Are you buying a house in NOVA? If So, what are you offering? (for sale, foreclosures)

[sunnygurl]

Is it standard to offer 5% off list price? 10%? 15%?????

[Fairfax Mom]

Its not what is offered - it is how desperate the seller is and what the buyer is willing to pay. I saw one home that sold for 50k less AND had a 10k giveback during closing. It is amazing how big the bargains are out there - there are so many forcelosures competing for sales - and the foreclosure houses are mostly new and beautiful

[claremarie]

A house in my neighborhood went under contract last week, three days after the first open house, for close to the asking price.

[normie]

Originally Posted by claremarie

A house in my neighborhood went under contract last week, three days after the first open house, for close to the asking price.

Similar story in Lowes Island. Two homes on McGees Ferry Way in Sterling sold in the last few weeks for close to the asking price. We've been watching them because that's where one of my relatives lives. One had been for sale for a long time (8-9 months, as I recall). The other sold in about a month. That was a very nice and unexpected surprise--but it's nothing to get excited about, either. I don't think it means the market is recovering... not yet, it's still a little early. But it's a good omen for the future.

[mdcrim]

Things are starting to heat up here a bit (Ashburn Farm). Three of five houses on the market in my small area of the neighborhood have sold in the past 2 months. A 4th has a contract and the 5th is still overpriced. Prices have gone down, but I think things are just starting to even out a bit.

[housewatcher]

In fairfax county I'm seeing homes sell for 10% off and subsidies of $10K. Lot's of homes - including those in good school districts/low crime areas are sitting for months on end.

In my opinion, no use catching a falling knife with the economy in the doldrums and lots more foreclosures on the horizon.

But you really have to do your homework. Look at the recent comps and the subsidies. Look at how long the home was on the market. Look at where the economy is heading. It's all over the news. Read patrick.net. Then read a realtors website (see the difference!) Then decide - then you will make an educated decision on if/how much to offer.

[VRE332]

I went into a place where it was on the market for 9 months, and the stench of the dirty cat litter box, the crust around the dishwasher turned me down. There has to be some prep work before you sell. My advice is to get a 50" TV and throw it up on the wall and pimp it out a little.

[tamitrail]

I don't feel that foreclosures or short sales are competition for resales. There is a lot of tape to got through for short sales and there is no guarantee that your offer will be accepted and some of those listings actually require the buyer to be qualified by the bank/mortgage company holding the deed.

The activity has started to pick up a little. That doesn't mean anything is going to change, but it does mean that sellers may "think" they can hold out for a better price if they are in a position to.

Again, it depends on your area, but in ours we have been told the banks are holding to their prices now and aren't doing much bargaining anymore.

There is no set percentage across the board. It depends on lots of things including how motivated the seller is.

[housewatcher]

"....some of those listings actually require the buyer to be qualified by the bank/mortgage company holding the deed".

The whole process is filled with paperwork, negotiation and approvals. What's a few more, if you are qualified? Perhaps there should have been a bit more scrutiny before this mess. I"m not sure why you are saying foreclosures or short sales are not competition to resales?

Activity has started to pick up because it is spring. It is still very slow compared to previous years.

Banks can't hold out forever. The prices should come back to a reasonable level before this is over - sooner rather than later if people don't capitulate to the age old realtor saying "now is the best time to buy" or place emotion first. Even the National Association of Realtors lead economist is saying we are not out of the woods yet.. An economist cited in the Wash Post a couple weeks ago said 10 - 20% declines ahead. (although I've heard in some circles up to 40% decline).

[tamitrail]

I never said we were out of the woods.

When you make a bid on a short sale..you could wait for weeks, even months, and end up not getting the house. Most buyers don't want to do that.

My point was perhaps you don't want to go with the mortgage company that you must prequalify with. If say Countrywide is the holder, and you don't want to work with them, then you aren't going to buy any houses that require them to approve you. Other people have scenarios where they won't get approved by a bank but can get a mortgage with a broker. So if a bank is requiring preapproval from them, certain buyers won't even try.

I have made my statements based on speaking with several realtors and mortgage people very recently and I stand by them. It is very rare that a foreclosure is a deal nowadays....especially verses someone who has painstakingly taken care of their resale. Further, you have more chance of negotiating with a resale than you do with a bank.

There are more houses going under contract. Again, I'm not saying we are out of the woods.