Greensboro Homes - New homes and areas (cul-de-sac, sales)

[aea77053]

We (my wife and me) will be relocating to G'boro next month and are in the process of house hunting. Will visit the area this week. This is all new to us, we don't have any kids, and would like to live in neighborhoods which are safe and close to where the action is..several people have suggested NW and SW areas of the city.

There are some town homes from 90k to 200k and we feel comfortable around 125-150k. Is this a good investment for a townhome? or should we buy a single family home instead (which will appreciate more?). As you can tell, we are first time home buyers. We want a new home (built 2000 or later) and prefer brand new homes.

Is it a buyer's market or seller's market in Greensboro? If we work with real-estate agents, can they help buy new homes from builders such as K.Hovnanian builders, or should we deal with the builders's sales agents directly? Also, one important question, is there any negotiation in the housing market? and how much is a good start? 20% below the list price?

Any help will be appreciated. Thank you very much.

[exjerseyite]

There's an enormous glut of new housing stock here--with tons and tons of attached homes and condo communities, and cul-de-sac neighborhoods cropping up all over.

A realtor I know & trust expects to see lots of builders declaring bankruptcy this year.

I'd lean toward buying a single family home for the resale value. Strangely the attached homes are selling for about the same as a single family.

If you really want to be near the action--which I consider downtown--you'll probably need to spend in the high end of your range. $150-200. I love the stuff going on downtown--condo-wise. You should check it out, too. Not just NW & SW. Definitely do not offer the asking price!

You sure you don't want to rent first? I bought in 4 days, REALLY regretted it for 3 miserable years; sold it, then finally bought where I was happy--in an older neighborhood with lots of trees, near downtown.

[Weis02]

While they say your house is the biggest "Investment" you make, I would not look to buy one over the other based on that alone. Location is also a key when detetmining how fast or slow real estate will appreciate...and with all the houses in my area (li, ny) appreciating so much (something that was never seen quite this way before) - I do not think anyone can predict what will happen with the re market in the future.

As for the other comment re builders, I imagine there is truth to that. While houses in NC may be selling like hotcakes, these builders build ALL OVER. Many of them have no money, in debt due to there huge purchases on land and cost to build, those rising and having houses sit with no buyers...I imagine that is why many are having these "sales" now...

[Cassie]

I agree with this advice. Greensboro has something like 200 home builders. The only thing I have to add for the original poster is that if you decide to buy a new home, no, don't deal with the builder's sales agent. They work for the builder, not you. Get a buyer's agent, one who represents you.

Great advice about renting first, Exjerseyite. Visiting somewhere and living there can be quite different. Yikes, 3 miserable years is a long time to live in an area you dislike.

Cassie

Originally Posted by exjerseyite

There's an enormous glut of new housing stock here--with tons and tons of attached homes and condo communities, and cul-de-sac neighborhoods cropping up all over.

A realtor I know & trust expects to see lots of builders declaring bankruptcy this year.

I'd lean toward buying a single family home for the resale value. Strangely the attached homes are selling for about the same as a single family.

If you really want to be near the action--which I consider downtown--you'll probably need to spend in the high end of your range. $150-200. I love the stuff going on downtown--condo-wise. You should check it out, too. Not just NW & SW. Definitely do not offer the asking price!

You sure you don't want to rent first? I bought in 4 days, REALLY regretted it for 3 miserable years; sold it, then finally bought where I was happy--in an older neighborhood with lots of trees, near downtown.

[aea77053]

thank you all for your responses. I understand that it is better to rent rather than buy immediately, especially when new to the city. I will keep this in mind and will rent for atleast a month or two to get to know the area.

I thought town homes would be perfect for us, as we don't want a condo (for privacy) but don't want to live in isolated homes with nobody around either. New developments or homes in subdivisions are our preference that would give us enough privacy but be a part of neighborhood as well.

How much do the real estate agents go below the list price? For example if I see a house for 140k and the tax value is listed as 120k for 2005, can I ask it for 115k and work upwards or will they reject if its below the tax value? confused. any suggestions will be very helpful.

[Weis02]

Originally Posted by aea77053

How much do the real estate agents go below the list price? For example if I see a house for 140k and the tax value is listed as 120k for 2005, can I ask it for 115k and work upwards or will they reject if its below the tax value? confused. any suggestions will be very helpful.

I would always offer less - even home buying there is always some room for neg but how far a seller will move will depend on how much they want to get out, how long they have been sitting with the house, the market, etc... but YES def offer a lower price with low balling too much...

[JAS]

I agree 100% with exjerseyite.

If I were young without kids, I would check out some of the new condos that are going up downtown. Otherwise, I think that a single-family home would be better elsewhere in town. There are, however, several nice townhome communities in the area, at least based on my informal studies (which involves me driving by one and thinking that it looks nice). It's a buyer's market in GSO, so you won't have a problem finding a house or townhouse in an area of town that suits you.

I also agree in renting for 6-12 months -- that's what my wife and I did when we first moved to GSO. We actually rented for 18 months.

I think a 20% discount from the asking price is too drastic. If I were a homeowner asking $140K, and someone offered $112k (80%), I wouldn't even consider that offer. I'm not saying that you absolutely can't get a house for 80% of asking, but the chances are slim since most sellers realize that it's a buyer's market and aren't jacking up their asking price.

Also don't go by county assessed values - while they may sometimes be an accurate portrayal of true market value, that's not always the case.

[Cassie]

The tax value of a home can be different (usually lower) than the appraised value - the value for which a real estate appraiser appraises it for the sale and the amount for which the bank will loan you money. Just because a house was assessed for tax purposes in 2005 at 120K doesn't mean it isn't worth more than that, especially if it hasn't been assessed for tax purposes in a while. This is where a knowledgeable Realtor can help you. I'm not a Realtor but I can refer you to one if you'd like.

Cassie

Originally Posted by aea77053

thank you all for your responses. I understand that it is better to rent rather than buy immediately, especially when new to the city. I will keep this in mind and will rent for atleast a month or two to get to know the area.

I thought town homes would be perfect for us, as we don't want a condo (for privacy) but don't want to live in isolated homes with nobody around either. New developments or homes in subdivisions are our preference that would give us enough privacy but be a part of neighborhood as well.

How much do the real estate agents go below the list price? For example if I see a house for 140k and the tax value is listed as 120k for 2005, can I ask it for 115k and work upwards or will they reject if its below the tax value? confused. any suggestions will be very helpful.

[aea77053]

thank you guys...very much appreciate your inputs. every little advice helps.

[SMW]

exjerseyite - You've mentioned downtown Greensboro a few times and I'm curious enough to check out the condo/townhouses there. Do you or anyone else know what the zip code(s) are for that area of town? Or even the street names or name of development would help. The MLS search sites can break Greensboro down by zip code, but I never know which one to look at. Thanks