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Old 08-08-2014, 12:17 PM
 
Location: Simmering in DFW
6,952 posts, read 22,696,595 times
Reputation: 7297

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Actually, I know I have to MYOB. Friend's kid and her fiancé have been looking for about a year. They are now under contract for the worst house ever. In their price range its really tough to find a move in ready house with a 2-car garage. Sooooo after a year of looking and backing out of one contract (inspection report frightened them) they have a contract on the worst place. Its a 3 bedroom 1000 s ft house built in the 40's but has been updated with new flooring, windows, appliances. It is an old wood house with vinyl siding and a detached 2 car garage in the backyard and a dirt driveway. But the real issue is that its in a grimy location on a main 4-lane street. It barely sets back from the street. 5 houses down is the overpass for the light rail train/ Caddy corner is a tire repair shop; on the corner is a fast food restaurant! There's a public bus stop in front of the house next door. OMG. So hard not to speak up!
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Old 08-08-2014, 12:32 PM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
19,446 posts, read 27,860,991 times
Reputation: 36131
Yes, but try really really hard not to say a word except "congratulations" when the house closes. You can, of course, cross your fingers that something scares them off from the inspection report!

(PS - if they weren't already under contract, I might have suggested pointing out a few things about the location to your friend, but not to the kids. Let the parent be the bad guy.)
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Old 08-08-2014, 12:44 PM
 
20,187 posts, read 23,867,274 times
Reputation: 9284
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirl View Post
Actually, I know I have to MYOB. Friend's kid and her fiancé have been looking for about a year. They are now under contract for the worst house ever. In their price range its really tough to find a move in ready house with a 2-car garage. Sooooo after a year of looking and backing out of one contract (inspection report frightened them) they have a contract on the worst place. Its a 3 bedroom 1000 s ft house built in the 40's but has been updated with new flooring, windows, appliances. It is an old wood house with vinyl siding and a detached 2 car garage in the backyard and a dirt driveway. But the real issue is that its in a grimy location on a main 4-lane street. It barely sets back from the street. 5 houses down is the overpass for the light rail train/ Caddy corner is a tire repair shop; on the corner is a fast food restaurant! There's a public bus stop in front of the house next door. OMG. So hard not to speak up!
It sounds like heaven for those who hate urban sprawl and suburbs... I could not imagine living in that place...
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Old 08-08-2014, 01:32 PM
 
8,575 posts, read 12,422,708 times
Reputation: 16533
Quote:
Originally Posted by evilnewbie View Post
It sounds like heaven for those who hate urban sprawl and suburbs... I could not imagine living in that place...
No, people who rightly hate urban sprawl don't clamor for dumpy locations.
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Old 08-08-2014, 03:08 PM
 
5,046 posts, read 9,628,905 times
Reputation: 4181
But since those things you mention are obvious, wouldn't they see them? And their friends and family see them?
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Old 08-08-2014, 03:38 PM
 
Location: OH>IL>CO>CT
7,520 posts, read 13,636,965 times
Reputation: 11914
Assuming they did not select this place at night with a blindfold on, how do you know it isn't exactly what they wanted ?? My daughter and SIL's first home purchase was not something I was too happy about, but it was theirs and they liked it.

Everybody has to start somewhere.........
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Old 08-08-2014, 03:53 PM
 
906 posts, read 1,768,030 times
Reputation: 1068
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirl View Post
Actually, I know I have to MYOB. Friend's kid and her fiancé have been looking for about a year. They are now under contract for the worst house ever. In their price range its really tough to find a move in ready house with a 2-car garage. Sooooo after a year of looking and backing out of one contract (inspection report frightened them) they have a contract on the worst place. Its a 3 bedroom 1000 s ft house built in the 40's but has been updated with new flooring, windows, appliances. It is an old wood house with vinyl siding and a detached 2 car garage in the backyard and a dirt driveway. But the real issue is that its in a grimy location on a main 4-lane street. It barely sets back from the street. 5 houses down is the overpass for the light rail train/ Caddy corner is a tire repair shop; on the corner is a fast food restaurant! There's a public bus stop in front of the house next door. OMG. So hard not to speak up!
You need to continue minding your own business. I assume these buyers are adults, so they are old enough to make financial decisions on their own. Only their parents are in a position to given them advise on this decision.
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Old 08-08-2014, 05:04 PM
 
1,087 posts, read 1,948,637 times
Reputation: 1316
Family and friends can only suggest and advise if solicited, otherwise, yes, myob. . . in the end, they may end up loving this place and it will work for them, if not, hey trial and error, they will learn from their mistakes.
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Old 08-08-2014, 06:22 PM
 
Location: Brentwood, Tennessee
49,927 posts, read 59,984,705 times
Reputation: 98359
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirl View Post
Actually, I know I have to MYOB. Friend's kid and her fiancé have been looking for about a year. They are now under contract for the worst house ever. In their price range its really tough to find a move in ready house with a 2-car garage. Sooooo after a year of looking and backing out of one contract (inspection report frightened them) they have a contract on the worst place. Its a 3 bedroom 1000 s ft house built in the 40's but has been updated with new flooring, windows, appliances. It is an old wood house with vinyl siding and a detached 2 car garage in the backyard and a dirt driveway. But the real issue is that its in a grimy location on a main 4-lane street. It barely sets back from the street. 5 houses down is the overpass for the light rail train/ Caddy corner is a tire repair shop; on the corner is a fast food restaurant! There's a public bus stop in front of the house next door. OMG. So hard not to speak up!
What's not to like?

It's a "cozy, vintage cottage with a detached garage within walking distance to dining AND transit!!!"

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Old 08-08-2014, 10:04 PM
 
5,696 posts, read 19,151,731 times
Reputation: 8699
Learn from my experience. It is probably best to keep your opinions to yourself even if they are well intended. I have unfortunately, let myself get in a situations like this and thought being honest was the best route. In my defense friends and family have asked me for my opinion but I knew deep down they really didn't want my opinion unless I said the house was great. It makes it worse when they realize later you were right. No one wants you to be right, they want to prove you wrong. You have to let people make their own mistakes.

Many years ago a friend of mine was buying her first house. My husband and I had already been homeowners for sometime. She wanted me to bring my husband along for him to do a mini inspection of the place and offer our advice. She supposedly hadn't signed anything yet. I was shocked that she was interested in buying a very small 2 bedroom house when she had two small children and a 3rd on the way. The house was charming but small and did not meet the needs of her growing family.

It was on a double lot which she loved and talked about how the pool would go there, the swing set here, etc. For the same price there were many 3 bedrooms in her price range but none included a double lot. She had big plans to add a second story to the home. This baffled me that she would want to buy a house she needed to reconstruct completely to make it fit her needs. So she asked me what I thought. My husband had already took me aside and said he saw some issues with the foundation if it were true she wanted to add a second story. So I told her I thought the house was adorable but offered my advice if it would really work for her long term. She was not pleased and then dropped the bomb that she had already signed the paperwork an hour before we showed up. That would have been nice info to have. Well it didn't take long for her to realize it was a mistake. The second floor addition was a no go due to cost and structural issues. The 3rd child was a different sex from the other two kids so that ended up being an issue with the bedroom count. She was not happy and seemed overly crabby towards me when she did talk about the house. Basically I ended up being right and it bothered her. I was better off not saying a word and letting her realize the mistake on her own.

Did I learn my lesson? Nope. My young niece and her husband were buying their first house. Again, asked me for advice. Her being young and wanting everything to be perfect she passed up homes in nice locations due to the ick factor of old carpet, ugly paint and other cosmetic issues most first time home buyers learn to deal with and end up appreciating after making the house their own. She decided on a home that was completely redone by flippers in a nasty area of town. I thought the workmanship was shoddy and couldn't get over the fact she wasn't concerned about the nasty apartment building directly behind the home or the noisy train tracks a few houses down from her. She was annoyed by my advice and bought the place anyway. The apartment building has been raided numerous times for drugs. The trains were more noisy than she ever imagined and many issues were discovered afterwards as the flippers cut corners and all the pretty things started falling apart because it was cheap. In this case, she actually blamed me for not being more convincing to her of what a bad purchase it might be. Again, I am the bad guy.

Last time I learned my lesson. A family member bought a condo in a hip downtown area. Lots of bars, restaurants with a big social type atmosphere. Great place for a 20 something professional who likes to party but not really ideal for the personality type of my family member who was beyond the partying phase. The condo was also 3 stories with tons of stairs. I only mentioned the stairs being an issue to test the waters and immediately felt the annoyance so I shut up. 6 months later the condo went up for sale. The stairs were a hassle, the choppy living spaces weren't ideal, the bars closed at 2 a.m. spilling people into the streets as they hooted and hollered all the way down the block. So much noise that she hated living there almost immediately. She realized it was mistake but I didnt catch any flack for it because I kept my mouth shut.

Anyway, life lessons.
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