Reasonably priced = reasonable buyers? (Realtor, sellers, house, cash)

[InflationNation]

Originally Posted by jimj

I also find it funny that the mantra for quite a while was/is "it takes a village" but I guess that only applies when a person is not shafting the "village". I've found when you live in a subdivision you are joining an extended family of sorts whether you want to or not. You can choose not to participate and try to live in your own world (been there done that) but that doesn't mean that the rest of the "village" won't talk about you even more since people are wary of what they don't know or that they won't come up with ideas about you on their own.
We've had neighbors price their house in the gutter which aggrivated the other owners and had owners take a real low ball offer but since the person that sold moved who do you think they took out their anger on? The buyer...

We tend to move a bit and the best one that's gotten back to me is that we were in witness protection or the topper, one neighbor called Americans Most Wanted swearing they saw us on the show. Needless to say my wife freaked, I laughed and now it's the family joke.
I'm not saying you shouldn't try to get the best deal you can but if it's perceived that you're gloating about shorting someone or are actively putting out there that you're looking to take advantage of peoples misfortune the response you'll get from the "villagers" most likely will not be a welcome one. BTW, you can try to not disclose what you paid but trust me, it'll be all over the neighborhood within 3 weeks of closing.

No problem. Just pretend you're poor and weren't approved for a higher mortgage than what the offer reflected. No one can easily peek at your financial records.

Again, you just have to ride it out for a little while until the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc buyers get the nearby homes for a comparable price. Then you'll have allies and perhaps some great new friends.

[AnthonyB]

Originally Posted by leavingbyron

Well, I can tell you personally how me and my neighbor like to gossip about all the neighbors in our neighborhood (good and bad). And if you don't think "bad" neighborhood talk won't affect you, wait til your kids want to play with "their" kids...Look at the big picture, your decisions affect not only yourself. That is, if you can look beyond yourself...

I'm sure it's hard to make a house a home in a neighborhood that has preconceived notions...

Sorry, but that is a really bullying attitude.

My experience is that neighbourhoods aren't that homogenous, they tend to have a couple of cliques and other people who just don't participate at all. Cliques, as per their nature, tend to view themselves as the be all and end all, and unfortunately are blind to the fact that the rest of the world doesn't view them as highly as they view themselves.

Kind of like the self percieved "cool kids" in high school. Who didn't turn out to be that cool 20 years down the road.

In case you didn't guess, I'm not a clique kind of person, more of a 'live and let live" one. I would hope to be treated as I treat others, but am not unrealistic, there are always nasty people out there.

[PotterGeek]

Sorry, but that is a really bullying attitude.

My experience is that neighbourhoods aren't that homogenous, they tend to have a couple of cliques and other people who just don't participate at all. Cliques, as per their nature, tend to view themselves as the be all and end all, and unfortunately are blind to the fact that the rest of the world doesn't view them as highly as they view themselves.

Kind of like the self percieved "cool kids" in high school. Who didn't turn out to be that cool 20 years down the road.

In case you didn't guess, I'm not a clique kind of person, more of a 'live and let live" one. I would hope to be treated as I treat others, but am not unrealistic, there are always nasty people out there.

No, that is life, and unfortunately, there are some petty & vindictive people out there. I myself am not one (though I am guilty of gossip, I don't know many who are not). But it doesn't matter if you got in a community on the cheap, or whatever the reason, I see it in my neighborhood everyday, there are some parents in our development that won't let their kids play with certain other kids. It's very sad, too, because you know the kids shouldn't be blamed for their parents actions, or perceptions of their parents as a whole.

Although, I think the quote you made "I would hope to be treated as I treat others" is kinda contradictory (for some of the other posters on here anyways...)

[InflationNation]

Originally Posted by leavingbyron

No, that is life, and unfortunately, there are some petty & vindictive people out there. I myself am not one (though I am guilty of gossip, I don't know many who are not). But it doesn't matter if you got in a community on the cheap, or whatever the reason, I see it in my neighborhood everyday, there are some parents in our development that won't let their kids play with certain other kids. It's very sad, too, because you know the kids shouldn't be blamed for their parents actions, or perceptions of their parents as a whole.

Although, I think the quote you made "I would hope to be treated as I treat others" is kinda contradictory (for some of the other posters on here anyways...)

Yeah, most people don't want their kids to play with kids of vindictive people, so it suits most rational people fine. There are many other kids to play with from church, school, and other community events.

[PotterGeek]

You'd be surprised how some people are...
There are these two little boys in our neighborhood that hardly any of the other kids in the development play with, but I encourage my son and daughter to play with them and they get along fine. I can't understand why some parents are like that, or for what reason why they aren't more included, but that's what I meant by "I see it everyday"...

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by jimj

Offering 65% off asking is one strategy to getting a good deal, it's what the people I know call bottom fishing. If you can get it good for you, you've found the person that's so hard up they'll take it. I've also seen the neighborhood visit payback on someone who drove comps in the gutter. It's interesting to hear what the neighbors say to your potential buyers when you go to sell. All of a sudden you've been infested with some kind of bug, been haunted or had someone die in the house, plumbing nightmares, you get the drift. Yes they may be envyous and you need to remember envy is a powerful emotion that can drive people do to dumb things...

You can chuckle now and you may well be right that some will not live there when you go to sell but you should see what kind of stories that will "float" around the neighborhood and in the ears of agents and future buyers from the ones who still do.

I'm not judging you, I'm just telling you what I've seen happen when neighbors get ticked because they feel like you hosed them.

Honestly, watch me care. This isn't the first time I've bought a house. I personally would not believe a complete stranger who lives next door to a house I'm trying to buy if they told me things like that. I'd have the house properly inspected, and I don't care if someone has died in a house or not. Been there, done that.

I'm not going to be intimidated or threatened into paying over market value for the most expensive asset I'm ever likely to own. Period. The neighbors can go fly a kite if they're that juvenile and immature.

[InflationNation]

Originally Posted by nativeDallasite

Honestly, watch me care. This isn't the first time I've bought a house. I personally would not believe a complete stranger who lives next door to a house I'm trying to buy if they told me things like that. I'd have the house properly inspected, and I don't care if someone has died in a house or not. Been there, done that.

I'm not going to be intimidated or threatened into paying over market value for the most expensive asset I'm ever likely to own. Period. The neighbors can go fly a kite if they're that juvenile and immature.

Folks here have a hidden agenda to keep prices afloat, nativeDallasite. As I've mentioned as counterpoints, kids will find friends to play with through other community ventures and the people who follow you into the neighborhood getting a good deal will be your best friends. Just look at the public records periodically for people who move into the same neighborhood and discretely make quick friends with all of the other bargain scoopers.

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by jimj

I also find it funny that the mantra for quite a while was/is "it takes a village" but I guess that only applies when a person is not shafting the "village". I've found when you live in a subdivision you are joining an extended family of sorts whether you want to or not. You can choose not to participate and try to live in your own world (been there done that) but that doesn't mean that the rest of the "village" won't talk about you even more since people are wary of what they don't know or that they won't come up with ideas about you on their own.
We've had neighbors price their house in the gutter which aggrivated the other owners and had owners take a real low ball offer but since the person that sold moved who do you think they took out their anger on? The buyer...

We tend to move a bit and the best one that's gotten back to me is that we were in witness protection or the topper, one neighbor called Americans Most Wanted swearing they saw us on the show. Needless to say my wife freaked, I laughed and now it's the family joke.
I'm not saying you shouldn't try to get the best deal you can but if it's perceived that you're gloating about shorting someone or are actively putting out there that you're looking to take advantage of peoples misfortune the response you'll get from the "villagers" most likely will not be a welcome one. BTW, you can try to not disclose what you paid but trust me, it'll be all over the neighborhood within 3 weeks of closing.

That's pathetic and sad. I have better things to worry about than what my neighbor paid for his/her house. I honestly don't care, and I wouldn't want to be friends with people who would judge my worthiness as a friend on something like that. They sound shallow and pathetic.

I just moved back here from a country that is even MORE obsessed with real estate and house prices (the United Kingdom). I priced my house aggressively to sell and received nothing but congratulations from my neighbors, some of whom I have kept in touch with (mainly because they want to know how my cat is doing) and nobody has said anything about me bringing the street down. The comps on my old estate are literally all over the place, with differences for similar homes as extreme as 70,000 pounds. When the most expensive one on the estate has sold for 250,000, you can see the significance of that.

When a house sold on our street in 2004, people were mildly curious as to what was paid for the house, but only because they wanted to know roughly what theirs would be worth if they decided to sell. The person who bought the house did lowball the owner and got the house for about 20% under market value, but I never heard anybody grumble about it. This in a country where house prices are discussed every day in nearly any social situation.

So...you're not scaring me.

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by leavingbyron

Well, I can tell you personally how me and my neighbor like to gossip about all the neighbors in our neighborhood (good and bad). And if you don't think "bad" neighborhood talk won't affect you, wait til your kids want to play with "their" kids...Look at the big picture, your decisions affect not only yourself. That is, if you can look beyond yourself...

I'm sure it's hard to make a house a home in a neighborhood that has preconceived notions...

To be honest if you wouldn't allow my children to play with yours because I got a bargain on my house, I'd think you were shallow and not worth my time, and I'd be glad that my children wouldn't have a chance to be influenced by you or your family. Your loss, not mine.

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by AnthonyB

Sorry, but that is a really bullying attitude.

My experience is that neighbourhoods aren't that homogenous, they tend to have a couple of cliques and other people who just don't participate at all. Cliques, as per their nature, tend to view themselves as the be all and end all, and unfortunately are blind to the fact that the rest of the world doesn't view them as highly as they view themselves.

Kind of like the self percieved "cool kids" in high school. Who didn't turn out to be that cool 20 years down the road.

In case you didn't guess, I'm not a clique kind of person, more of a 'live and let live" one. I would hope to be treated as I treat others, but am not unrealistic, there are always nasty people out there.

Absolutely. Every neighborhood has their bullying gossips. I steer clear of that because I have better things to do than talk smack about people I barely know.

Off-topic: As for the "cool kid" in high school theory, you're right about that.
I was in Restoration Hardware the other day and bumped into a girl I went to high school with. She was always a cold witch to me in HS. I was shopping there...she was working there. I thought it was pretty funny. Then again, she couldn't break 800 on her SATs.