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Nothing personal, but you sound like a seller's nightmare.
First off, unless you are quaified (who knows?) i don't want you looking at my house and wasting both of our times.
Second, if you call me and say you want to see my house, i have no idea who you are. A real buyer? Or some nut case looking to get their jollies? Or a career criminal? No way are you coming into my listing without a broker that has been sanctioned by my listing agent.
Open Houses? Drive yourself nuts and enjoy. When you open your house to the public thorugh an open house, you get, well, the public...
Not going to buy until spring 2012? Why are you looking at houses now? This isn't a gawkers paradise, it is a serious process. If you wish to see my home, it is because it meets virtually all of the criteria which you have established, and vetted with your agent, and you are serious about being able to make an offer if you like what you see.
If you cannot buy until next year, you are not a buyer, you are a looker. Enjoy your looking, but not on my dime or with my time, thank you.
It takes a great deal to prepare a house for a showing. If you want to see it at the very best you need to have your agent give my agent a call and give me at least several hours lead time. For me to invest that amount of time, i want to know that you are qualified, ready to buy, and are serious. Otherwise, we are both wasting our time.
Viewing real estate is not the nations pastime in lieu of shopping or watching football on a weekend. I am sorry to be harsh, but make it serious and you will have much better results. Quite honestly, nobody remembers the first house they saw after seeing a dozen or so, and they don't remember a house that they saw more than a few days ago. Do everyone a favor and when you are ready to buy, make some appointments, spend a few days looking at properties which fit your needs and your budget, and get it done. There is no such thing as the perfect house. Find one that meets many of your needs and wishes, and go for it.
Good luck...but don't be a nightmare for the sellers or the agents, please.
Um...rude much....I am qualified..thanks....and although my lease is up in May if I find something amazing I will break it....I wouldn't just call a seller - that was why I was asking the question! Um and I know it's a serious process- I already own a home in another state. Not to mention - if we find a short sell those can take months so it's not too early for that. So thanks for the post...I'm not a nightmare.
Speaking from the point of view of someone who recently sold a home, you sound serious enough that I'd want you looking at my house, assuming it fit your criterea. My listing agent did show our home to a few people who contacted him directly, we had no problem with him showing it. A smart seller wants showings. My suggestion though would be to use your agent on Sat, and then spend as much time driving around the area on Sunday, have coffee, lunch etc. and then hit up the open houses.
If you are looking to buy Spring of 2012, you are absolutely doing the right thing by starting to look at homes now. I'll bet that many of the houses you see now will still be on the market come spring, and most likely at reduced prices.
Speaking from the point of view of someone who recently sold a home, you sound serious enough that I'd want you looking at my house, assuming it fit your criterea. My listing agent did show our home to a few people who contacted him directly, we had no problem with him showing it. A smart seller wants showings. My suggestion though would be to use your agent on Sat, and then spend as much time driving around the area on Sunday, have coffee, lunch etc. and then hit up the open houses.
If you are looking to buy Spring of 2012, you are absolutely doing the right thing by starting to look at homes now. I'll bet that many of the houses you see now will still be on the market come spring, and most likely at reduced prices.
Thanks Hal! That is exactly our plan of what we are going to do that weekend! And some of the homes we are seeing have been on the market for a long time, so you are right, they could very well be still available in a couple months when we look to make offers!
Um...rude much....I am qualified..thanks....and although my lease is up in May if I find something amazing I will break it....I wouldn't just call a seller - that was why I was asking the question! Um and I know it's a serious process- I already own a home in another state. Not to mention - if we find a short sell those can take months so it's not too early for that. So thanks for the post...I'm not a nightmare.
its not your obligation to be the seller's dream house viewer. its your obligation to do whats right for you. if you think looking 6 months in advance to better know the area and houses on the market, you feel free to do it. if it bother's ted (or sellers), thats his/their problem.
completely agree with Hal. Specially in the winter months where inventory is so low, chances are you won't have too much to pick and next thing you know, it's May. It can take 2-3 months to close once you FIND a home, make an offer, agree on a price, secure financing and get all other odds and ends done.
You can easily get thru 3-6 open houses in one afternoon in a given town. You'll likely bypass a few as you'll know it just isn't what you thought (lacking curb appeal). But you should also be using this time to check all the other smaller details. Flood zone, schools, overall feel of the town(s), access to highways/mass transit, etc.
In fact, because all the pretty foliage is down and weather has been quite rude to us all in the past couple months, this is a time where you'll be able to see some of the true bones in most homes.
All this takes quite a bit of time and planning and hence why you're not too early in my book. However, do bear in mind that while you'll get a better deal from a home during this 'off-peak' market, once Feb/March hits the flow of new homes for sale increase quite a bit. This is where your realtor can get an 'early ear' about homes that are looking to sell come Spring.
The one thing I would sort of keep as inside information for the moment is your need to move in May. Leverage needs to be and stay on your side as the potential buyer and if they feel you are pressed to move because of an expired lease than it may affect your negotiating. Make sure you do give yourself enough time to close and expect something to go not as planned. That being said don't sweat the small stuff. Get a good lawyer as well.
Good luck!
one more thing.... short sales can be amazing opportunities for those with incredible patience and a ton of time. If you don't have both than I would stay far away from such transaction.
completely agree with Hal. Specially in the winter months where inventory is so low, chances are you won't have too much to pick and next thing you know, it's May. It can take 2-3 months to close once you FIND a home, make an offer, agree on a price, secure financing and get all other odds and ends done.
You can easily get thru 3-6 open houses in one afternoon in a given town. You'll likely bypass a few as you'll know it just isn't what you thought (lacking curb appeal). But you should also be using this time to check all the other smaller details. Flood zone, schools, overall feel of the town(s), access to highways/mass transit, etc.
In fact, because all the pretty foliage is down and weather has been quite rude to us all in the past couple months, this is a time where you'll be able to see some of the true bones in most homes.
All this takes quite a bit of time and planning and hence why you're not too early in my book. However, do bear in mind that while you'll get a better deal from a home during this 'off-peak' market, once Feb/March hits the flow of new homes for sale increase quite a bit. This is where your realtor can get an 'early ear' about homes that are looking to sell come Spring.
The one thing I would sort of keep as inside information for the moment is your need to move in May. Leverage needs to be and stay on your side as the potential buyer and if they feel you are pressed to move because of an expired lease than it may affect your negotiating. Make sure you do give yourself enough time to close and expect something to go not as planned. That being said don't sweat the small stuff. Get a good lawyer as well.
Good luck!
one more thing.... short sales can be amazing opportunities for those with incredible patience and a ton of time. If you don't have both than I would stay far away from such transaction.
Thanks so much for the tips and info about the market! Although our NYC lease is up in May, we aren't opposed to renting in NJ for a few months if we need to. There are some apartment complexes in the towns we are looking that allow 2-6 month leases which is great.
Thanks and how does it work with open houses? Can we show up to those without an agent?
We went to some open houses without our agent, and actually bought our house that we saw on our own, we just contacted our agent to put a bid in for us and she negotiated with the sellers agent.
i started looking at homes well over 6 months in advance of expecting to make a purchase. i wanted to see whats out there and what to expect. did that mean that most houses i looked at would likely be sold before im ready to make an offer? sure. but i didnt damage anyone's home when i was looking and it was valuable from the perspective of me learning about my options. you may not be a seller's dream person, but you arent their nightmare either.
ive noticed that rentals in my area seem to be less available than they used to. i think thats because more people are renting so you may want to be careful about inflated rental prices. if you see a house you like, try some lowball offers. it may anger/annoy some sellers, but you are in this for you.
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