Making Offers - sustaining oneself thru the process (appraisal, foreclosure, negotiation)

[Squirl]

When BUYING:

Once I write the offer contract and while we are going back and forth, I will not drive by the property. I simply refuse to let myself get too involved with it.

I always continue looking at other properties while I am in the offer process so I have others in mind and don't feel like I HAVE to get that one.

WHEN SELLING:

I am constantly looking online to see what other properties are available and if I know anything about the buyers, I try and guess what other other properties they might/have considered

I am always planning for the next round and trying to figure out what items I can throw in without changing the house price much.....

I am keeping the place super clean, but especially the outside (thinking the buyers may drive by)

I'm interested what others do or have done you do to carry themselves through the offer and negotiation phase.......

[hueyeats]

Good points.

Being that I just close on mine, I'd say keep up research on any property that is in your location search & price range even after the offer... until one gets the keys, you just never know.

I still research on properties even after my closing... why?

To keep tabs on the housing market (so determine my home value), to see what have sold & what have been sold for (determines what I offered if its a good value).

Buying a home is just like a huge investment stock, the homework never ends and if you are smart plus not lazy... the end rewards will be a good one.

[Avalon08]

WHEN SELLING:

I am constantly looking online to see what other properties are available and if I know anything about the buyers, I try and guess what other other properties they might/have considered

I maintained an entire spreadsheet of sold and for-sale properties in my neighborhood. I did drive-by's of the competition, viewed the on-line photos and sometimes visited in person. I checked the newspaper every week for property transfers, and my agent informed me if a sale was "pending". I lived in a high-foreclosure resort community. I was freaking out when I heard two short-sales across the street from me were pending. I knew if they went to closing, they'd completely undercut my price. Luckily, they didn't....but my buyers did learn of the sales before WE went to closing. They considered reducing their offer, but in the end they were already getting quite a bargain (and I was losing money) so they stayed put on price.

I've had another house for a year now, but am still checking the market often to see what's going on in my new community. Sad to say, looks like prices are still dropping.

[TonyG5003]

Originally Posted by Squirl

When BUYING:

Once I write the offer contract and while we are going back and forth, I will not drive by the property. I simply refuse to let myself get too involved with it.

I always continue looking at other properties while I am in the offer process so I have others in mind and don't feel like I HAVE to get that one.

I especially like your buying habits. It's best to not get too emotionally attached to any home you're interested in. I do the same when buying a car - I do the best job when I'm willing to walk away.

[Squirl]

Oh, and I just went by the property b/c I won the multi-offer bid. Now let's see how it fares thru inspection.

[hueyeats]

Originally Posted by Squirl

Oh, and I just went by the property b/c I won the multi-offer bid. Now let's see how it fares thru inspection.

Good for you & best luck in the inspection.

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We walked away from my husband's first choice house because the agent told us there is already an offer in and to go in with our best & last. I told my husband "not a chance" (with the offer) and especially I hate games, especially games that the ball is already in someone else's court. Why should I be forced to offer what my best is?

So the story went on for the "offer" my first choice house.

It is the second choice to my husband because it is a more expensive house (price and tax).
It is the first choice to me because we are getting a hell of a deal with per sq ft price and also the value of what we are getting: two more extra bedrooms, bigger sq footage and acreage, more private & better location etc.... basically investment wise = better return for that money.

Well, we close on that better house for a great low price below what would be our best & last price for that first house.
The first house still sit on the for sale list while ours has gone into the sold.

We found out that we actually had lucked out when closing & offering on DH's second choice home & not that first one that already had been bid-ed on after more research after the close.
We actually closed on our house for a "REO/foreclosure" price but the property is not in the REO/foreclosure list nor in its state... so a very lucky situation for us indeed.

- For the first house if we were to close, we would be immediately under-water, especially if the home price is our best & last...

vs. this second choice, we would be above-water with a nice equity in for years to come.

Facts of the appraisal... even facts of just by looking at the two house, it's attributes and such.

- For the first house would have been a very "hard to sell" since the location of it is in a blind corner (a widower's maker as I call it, especially if I were to back out the drive), lacks the location, lacks the value per sq ft, lacks the yard. Basically it is a "stage" to look very nice kind of a house and even had a professionally landscaped yard (DH loves that landscape stuff) which is easily the best landscape around the neighbor hood, BUT....

vs. the second house, where the landscape do need some work (still landscaped but just needs tending), is in a great location (I always stress location because that is what sells usually) & the acreage (land itself; the value), is a wayyy bigger house, value for the price per sq ft (investor price), is a better built house, is really a diamond in the rough (house is what I called the most "plain looking" among other homes in this location)...

really more "sell-able" than the first house if sold at the same asking price.

- investment opportunity (if we rent out the property)... we will get less for the first house while we will be getting alot more more the second.

The second house is almost double what the first one is, comparing the height and the market (2007 data).

And... with more land to grow.

P.S. If asked, would we have sold the first house & the second house in it's "asking" price? The first house we would, but even for that "asking" price for the second house, we wouldn't. It would be wayyyy more.