Anyone can provide some comments on this house? (Springfield, West Springfield: sales, foreclosed)

[ssmssm]

http://goo.gl/j0q5L4

I just want to hear some points from different people. As usual, mainly concern about:

1) If the price is reasonable.

2) How is the house itself (quality, design, whatever).

I have spent too much energy on buying a house in that area. Thanks.

[spencgr]

According to a site we cannot mention here, there have been two 3/3 homes that sold in that zip code this year (in Feb). Both sold for around $218/psf. This one is at $239/SF. That seems high. Don't you have an agent telling you this??

Although it is "redone", it looks as if they went to Home Depot and selected the lowest cost everything. It looks cheap to me. Also, the neighborhood has way to much chain link for me to ever be interested. The only thing I like is the back yard.

Originally Posted by ssmssm

I have spent too much energy on buying a house in that area. Thanks.

I'd like to give you some advice. You are spending WAY to much time and energy finding a home. I assure you, if you nitpick everything and rely on opinions from internet strangers, you will never be happy. It is a very simple formula, you are making this WAY to hard.

1) Find area you like
2) Find house in area that you can afford and like
3) Rely on agent to pull comps and make a good offer
4) Perform a thorough house inspection
5) Negotiate price based on inspection
6) move in

I've said this before, I'll say it again. It doesn't matter if we like it, it only matters if you like it. I assure you, if you continue to post these threads, you will just start hearing "yup, it's fantastic!", just so you buy a house and stop starting these threads.

[airjay75]

Looks nice. Note the history of that home if you haven't already - looks like it was foreclosed on in 2007 and has been a rental since then. Now that the market has rebounded somewhat, looks like the owner decided to do some remodeling and sell it.

My favorite part is probably the patio and backyard, that is, until I think about all the yard work it will take to keep it looking as nice as the pictures Be prepared for that.

I do think it looks a bit overpriced for the neighborhood. A quick look at recent sales nearby on Zillow shows a lot of homes being sold in the $300s and low $400s. If you paid $500k for it, you will have bought one of the most expensive homes in the neighborhood. Of course, those comparables migh be for much inferior properties, so hard to say, but it does seem like a lot more to ask for that property when you have homes in the nieghborhood that have recently been sold for under $400k. I don't see how a bunch of new (probably as cheaply done as possible) remodeling fetches a $100k+ premium.

Edit: I agree with spencgr above too. If your agent isn't telling you some of this same stuff, find a new one. And, what matters most is whether you like it, not whether we like it.

[ssmssm]

Originally Posted by airjay75

Looks nice. Note the history of that home if you haven't already - looks like it was foreclosed on in 2007 and has been a rental since then. Now that the market has rebounded somewhat, looks like the owner decided to do some remodeling and sell it.

My favorite part is probably the patio and backyard, that is, until I think about all the yard work it will take to keep it looking as nice as the pictures Be prepared for that.

I do think it looks a bit overpriced for the neighborhood. A quick look at recent sales nearby on Zillow shows a lot of homes being sold in the $300s and low $400s. If you paid $500k for it, you will have bought one of the most expensive homes in the neighborhood. Of course, those comparables migh be for much inferior properties, so hard to say, but it does seem like a lot more to ask for that property when you have homes in the nieghborhood that have recently been sold for under $400k. I don't see how a bunch of new (probably as cheaply done as possible) remodeling fetches a $100k+ premium.

Edit: I agree with spencgr above too. If your agent isn't telling you some of this same stuff, find a new one. And, what matters most is whether you like it, not whether we like it.

Thanks for your comments.

My agent starts to tell me some comments for the previous ones, after I complaint. This is the new one just posted, I don't really post a lot of threads recently. The last thread should be a few weeks ago, I only post thread for those houses I am very interested and may decide to buy. It is helpful to consider more from different people.

[ssmssm]

Originally Posted by spencgr

According to a site we cannot mention here, there have been two 3/3 homes that sold in that zip code this year (in Feb). Both sold for around $218/psf. This one is at $239/SF. That seems high. Don't you have an agent telling you this??

Although it is "redone", it looks as if they went to Home Depot and selected the lowest cost everything. It looks cheap to me. Also, the neighborhood has way to much chain link for me to ever be interested. The only thing I like is the back yard.




I'd like to give you some advice. You are spending WAY to much time and energy finding a home. I assure you, if you nitpick everything and rely on opinions from internet strangers, you will never be happy. It is a very simple formula, you are making this WAY to hard.

1) Find area you like
2) Find house in area that you can afford and like
3) Rely on agent to pull comps and make a good offer
4) Perform a thorough house inspection
5) Negotiate price based on inspection
6) move in

I've said this before, I'll say it again. It doesn't matter if we like it, it only matters if you like it. I assure you, if you continue to post these threads, you will just start hearing "yup, it's fantastic!", just so you buy a house and stop starting these threads.

Thanks for your comment. I am sure 1) and 2).

[Carlingtonian]

Revise your RF search to look at comps from that zip for the past year. You'll see that this house is overpriced. E.g., 7227 Hadlow (3BR/3BA) sold in Feb for 476K--and has a 1-car attached garage. Very similar to the latter house, 7125 Galgate sold in Jan for 485.

Therefore, I'd say the house you posted is worth maybe 50K less than that--so about 425.

Unless there's some micro-aspect of that particular street or neighborhood I'm not aware of.

Re. the house itself: Curb appeal is so-so. Backyard is excellent. Great patio and great trees. Kitchen has potential, but few buyers want black appliances. Being on a court probably adds to the value, given the absence of through traffic.

[ssmssm]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

Revise your RF search to look at comps from that zip for the past year. You'll see that this house is overpriced. E.g., 7227 Hadlow (3BR/3BA) sold in Feb for 476K--and has a 1-car attached garage. Very similar to the latter house, 7125 Galgate sold in Jan for 485.

Therefore, I'd say the house you posted is worth maybe 50K less than that--so about 425.

Unless there's some micro-aspect of that particular street or neighborhood I'm not aware of.

Re. the house itself: Curb appeal is so-so. Backyard is excellent. Great patio and great trees. Kitchen has potential, but few buyers want black appliances. Being on a court probably adds to the value, given the absence of through traffic.

Thanks for your comment. I do think it is somewhat overpriced. But the two houses you mentioned, they come with a different elementary school.

[JD984]

That's a very big yard for a house in 22152 zoned for West Springfield HS. I would not be surprised if it goes quickly for that reason alone. If you view a large yard as a chore, rather than as a bonus, you could get more house for the same amount of money elsewhere in the area.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by ssmssm

Thanks for your comment. I do think it is somewhat overpriced. But the two houses you mentioned, they come with a different elementary school.

Happy to help. Is one elementary known to be less desirable than the other? If so, that would account for some price difference, obviously.

6106 Bardu should be in the same school pyramid--sold for 545K in June. Not on a court--on a major artery, actually--but has an additional bedroom and a pretty sizeable and attractive backyard as well. (How much value each factor has depends on the buyer, of course.) Driveway only, same as the house you posted. To my eyes, far better curb appeal.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by ssmssm

Thanks for your comment. I do think it is somewhat overpriced. But the two houses you mentioned, they come with a different elementary school.

The other two houses are zoned to Hunt Valley Elem, with a ranking of 9 on Great Schools. Your house zones to Keene Mill, with a ranking of 10 on Great Schools. Seriously, that is a negligible difference. Certainly not something to explain a $50K cost differential.