When is being particular TOO particular, as a buyer?

[davebarnes]

Frankfort, KY has lots of houses that meet your requirements.

[bpollen]

Originally Posted by LowonLuck

I agree with this. I looked at over 300 houses before buying my last one. 50 houses in the agent fired me, with a letter saying to figure out what I could compromise on, within my budget or increase my budget.

I found exactly what I wanted, within my budget with a new agent. Now the agent that fired me, send me advertisements all the time to consider her when I want to sell. Nope. She only wants easy deals. I will stick with agents that are not afraid to work.

Wow. 300 houses? Amazing. I'm so glad you found what you wanted! Sometimes it's timing, I figure. Plus, experience is gained when looking at each house.

One agent told me she didn't think I was ready to buy....after showing me FOUR houses. And three weren't even in the city...they were in a little adjoining town and in the boonies (I was desperate). Two were in a flood zone. I think they see dollar signs when I tell them I'm paying cash, so they view me as a fast sell. I also think that because I'm female, they think I can be talked into something. That's not the case.

The agents don't seem to have pre-viewed any of the houses, either, like they used to. Agents used to do tours of new houses on the market. I guess they don't, any more.

Another problem is that flippers descended on L.C. in the last year or two. There was an article in Fortune magazine talking about the real estate opportunity there, so flippers from all over descended on the city and bought anything & everything, driving up the prices and resulting in cheaply done "renovations," which were surface upgrades only and not anything important. Don't get me started on that.

[LowonLuck]

Originally Posted by bpollen

Wow. 300 houses? Amazing. I'm so glad you found what you wanted! Sometimes it's timing, I figure. Plus, experience is gained when looking at each house.

One agent told me she didn't think I was ready to buy....after showing me FOUR houses. And three weren't even in the city...they were in a little adjoining town and in the boonies (I was desperate). Two were in a flood zone. I think they see dollar signs when I tell them I'm paying cash, so they view me as a fast sell. I also think that because I'm female, they think I can be talked into something. That's not the case.

The agents don't seem to have pre-viewed any of the houses, either, like they used to. Agents used to do tours of new houses on the market. I guess they don't, any more.

Another problem is that flippers descended on L.C. in the last year or two. There was an article in Fortune magazine talking about the real estate opportunity there, so flippers from all over descended on the city and bought anything & everything, driving up the prices and resulting in cheaply done "renovations," which were surface upgrades only and not anything important. Don't get me started on that.

Yes I was persistent, but it paid off. Never just settle. Find what you want. You are the one that has to live there every day. The agent most likely won't be visiting often.

I was looking at foreclosures, and houses priced well below market value. It's funny to see houses after they have been flipped. The only way to make money is doing the cheap repairs and surface upgrades. That is what the average buyers look at. The guy that bought the one next to the one I bought, did a complete gut and renovate. He can't sell it because he has more money into it than it's worth. It was his first flip. I told him from the get go that he was spending too much money.