to get closer to family, on Long Island the city and Jersey, but not too close (i.e. don't want to live on Long Island or Jersey). So Westchester, CT, possibly Rockland county. It's a lot to do though, buying a house will be the easy part comparatively speaking.

 

[culdeus]

Going to see the house i'm interested in again today. Intend on putting my lowball offer in perhaps by EOD.

Remember to answer my question.

I tried.There are absolutely no pictures of her anywhere. I assume this is because all the recent pictures of her were with her x-husband.

 

[Otis]

Well, got a call back from the broker. They are refusing to move down and are staying at their current number. As the wife and I said, it was a stretch for us to buy now anyway, so this may be a blessing in disguise in that it gives us time to stock up some more down payment etc., and then perhaps even opens up some more expensive homes to us. Additionally, we're considering selling our apartment now and just getting out into the rental market in the area of this house -- neither one of us has ever lived there, and so it seems like a good idea to test the waters for a bit before buying. Not to mention we will save a CRAPLOAD of money.

Oh, and this NYTimes article is pretty timely... link

I think you'll be VERY happy at this result in 2-3 years. Marriage and kid(s) is enough change for the Oat man recently - no need to get handcuffed to a piece of RE that could cost you 100K+ to get out of 3-5 years from now.

I think this is right. We're almost relieved with the result in retrospect.

So I'm starting to backtrack on my line of thinking here. The more I've seen in terms of neighborhoods and homes since we made the offer on this house, the more I'm feeling like this neighborhood is right for us, and this particular home is perfect for us. It's in nice livable condition, but not TOO done, and there's lots we can do to improve it and add value over the years. I also think that even that the seller's stated "bottom line" counter, it's still a total steal. This home is nice as is, and with work could be absolutely majestic. My thinking is that this home absolutely sells at or around that stated bottom line number in the Spring once buyer traffic picks back up. The zillow estimate, for whatever little that may be worth, is $100k higher than the seller's current stated bottom line. Most of the homes in the surrounding blocks are "zesstimated" at even 100k or more above that. Lots of $1M+ homes in the neighborhood, and I think over time you could put 100k or 200k into this house and easily sell it for what you put into it and then some (though that's not a huge concern for us -- we're looking long term here). I also like the idea of locking in a 30 year mortgage at current rates. I know lots of people are still down on the economy, but I think we're only going up from here (maybe slowly, but still). Another factor is that the area/neighborhood we really like there is very small -- it's a small village in a larger town, but this village has its own feel and own government. Thing is, it's so small (and desirable) that I can't imagine inventory there will ever be significant.When our negotiations broke down, we were separated by $40k (they originally asked 900 but came down to 860 as their "final" offer; we moved up to 820 and they never countered that, saying that 860 is the lowest they would go). $40k in a vacuum is a lot of money, but when you consider it in the context of a home that nears $1M, and a home that we'll end up (hopefully) spending a lifetime in, it seems almost silly.

We're considering ponying up another $20k to close the gap some. I have an unexpected bonus potentially coming from work, and if it does we can use that and it's the reason we we'd be able to move up from our "final" top offer (I'd have no problem conveying that to the broker -- I'm not trying to play games or split hairs here). At that point it will have been about a month since they heard from us, and if we're separated by ~20k, and the house will have sat on the market for another month, maybe they jump on it? Assuming it's even still not sold, I am thinking we still have a month or two until the Spring, so we have a few weeks to chew on all of this before there's a high risk of it being sold.

I've also heard that in some instances the brokers will cover the difference to make a deal happen. Here if we're assuming the brokers are getting 6%, that's over 50 grand. Surely they would eat 10k or even 20k of that to make something happen now, particularly with a house that's been on the market forever. No?

We'd be in a better financial position to more easily do all of this a year from now, but with a baby coming soon I'm less and less excited about having her here in Brooklyn and more and more interested in having the space and peace and safety of the burbs. Current thinking is also to sell our apartment -- we've really got little to no equity in it, but should hopefully be able to save for enough to cover what we owe plus closing costs on it.

Just some thoughts I'm kicking around, not sure what the FFA can do to help. (Unless of course Chet wants to wire me 40 large.) Really just trying to work through my thoughts...

 

[Patoons]

I've also heard that in some instances the brokers will cover the difference to make a deal happen. Here if we're assuming the brokers are getting 6%, that's over 50 grand. Surely they would eat 10k or even 20k of that to make something happen now, particularly with a house that's been on the market forever. No?

6% seems high to me in this market. From what I've seen recently it's 3% if the broker is for the buyer and seller and 4% of there are two brokers involved. Atleast that's the case with our contract.

We'd be in a better financial position to more easily do all of this a year from now, but with a baby coming soon I'm less and less excited about having her here in Brooklyn and more and more interested in having the space and peace and safety of the burbs.

Living in a 1 bedroom apt for the last 3 months with a newborn... this is HUGE.. especially the space/peace. Jackhammers from the apartment renovation upstairs isn't exactly condusive to naptime for the little one, either.Wish our place would just sell already so we can get out to the 'burbs

 

[tommyGunZ]

Well, got a call back from the broker. They are refusing to move down and are staying at their current number. As the wife and I said, it was a stretch for us to buy now anyway, so this may be a blessing in disguise in that it gives us time to stock up some more down payment etc., and then perhaps even opens up some more expensive homes to us. Additionally, we're considering selling our apartment now and just getting out into the rental market in the area of this house -- neither one of us has ever lived there, and so it seems like a good idea to test the waters for a bit before buying. Not to mention we will save a CRAPLOAD of money.

Oh, and this NYTimes article is pretty timely... link

I think you'll be VERY happy at this result in 2-3 years. Marriage and kid(s) is enough change for the Oat man recently - no need to get handcuffed to a piece of RE that could cost you 100K+ to get out of 3-5 years from now.

I think this is right. We're almost relieved with the result in retrospect.

So I'm starting to backtrack on my line of thinking here. The more I've seen in terms of neighborhoods and homes since we made the offer on this house, the more I'm feeling like this neighborhood is right for us, and this particular home is perfect for us. It's in nice livable condition, but not TOO done, and there's lots we can do to improve it and add value over the years. I also think that even that the seller's stated "bottom line" counter, it's still a total steal. This home is nice as is, and with work could be absolutely majestic. My thinking is that this home absolutely sells at or around that stated bottom line number in the Spring once buyer traffic picks back up. The zillow estimate, for whatever little that may be worth, is $100k higher than the seller's current stated bottom line. Most of the homes in the surrounding blocks are "zesstimated" at even 100k or more above that. Lots of $1M+ homes in the neighborhood, and I think over time you could put 100k or 200k into this house and easily sell it for what you put into it and then some (though that's not a huge concern for us -- we're looking long term here). I also like the idea of locking in a 30 year mortgage at current rates. I know lots of people are still down on the economy, but I think we're only going up from here (maybe slowly, but still). Another factor is that the area/neighborhood we really like there is very small -- it's a small village in a larger town, but this village has its own feel and own government. Thing is, it's so small (and desirable) that I can't imagine inventory there will ever be significant.When our negotiations broke down, we were separated by $40k (they originally asked 900 but came down to 860 as their "final" offer; we moved up to 820 and they never countered that, saying that 860 is the lowest they would go). $40k in a vacuum is a lot of money, but when you consider it in the context of a home that nears $1M, and a home that we'll end up (hopefully) spending a lifetime in, it seems almost silly.

We're considering ponying up another $20k to close the gap some. I have an unexpected bonus potentially coming from work, and if it does we can use that and it's the reason we we'd be able to move up from our "final" top offer (I'd have no problem conveying that to the broker -- I'm not trying to play games or split hairs here). At that point it will have been about a month since they heard from us, and if we're separated by ~20k, and the house will have sat on the market for another month, maybe they jump on it? Assuming it's even still not sold, I am thinking we still have a month or two until the Spring, so we have a few weeks to chew on all of this before there's a high risk of it being sold.

I've also heard that in some instances the brokers will cover the difference to make a deal happen. Here if we're assuming the brokers are getting 6%, that's over 50 grand. Surely they would eat 10k or even 20k of that to make something happen now, particularly with a house that's been on the market forever. No?

We'd be in a better financial position to more easily do all of this a year from now, but with a baby coming soon I'm less and less excited about having her here in Brooklyn and more and more interested in having the space and peace and safety of the burbs. Current thinking is also to sell our apartment -- we've really got little to no equity in it, but should hopefully be able to save for enough to cover what we owe plus closing costs on it.

Just some thoughts I'm kicking around, not sure what the FFA can do to help. (Unless of course Chet wants to wire me 40 large.) Really just trying to work through my thoughts...

You know the market you're looking at better than any of the FFA armchair "analysts"; if you've done your homework and are really in love with the place, I think you should grab it. Since it's a large home, there's no risk of it being too small in a few years, which is often a motivating factor for young couples wanting to move. As long as you know you're locking yourself into this house/neighborhood for ~ 10+ yrs, you're fine.One thing I would question - and I'm just playing devils advocate to help you think through this gb - is if it's such a steal, why has it been on the market for so long? Seems like there would be tons of folks scouring the Long Island RE market.

Either way, you've done your analysis and thought about it for awhile so this isn't like you're making a rash decision based completely on emotions, which is always a red flag.

 

[Koya]

So which town will become O'town? Can't find the post.

 

[jon_mx]

If you think it is a steal for the $860, go for it. I would not count on either agent willing to cut their commission. That is pretty rare, especially when it would be a high percent of the commission. If you plan on living there a long time and really love the place, it is worth it.

 

[Otis]

Well, got a call back from the broker. They are refusing to move down and are staying at their current number. As the wife and I said, it was a stretch for us to buy now anyway, so this may be a blessing in disguise in that it gives us time to stock up some more down payment etc., and then perhaps even opens up some more expensive homes to us. Additionally, we're considering selling our apartment now and just getting out into the rental market in the area of this house -- neither one of us has ever lived there, and so it seems like a good idea to test the waters for a bit before buying. Not to mention we will save a CRAPLOAD of money.

Oh, and this NYTimes article is pretty timely... link

I think you'll be VERY happy at this result in 2-3 years. Marriage and kid(s) is enough change for the Oat man recently - no need to get handcuffed to a piece of RE that could cost you 100K+ to get out of 3-5 years from now.

I think this is right. We're almost relieved with the result in retrospect.

So I'm starting to backtrack on my line of thinking here. The more I've seen in terms of neighborhoods and homes since we made the offer on this house, the more I'm feeling like this neighborhood is right for us, and this particular home is perfect for us. It's in nice livable condition, but not TOO done, and there's lots we can do to improve it and add value over the years. I also think that even that the seller's stated "bottom line" counter, it's still a total steal. This home is nice as is, and with work could be absolutely majestic. My thinking is that this home absolutely sells at or around that stated bottom line number in the Spring once buyer traffic picks back up. The zillow estimate, for whatever little that may be worth, is $100k higher than the seller's current stated bottom line. Most of the homes in the surrounding blocks are "zesstimated" at even 100k or more above that. Lots of $1M+ homes in the neighborhood, and I think over time you could put 100k or 200k into this house and easily sell it for what you put into it and then some (though that's not a huge concern for us -- we're looking long term here). I also like the idea of locking in a 30 year mortgage at current rates. I know lots of people are still down on the economy, but I think we're only going up from here (maybe slowly, but still). Another factor is that the area/neighborhood we really like there is very small -- it's a small village in a larger town, but this village has its own feel and own government. Thing is, it's so small (and desirable) that I can't imagine inventory there will ever be significant.When our negotiations broke down, we were separated by $40k (they originally asked 900 but came down to 860 as their "final" offer; we moved up to 820 and they never countered that, saying that 860 is the lowest they would go). $40k in a vacuum is a lot of money, but when you consider it in the context of a home that nears $1M, and a home that we'll end up (hopefully) spending a lifetime in, it seems almost silly.

We're considering ponying up another $20k to close the gap some. I have an unexpected bonus potentially coming from work, and if it does we can use that and it's the reason we we'd be able to move up from our "final" top offer (I'd have no problem conveying that to the broker -- I'm not trying to play games or split hairs here). At that point it will have been about a month since they heard from us, and if we're separated by ~20k, and the house will have sat on the market for another month, maybe they jump on it? Assuming it's even still not sold, I am thinking we still have a month or two until the Spring, so we have a few weeks to chew on all of this before there's a high risk of it being sold.

I've also heard that in some instances the brokers will cover the difference to make a deal happen. Here if we're assuming the brokers are getting 6%, that's over 50 grand. Surely they would eat 10k or even 20k of that to make something happen now, particularly with a house that's been on the market forever. No?

We'd be in a better financial position to more easily do all of this a year from now, but with a baby coming soon I'm less and less excited about having her here in Brooklyn and more and more interested in having the space and peace and safety of the burbs. Current thinking is also to sell our apartment -- we've really got little to no equity in it, but should hopefully be able to save for enough to cover what we owe plus closing costs on it.

Just some thoughts I'm kicking around, not sure what the FFA can do to help. (Unless of course Chet wants to wire me 40 large.) Really just trying to work through my thoughts...

You know the market you're looking at better than any of the FFA armchair "analysts"; if you've done your homework and are really in love with the place, I think you should grab it. Since it's a large home, there's no risk of it being too small in a few years, which is often a motivating factor for young couples wanting to move. As long as you know you're locking yourself into this house/neighborhood for ~ 10+ yrs, you're fine.One thing I would question - and I'm just playing devils advocate to help you think through this gb - is if it's such a steal, why has it been on the market for so long? Seems like there would be tons of folks scouring the Long Island RE market.

Either way, you've done your analysis and thought about it for awhile so this isn't like you're making a rash decision based completely on emotions, which is always a red flag.

Good question -- the only strike against the house as far as we can tell is something that we don't mind but which my parents questioned (and my mom thinks it's the reason it hasn't sold). The house is situated up on a hill. The driveway goes up towards the house. If you leave the car mid driveway, you are looking at a long-ish series of steps up to the front door. The alternative from there is to pull up into the garage, which then connects to the basement, but then you're looking at a flight of stairs up to the kitchen. Here's a pic. My mom is just thinking that older couples etc. might find that a hassle, and it could be a hassle for my wife with a stroller, groceries, etc. My wife swears she doesn't mind any of it, so if she's OK with it, the little extra work is OK with me. Also, it's a nice sized plot (around these parts anyway) at almost 1/2 acre (it's oversized for the area), but it's irregular shaped and has a grade to it, so it leaves for some awkward landscaping and only a portion of it being flat "useable" land. The truth is I already have ideas for how we would change the landscaping over the years by adding flat tiers separated by short stone walls, and doing some gardening/planting in the back, so I really think it could be overall used so much better than it is currently.

For the house as a whole, the outside is ratty looking to us. I don't like the light blue with white shutters -- we would very quickly have it resided with some high end white siding, and new black shutters, for a classic colonial look. There's room on the right side to build out in a few years to add on a much larger kitchen and master suite above that, and add on another 2nd floor bedroom. Additionally, the basement and attic both could be finished to add a ton of usable space. Again, I just think we see a ton of potential in this house that others don't. And with other homes in the area going for over a million, I think this could easily be made into a 1M-1.2M house in ten years (with some time and money).

Anyway those are the only modest strikes against it. And for us, we like the unique plot and hilly terrain. The approach up to the house is nice because it's at the top of a hill from where you drive up, so it has a really majestic feel (or could with some elbow grease and benjamins).

Anyway thanks for the sounding board. We drove to check out a couple other areas today and then drove past the house again. There's really nothing not to like about it for our situation. It fits the bill.

Stupid side question -- it has a septic tank, as to the other houses in the area. Where I grew up we had sewers. Is that a bad thing?

 

[Otis]

Here's a pic from up on the level part.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Wow - I'm surprised you can get something that nice for less than 900k in a NYC suburb. Much hotter than I thought.

 

[Tuco]

Here's a pic from up on the level part.

I like it. I wouldn't think that would be a deal breaker. You know the area better than any of us. If you've seen a lot of places and like this one the best, go for it. I don't think you're making a rush decision since you had time to walk away and collect your thoughts, and you still came back.

 

[cstu]

When our negotiations broke down, we were separated by $40k (they originally asked 900 but came down to 860 as their "final" offer; we moved up to 820 and they never countered that, saying that 860 is the lowest they would go). $40k in a vacuum is a lot of money, but when you consider it in the context of a home that nears $1M, and a home that we'll end up (hopefully) spending a lifetime in, it seems almost silly.We're considering ponying up another $20k to close the gap some. I have an unexpected bonus potentially coming from work, and if it does we can use that and it's the reason we we'd be able to move up from our "final" top offer (I'd have no problem conveying that to the broker -- I'm not trying to play games or split hairs here). At that point it will have been about a month since they heard from us, and if we're separated by ~20k, and the house will have sat on the market for another month, maybe they jump on it? Assuming it's even still not sold, I am thinking we still have a month or two until the Spring, so we have a few weeks to chew on all of this before there's a high risk of it being sold.

If it's been on the market for this long without being sold I think you can get it for $840k. With interest rates increasing the seller is losing money by sitting on the house and would be a fool not to take it.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

One question.

Is it haunted or near a graveyard?

 

[Otis]

One question.Is it haunted or near a graveyard?

We can only hope so. Would make for some good shtick.

 

[Koya]

Stupid side question -- it has a septic tank, as to the other houses in the area. Where I grew up we had sewers. Is that a bad thing?

What town is this in, as most locations nearer the City have sewer - not all though, and I would not let it worry you. There are certain maintenance issues with septic, but if you have a solid system shouldnt be a bother. My parent's house (in Sea Cliff, Long Island) never had sewer and it is valued at over $1M, and has never had any significant issues with the septic. Other than the fact that you really shouldnt put oil etc. down the sink, and possible issues because of that with a garbage disposal, I don't know of anything big.

 

[David Dodds]

Septic tanks are no problem at all. I have that situation here in the foothillls. You need to clean them out every 5-10 years at a cost of about $500. I also flush some chemicals down every few months to make sure the bacteria is doing good in my tank.

 

[Otis]

Stupid side question -- it has a septic tank, as to the other houses in the area. Where I grew up we had sewers. Is that a bad thing?

What town is this in, as most locations nearer the City have sewer - not all though, and I would not let it worry you. There are certain maintenance issues with septic, but if you have a solid system shouldnt be a bother. My parent's house (in Sea Cliff, Long Island) never had sewer and it is valued at over $1M, and has never had any significant issues with the septic. Other than the fact that you really shouldnt put oil etc. down the sink, and possible issues because of that with a garbage disposal, I don't know of anything big.

Septic tanks are no problem at all. I have that situation here in the foothillls. You need to clean them out every 5-10 years at a cost of about $500. I also flush some chemicals down every few months to make sure the bacteria is doing good in my tank.

Great, thanks -- helpful.

 

[David Dodds]

When our negotiations broke down, we were separated by $40k (they originally asked 900 but came down to 860 as their "final" offer; we moved up to 820 and they never countered that, saying that 860 is the lowest they would go). $40k in a vacuum is a lot of money, but when you consider it in the context of a home that nears $1M, and a home that we'll end up (hopefully) spending a lifetime in, it seems almost silly.We're considering ponying up another $20k to close the gap some. I have an unexpected bonus potentially coming from work, and if it does we can use that and it's the reason we we'd be able to move up from our "final" top offer (I'd have no problem conveying that to the broker -- I'm not trying to play games or split hairs here). At that point it will have been about a month since they heard from us, and if we're separated by ~20k, and the house will have sat on the market for another month, maybe they jump on it? Assuming it's even still not sold, I am thinking we still have a month or two until the Spring, so we have a few weeks to chew on all of this before there's a high risk of it being sold.

If it's been on the market for this long without being sold I think you can get it for $840k. With interest rates increasing the seller is losing money by sitting on the house and would be a fool not to take it.

This is the approach I would try. Send another counter for $840K and give them three days to act on it. They will likely let it lapse, but you can bet they are SERIOUSLY considering the offer because a few more months of not selling and it will be the same situation for them even sold at a higher price. The standard in California now is 5% between the agents and I bet it is in parts of New York as well. I wouldn't call them again after the 840K offer. I am pretty sure they will cave and take it.

 

[Otis]

When our negotiations broke down, we were separated by $40k (they originally asked 900 but came down to 860 as their "final" offer; we moved up to 820 and they never countered that, saying that 860 is the lowest they would go). $40k in a vacuum is a lot of money, but when you consider it in the context of a home that nears $1M, and a home that we'll end up (hopefully) spending a lifetime in, it seems almost silly.We're considering ponying up another $20k to close the gap some. I have an unexpected bonus potentially coming from work, and if it does we can use that and it's the reason we we'd be able to move up from our "final" top offer (I'd have no problem conveying that to the broker -- I'm not trying to play games or split hairs here). At that point it will have been about a month since they heard from us, and if we're separated by ~20k, and the house will have sat on the market for another month, maybe they jump on it? Assuming it's even still not sold, I am thinking we still have a month or two until the Spring, so we have a few weeks to chew on all of this before there's a high risk of it being sold.

If it's been on the market for this long without being sold I think you can get it for $840k. With interest rates increasing the seller is losing money by sitting on the house and would be a fool not to take it.

This is the approach I would try. Send another counter for $840K and give them three days to act on it. They will likely let it lapse, but you can bet they are SERIOUSLY considering the offer because a few more months of not selling and it will be the same situation for them even sold at a higher price. The standard in California now is 5% between the agents and I bet it is in parts of New York as well. I wouldn't call them again after the 840K offer. I am pretty sure they will cave and take it.

Thanks fellas. We may take a swing at this and see what happens. I'm gonna chew on it another week or two, but then maybe we'll fire one off at 840 and see what happens.

 

[ILuvU2Joe]

When our negotiations broke down, we were separated by $40k (they originally asked 900 but came down to 860 as their "final" offer; we moved up to 820 and they never countered that, saying that 860 is the lowest they would go). $40k in a vacuum is a lot of money, but when you consider it in the context of a home that nears $1M, and a home that we'll end up (hopefully) spending a lifetime in, it seems almost silly.We're considering ponying up another $20k to close the gap some. I have an unexpected bonus potentially coming from work, and if it does we can use that and it's the reason we we'd be able to move up from our "final" top offer (I'd have no problem conveying that to the broker -- I'm not trying to play games or split hairs here). At that point it will have been about a month since they heard from us, and if we're separated by ~20k, and the house will have sat on the market for another month, maybe they jump on it? Assuming it's even still not sold, I am thinking we still have a month or two until the Spring, so we have a few weeks to chew on all of this before there's a high risk of it being sold.

If it's been on the market for this long without being sold I think you can get it for $840k. With interest rates increasing the seller is losing money by sitting on the house and would be a fool not to take it.

This is the approach I would try. Send another counter for $840K and give them three days to act on it. They will likely let it lapse, but you can bet they are SERIOUSLY considering the offer because a few more months of not selling and it will be the same situation for them even sold at a higher price. The standard in California now is 5% between the agents and I bet it is in parts of New York as well. I wouldn't call them again after the 840K offer. I am pretty sure they will cave and take it.

 

[OC Zed]

Otis, you know the house and neighborhood better than everyone else commenting in this thread. You should, however, consider why you originally came to your $820,000 "final" offer. I'm not saying that you should absolutely rule out continuing negotiations, but this also sounds like you are negotiating against yourself at this point... which can be dangerous.

 

[Otis]

Otis, you know the house and neighborhood better than everyone else commenting in this thread. You should, however, consider why you originally came to your $820,000 "final" offer. I'm not saying that you should absolutely rule out continuing negotiations, but this also sounds like you are negotiating against yourself at this point... which can be dangerous.

If I had concluded the house was only worth that much, I wouldn't even be considering heading down this path. But based on other homes in the neighborhood, I think it's got to be worth even their current asking (they initially listed at 1M but dropped 100k shortly thereafter). Zillow, which from my observation usually underestimates NY home values when compared to what they are actually selling for, estimates it at $960k. I've said since we first saw it that I think it's worth 850 easily, and that 820 was a pipe dream but who knows. I'm not too concerned about negotiating against myself in this situation. I know the bottom line number -- 860 -- and I may even be comfortable with us paying that since I think it's fair. So really the worst case scenario isn't so bad. And still, this isn't the only house out there and we aren't desperate to have it. I think it's a great opportunity and a great house for us, but if we wait 3-6-12 months, there will be another somewhere. Might we not get as good a "value" as what I think this is? Maybe not, but either way, this isn't really an investment proposition in that sense -- it's more about a long term home.We'll see. Sure, there's a chance they contact us and say they'll take our first offer. But it just feels too low for this house, even in this market. They said it was their bottom line, they didn't move from it, and we haven't had contact in a few weeks now, so I don't expect anything to change in that sense. If their resolve has waned at all in the passing weeks, maybe it's enough for them to take 840. (Or maybe not -- I really think they seriously may not budge anymore and this may be it).

 

[Ditkaless Wonders]

I, for one, am looking forward to Otis meeting the neighbors, having BBQ's, dealing with maintainence issues and workmen, and getting involved in local politics. I can't wait for him to have a building code or permitting issue or to get a code ticket. I want to hear about trick or treaters or girl scouts coming to his door, and lord knows I want the neighborhood kids to ding dong ditch him or T.P those trees. I need Otis in suburbia. It will be a stranger in a strange land experience told with the perspective only Otis can bring.

Please Ice some new neighbors.

 

[jon_mx]

I, for one, am looking forward to Otis meeting the neighbors, having BBQ's, dealing with maintainence issues and workmen, and getting involved in local politics. I can't wait for him to have a building code or permitting issue or to get a code ticket. I want to hear about trick or treaters or girl scouts coming to his door, and lord knows I want the neighborhood kids to ding dong ditch him or T.P those trees. I need Otis in suburbia. It will be a stranger in a strange land experience told with the perspective only Otis can bring.Please Ice some new neighbors.

I am hoping for a hot cougar housewife story.

 

[Rohn Jambo]

Otis, you know the house and neighborhood better than everyone else commenting in this thread. You should, however, consider why you originally came to your $820,000 "final" offer. I'm not saying that you should absolutely rule out continuing negotiations, but this also sounds like you are negotiating against yourself at this point... which can be dangerous.

If I had concluded the house was only worth that much, I wouldn't even be considering heading down this path. But based on other homes in the neighborhood, I think it's got to be worth even their current asking (they initially listed at 1M but dropped 100k shortly thereafter). Zillow, which from my observation usually underestimates NY home values when compared to what they are actually selling for, estimates it at $960k. I've said since we first saw it that I think it's worth 850 easily, and that 820 was a pipe dream but who knows. I'm not too concerned about negotiating against myself in this situation. I know the bottom line number -- 860 -- and I may even be comfortable with us paying that since I think it's fair. So really the worst case scenario isn't so bad. And still, this isn't the only house out there and we aren't desperate to have it. I think it's a great opportunity and a great house for us, but if we wait 3-6-12 months, there will be another somewhere. Might we not get as good a "value" as what I think this is? Maybe not, but either way, this isn't really an investment proposition in that sense -- it's more about a long term home.We'll see. Sure, there's a chance they contact us and say they'll take our first offer. But it just feels too low for this house, even in this market. They said it was their bottom line, they didn't move from it, and we haven't had contact in a few weeks now, so I don't expect anything to change in that sense. If their resolve has waned at all in the passing weeks, maybe it's enough for them to take 840. (Or maybe not -- I really think they seriously may not budge anymore and this may be it).

Housing stock is usually more limited in the winter. You will definitely have more choices in the Spring.Buying a house is like choosing a wife. If it's real love then go ahead and propose. Resist the temptation to settle after a few bad dates. Just when you think Mr. Ham's curse will come true and you will die alone in the fun house, the right one will come along.

 

[Otis]

Just when you think Mr. Ham's curse will come true and you will die alone in the fun house, the right one will come along.

 

[Koya]

Otis - which town are we talking as I know Long Island pretty well. Can pm if not for public airing.

 

[Ditkaless Wonders]

I, for one, am looking forward to Otis meeting the neighbors, having BBQ's, dealing with maintainence issues and workmen, and getting involved in local politics. I can't wait for him to have a building code or permitting issue or to get a code ticket. I want to hear about trick or treaters or girl scouts coming to his door, and lord knows I want the neighborhood kids to ding dong ditch him or T.P those trees. I need Otis in suburbia. It will be a stranger in a strange land experience told with the perspective only Otis can bring.Please Ice some new neighbors.

I am hoping for a hot cougar housewife story.

So am I, but on the possibility that Mrs. Otis may show up in here I did not go there. Women can be unpredictable when pregnant and I would not want to upset her with my joking around.

 

[Harry Manback]

Wow.

We've been looking for about a year now. We need to get Cal in good school district. Private school isn't cutting it.

Here are two houses we are considering:

House 1

House 2

Jesus. 3000 sq ft homes? That second one in particular looks a lot like some of the new constructions in Douglaston (the part of Queens we are considering) -- that home in Douglaston is easily $1.5M. Bordering on 2M depending on which section.

I hate you all.

How long is the commute from LI?Ever considered Metro North?

Commute from the areas we are looking at would be about 35 minutes on the LIRR. (That's not far out -- there are plenty of towns much further out than that). From there you need to get from Penn Station to your office (for me about 10-15 minutes).Metro North is meh, only because we don't really have interest in living in Westchester.

Move to Boston.

 

[Otis]

I, for one, am looking forward to Otis meeting the neighbors, having BBQ's, dealing with maintainence issues and workmen, and getting involved in local politics. I can't wait for him to have a building code or permitting issue or to get a code ticket. I want to hear about trick or treaters or girl scouts coming to his door, and lord knows I want the neighborhood kids to ding dong ditch him or T.P those trees. I need Otis in suburbia. It will be a stranger in a strange land experience told with the perspective only Otis can bring.Please Ice some new neighbors.

I am hoping for a hot cougar housewife story.

So am I, but on the possibility that Mrs. Otis may show up in here I did not go there. Women can be unpredictable when pregnant and I would not want to upset her with my joking around.

 

[Otis]

Met with a broker today for our place and they are confident they'll be able to sell it quickly and for a price we'd be happy with. Turns out we may have some equity in the place after all. They also told us that the real estate market is suddenly picking up hard for Spring.

So, we decided to make one more shot at this house we like, for all the beans. We were considering moving up to 840, but decided to do 845. It's only 15k less than their "bottom line," so if they refuse this, what can we do. So the offer is in. Now we wait.

-SuburbOtis

 

[krista4]

Met with a broker today for our place and they are confident they'll be able to sell it quickly and for a price we'd be happy with. Turns out we may have some equity in the place after all. They also told us that the real estate market is suddenly picking up hard for Spring. So, we decided to make one more shot at this house we like, for all the beans. We were considering moving up to 840, but decided to do 845. It's only 15k less than their "bottom line," so if they refuse this, what can we do. So the offer is in. Now we wait.-SuburbOtis

GLGBSO. That's a super-cute house.

 

[RudiStein]

Here's a pic from up on the level part.

Looks familarGood luck.

 

[Otis]

Here's a pic from up on the level part.

Looks familarGood luck.

Paging Watson.