Did you buy a house or sell a house? (Atlanta: foreclosures, lease) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

glee314 · 02-11-2009, 09:59 PM

I can't trust the media. There is two much hype... I am thinking about selling a house starting from March in East Cobb area..but.... I want to know and wish someone shares the buying experience and selling experience these days in East Cobb area.

Can you share your buying or selling experience these days?

Did you buy what you want to buy at a discount price? Back in 2006 when I shopped around a house, it was difficult to find a bargain for a good house(In my definition, a good location - not near the road...on a flat land...)... Well, share your experience please...

saharaga · 02-13-2009, 09:51 AM

I'm not in East Cobb but we're trying to sell a house in Newton county. It's been on the market for about 3 months now. We've had some traffic and two people were interested in the house. The first couple wanted our home for foreclosure prices and we are not ready to give our house away just yet. The second couple were not serious buyers IMO. They had their own house that was not on the market and they had not secured financing. They loved our house and asked if we would do a lease/purchase. Umm, no... not quite ready to go there either. I'm still trying to wrap my head around why they would want to lease a house when they already own one

. I'm not sure if the market is similar in East Cobb but I think you should be prepared for a lot of looky loos who are just fishing to see how desperate you are.

Quote:

Originally Posted by glee314

I can't trust the media. There is two much hype... I am thinking about selling a house starting from March in East Cobb area..but.... I want to know and wish someone shares the buying experience and selling experience these days in East Cobb area.

Can you share your buying or selling experience these days?

Did you buy what you want to buy at a discount price? Back in 2006 when I shopped around a house, it was difficult to find a bargain for a good house(In my definition, a good location - not near the road...on a flat land...)... Well, share your experience please...

moneill · 02-13-2009, 09:52 AM

I don't live in East Cobb, I live in Gwinnett County. We put our house on the market in February of 2008. We maybe have had a dozen people come and look -- maybe three of those serious potential buyers. (yes those numbers are for the year). It is absolutely the worst time in the world to sell a house BUT -- selling a house is like playing roulette -- all you need is that one number. You may be one of those people that puts their house on the market and the right buyer shows up the next day -- you really never know.

We had one person interested in our house but they lived in East Cobb and could not sell theirs.

Some experts are advising not to buy right now because house prices will continue to drop. I think trying to find that sweet spot -- the right moment that house prices are lowest is difficult. Most times we don't know what the bottom is until the prices start to rise...and then it is too late.

If you have money and can buy -- go ahead and look. Even if house prices do drop a bit in the Atlanta area....they will rise again and you will gain some equity. That's my two cents <G> -- or in this market one cent.

glee314 · 02-13-2009, 06:23 PM

We need to move up, but when searching for houses in East Cobb, I can't purchase five bedroom houses which is less than 20 years and under $350,000. Well, it is worse than the last year. Last year, we were able to find some homes which had good upgrades for under $350,000. So, I am confused....is the house price in the east cobb going up???? Or, is that just the price they want to get????

linicx · 02-13-2009, 06:33 PM

If you are really sercious about selling, find an honest realtor with a good reputation, stage your house, and wait. Realtors will not waste time with lookers and unqualifiied in today's market. To keep it staged you'll have to keep after it. Do not get involved with more than a six month contract. Buying is a do it yourself project. Selling is not because most of the time it iurns out to be an expensive lesson.

hspinnler · 02-14-2009, 05:24 PM

I am a home inspector and one who is literally in the home buying & selling trenches along with the client and realtor. You will be competing with any number of foreclosures in your areas including newly constructed homes at deep discounts. It's common for me to see homes selling from $50K to $150K less than they did a year or two ago. I understand that certain zip codes have less inventory and the pendulum may have already swung to favor the seller, but you'd have to consult with a local realtor about that. A properly presented, staged, and in some instances, pre-listing inspection can aide in attracting and retaining a prospective buyer.

Ischgebibbel · 04-09-2009, 12:10 PM

Stage and price your home right under your stiffest competition and you could very well have a Buyer. Maybe you should require all buyers to have the certificate from the Bank that their loan is secured. So you can get the serious one's that can afford your home. Good luck!!

crux · 04-10-2009, 06:37 AM

Been on the market for 8 months and I'm listed at a break-even point. Dropped my price several times arlready....my home is the lowest priced in the neighborhood. I had serious buyers during the first 3 months, but now I rarely get any lookers (and this is 'high season')...I keep losing to foreclosures...you should expect the same if selling in the next 2 years likely.

Realtors have wasted my time and theirs by bringing buyers who a) aren't qualified, b) are qualified 50-100k under our price. Most prospective buyers have been 'lease-to-own buyers' -- wasting our time to stage for them -- very annoying.

Stage your house perfectly before you go on the market. Get everything resolved that needs to be fixed, removed, painted, decorated -whatever, and once that's complete get it listed for show. The first few months are critical in this market. And once you get that 'Genuine Buyer' do whatever you can to get your Realtor to sink their claws into them!

saharaga · 04-13-2009, 03:24 PM

Just curious how long you plan to stick it out. Our 6 month listing expires this month and we plan to wait it out rather than renew the listing agreement. We've experienced the same issues you mentioned with the "buyers" our agent has managed to drum up. We'd like to sell our house but we're certainly not desparate to sell which is what it seems to take to attract buyers in this market.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crux

Been on the market for 8 months and I'm listed at a break-even point. Dropped my price several times arlready....my home is the lowest priced in the neighborhood. I had serious buyers during the first 3 months, but now I rarely get any lookers (and this is 'high season')...I keep losing to foreclosures...you should expect the same if selling in the next 2 years likely.

Realtors have wasted my time and theirs by bringing buyers who a) aren't qualified, b) are qualified 50-100k under our price. Most prospective buyers have been 'lease-to-own buyers' -- wasting our time to stage for them -- very annoying.

Stage your house perfectly before you go on the market. Get everything resolved that needs to be fixed, removed, painted, decorated -whatever, and once that's complete get it listed for show. The first few months are critical in this market. And once you get that 'Genuine Buyer' do whatever you can to get your Realtor to sink their claws into them!