Thinking of purchasing an older 1980's home, I need some positives and negatives (Tampa: houses, neighborhood)

[johns55]

About a week after I posted the house was pending with an offer. It's back on the market so I may make a trip down next week to take a closer look. I do understand the perceived and real problems that may be there in an 80's home, but my wife and I do like it so I may take a closer look and arm myself with all the questions to ask. General inspection plus roof would be if I think we should buy.


There are a couple of other homes I would look at if I come down. Another 80's home and one from 2001. My real issue is possibly buying a home before selling mine. Our house goes on the market in March.

[Sunshine Rules]

If the home was sale pending and is now back on the market, I would definitely ask why the home is back on the market -- mainly because most buyers do their inspections within the first 10 - 15 days after a contract is signed. So there's a chance the property has issues the previous buyer didn't want to cope with and they canceled their contract.

[newtovenice]

The market here cools by March/April. Much MUCH less to pick from. It's with season.

You can almost tell what month it is when all the for sales signs go up. And disappear. Just an FYI.

[johns55]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules

If the home was sale pending and is now back on the market, I would definitely ask why the home is back on the market -- mainly because most buyers do their inspections within the first 10 - 15 days after a contract is signed. So there's a chance the property has issues the previous buyer didn't want to cope with and they canceled their contract.

There was another house I looked at over Christmas that was pending and then back on the market twice. I asked my agent to find out why, which he did. I have never been sure if that information should be given out. Is it usual to get that kind of info? Just curious.

[johns55]

Originally Posted by newtovenice

The market here cools by March/April. Much MUCH less to pick from. It's with season.

You can almost tell what month it is when all the for sales signs go up. And disappear. Just an FYI.

Yes, I've noticed that over the years. It also seems that places for sale during the summer have very motivated sellers. Maybe?

[craigiri]

Originally Posted by johns55

There was another house I looked at over Christmas that was pending and then back on the market twice. I asked my agent to find out why, which he did. I have never been sure if that information should be given out. Is it usual to get that kind of info? Just curious.

One of my best Realtors told me that 40% of her sales fell through. It was just her assumption.....that a certain amount weren't going to settle. I considered that a healthy attitude.

People are skittish these days and often have second thoughts or they don't know their construction/mechanics and get scared off by little things...

Or, they use these things as an excuse to get out.

We did this ourselves once - we bought a house a little too quickly and although it was fine we cancelled it. We ended up buying a few months later.

Disclosure statements should contain most information in terms of actual problems.

We actually just "sold" one of our properties and then it fell through. The buyer had a few days to look at the condo docs and just pulled out - no reason except that if people have time, they often have 2nd thoughts.

They used to say location, location and location. In Florida I say Inspect, Inspect and Inspect.

[johns55]

Originally Posted by craigiri

One of my best Realtors told me that 40% of her sales fell through. It was just her assumption.....that a certain amount weren't going to settle. I considered that a healthy attitude.

People are skittish these days and often have second thoughts or they don't know their construction/mechanics and get scared off by little things...

Or, they use these things as an excuse to get out.

We did this ourselves once - we bought a house a little too quickly and although it was fine we cancelled it. We ended up buying a few months later.

Disclosure statements should contain most information in terms of actual problems.

We actually just "sold" one of our properties and then it fell through. The buyer had a few days to look at the condo docs and just pulled out - no reason except that if people have time, they often have 2nd thoughts.

They used to say location, location and location. In Florida I say Inspect, Inspect and Inspect.

Yes, I do assume that some of the cancelled sales are from people getting second thoughts. I have been lucky in my life never having a sale get cancelled. My Wife and I decided that I will not go down next week. We've decided to wait until we sell our house. It'll just make everything less complicated.

[beach43ofus]

OP..plz keep us posted. There are so many older homes around here, and so many in great locations, that I think a lot of potential buyers can learn from your entire experience, all the way through the end.

[bbronston]

Most (if not all) agents have had sales fall apart but 40% is extremely high. Our Florida contracts typically allow buyers to back out when issues arise out of inspections and/or financing but there are other potential issues that can arise. An agent working with a buyer can always ask the listing agent why the previous contract fell apart but the listing agent should have the seller’s permission before sharing any information. However, a seller is required to disclose any known defects that materially affect the value of the property that are not readily observable. So, if the first inspection reveals a problem that causes the deal to fall apart, the seller is required to disclose that previously unknown, not readily observable, defect to the next buyer AND if the seller refuses, the listing agent is still required to disclose what they know or withdraw from the listing.

[vacoder]

In 2014 I bought a 1980 home in Englewood for 150k. Three years later sold it for 200k. As long as you are not in a flood zone no big issue.