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Ahhh - the CC&Rs. Then, yes, to answer your question, you may be too picky. Or more accurately, you may be looking for something that doesn't exist.
I am quickly coming to the realization that it will probably be necessary for me to resort to buying a piece of land and having a home built on it. This will require, much more time and effort...but it is clear that there is not much of anything that appeals to me on the market...at the price range I want to stick to
What are your requirements? I have followed your other threads, and the only thing that I can see is you have an unreasonable (in my opinion) refusal to purchase a home covered by any type of CC&R.
Now, it's your money and life, so go right ahead and stick to this standard if that's what you want to do. It will limit your options, but I am sure something is there for you.
What are your other requirements? Size? Proximity to work/city/parks, etc? Style? Lot size? Type of heating?
I am not being unreasonable...with the CC&Rs I am willing to live with deed restrictions. It is just that the two CC&Rs I read had some very vague wording and a lot was open to interpretation. I have heard of a variety of types of deed restrictions. some actually very defined and specific. I will continue to read them and if they are doable then I will make an offer. My requirements are simple. Two car garage, preferably two story...one story will do. no more than 3 bedrooms. Not next to any major or busy road. small lot. I think the only real thing limiting me is the market and what I am willing to max out at mortgage wise. $1400.00 That limits me to looking at houses not more than $230,000. there is a lot of inventory out there but most of it has had zero curb appeal to me.
Found our house in 4 days. Had been screening houses online for 1 month prior, looked at probably 500+ homes online before narrowing it to the 10-15 we chose to see (out of state relocation).
1 day for me... Wasn't really looking and had no intentions of buying for at least few years but we saw a house on MLS in a town we liked and decided to drive by. We had our agent show us the house that same day and made an offer 1 day later (this was back in 8/2012). It was a bidding war situation with 4 other buyers which sucked but it was well worth it.
........ I have been at it for seven months and in that time I have only really been interested in 4........ .
I have a suggestion. Add $100,000 to what you want to pay and see if any of those houses suit you. If you can find what you want by adding $100,000 to the price, then you want more than you can afford and you will do better if you realize that you must make some compromises when you buy.
I looked for about 6 years before I bought my most recent house in February. I looked at over 500 houses. Part of my issue was that I had a long list of requirements with a very slim budget. Most houses in my price range in the area, were total wrecks. I had to find the one that was doable maintenance wise for me.
Same with me, most homes in my price range were in not so good neighborhoods, or really dated. I narrowed my search down to 2 and ended up going with the cookie cutter 2010 structure. The other one was a 1950's 3 br 1 ba ranch style and i let that one go.
I wish I would have chosen the 1950's one but oh well, I had to get my foot in somewhere. The process took me about 6 months.
Our first house took several months to find and it showed up when we expanded our search to "vacant land". Let's just say the house was a bit of a fixer-upper, but it was definitely within our price bracket. The second house took three years to find, although we'd been thinking of buying a different one and were just waiting for the price to fall within our range. We were getting ready to go talk to the seller again when we heard it had sold for $5K over what we were planning to offer. That was after several years of watching and waiting. Then we found the second house within several months after that, but we'd gotten much more flexible about price by then. The third house just sort of appeared, we weren't really looking for it. We'd been keeping an eye out for an investment property for several years but had sort of taken a break from looking for awhile and then the third house popped up.
The first one was a repo and we only talked to the listing agent, well, emailed really. We didn't have our own Realtor and never saw inside the house nor met the listing Realtor until after we bought it. But, it was sold as vacant land.
The one we didn't get, we'd sent offers in to the listing agent, not sure if they were ever forwarded to the seller or not. It was a really low ball offer when it was first offered, but was within $5K of the amount they sold it for several years later.
The second house, we went through the listing agent. (Which is legal and somewhat common in Hawaii) I think that's partly what got us the house since there were multiple offers on it but when the listing agent got the seller to accept our offer, then they got more commission. It was a full price offer, so the seller wasn't losing anything by accepting it.
The third house was another vacant land with structure on it deal and we went with the listing agent. Had to sign a waiver before they'd let us look inside the house so the condition was a bit iffy but structurally it's mostly better now. Still working on the cosmetics, it will be a year or two before it's pretty again.
So, it can be all over the map. When you find a house that appeals to you, you'll know it. Mostly, though, for us the location is more important than the house. Houses can be altered, hard to do that with the location.
Me again. New here and excited to have a place to ask questions. Trust me when the newness wears off I will cool my jets and you all will here less of me.
Here is my question. Just how long did it take for anyone to find their first house. I have been at it for seven months and in that time I have only really been interested in 4. I have been looking everyday, have been doing drive ups, viewings and even got within a couple weeks of closing on one. I am in the Salem Oregon area and man is inventory low. I see listing after listing which does nothing for me. Same run of the mill ranchers and cookie cutters. I am looking in the 185k to 239k range and have widened my search to four different counties. The advice is that a house should feel right and the one for me will pop up and I will just recognize it. I am growing doubtful, frustrated and wondering what is going on. How many have had this same issue? Just wondering what the average search duration was.
For my current house, I looked at OVER 200 houses during a 1 1/2 year period of time. The reason was partly because, like you, I was new to the area, so I had to look at a LOT of areas around my big city, just to get familiar with the area. Also, maybe like you, I was looking for specific things that seemed to be hard to find in my price range. BUT EVENTUALLY I FOUND THE RIGHT HOUSE. NOTE: That was before the internet. If you're using the internet extensively, you should be able to cut that time down by screening out undesirable areas, high crime rates, etc. (I use the real estate sites, PLUS Google Maps to walk the neighborhood virtually, as well as city-data.com for stats, and trulia.com for crime rates for that particular neighborhood - look at the map at the bottom of the pg.) I also use the various county appraisal sites. Most of them have a separate MAPS link, to look up the plat of the neighborhood, dimensions of lot, etc. But at a minimum, you can check on who the owner is, whether an owner lives there, prior taxes, how long the owner has owned the home, etc.
When people have a lot of money, it's easy to go out and find a house with certain features. But when your price range is lower, it takes more work to find the diamond in the rough.
1. Don't listen to people who tease you for taking so long ("He's so picky," or "He'll NEVER buy a house."). TAKE ALL THE TIME YOU NEED. YOU will be the one living there and paying for it.
2. It WILL take you a LOT longer to find a house than someone who is from that area and already knows the various neighborhoods and areas. You, OTOH, have to actually look there to see for yourself. (It's a good way to get to know your new area, BTW.)
3. Hang in there for what is on your "must have" list for a house. Maybe it's not possible to get all those things, but maybe it is. You need to look at a lot of houses to determine that.
4. Use the internet a lot as a screening device. No need for you to waste time on areas where the tax rate is too high for you, the lots usually too small, or whatever.
5. Be mindful of the interest rates, which look like will be going up in October.
6. It takes less time to find a house you'll be in for only 7 years vs. one you plan on living in for 20 years. IMO, a person need not have a lot of "MUST HAVES" for a house they'll only be in for less than 10 yrs.
7. Location, location, location. If you anticipate selling the house in the future, I'd focus on location more than the house. The earth is not making any more land, but new houses are built every day. Certain locations have no vacant land. Location often dictates where a person buys a house. So you'll benefit more in the future if you buy for location over a beauty of a house in a less desirable location. Just in case that helps you narrow down the search area.
What I did (and what I'm doing for my next house):
I have a "MUST HAVE" list. These are things that I require in a new house.
I have a "PREFER" list. These are things that I really, really want, but I would consider buying a house without them, if they had some other things.
I have a "NO-GO" list. Things I will not buy (like an all-electric house or orange brick).
Be prepared to move some of your "MUST HAVE" things to your "PREFER" list, as you get familiar with the houses in your new area. You may realize that some things you require are just going to be very difficult to find in your price range. So if you want to buy a house, you will have to change your need for that.
Last edited by bpollen; 06-05-2015 at 03:23 PM..
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