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Follow the advice of your realtor. That is what you hired them for. They know the area, the comps, and what the property is worth based on the condition.
If it is in bad shape, are you sure you can even get a loan for it? Sometimes properties in disrepair do not qualify for financing. I would ask your realtor about this.
See if you and the property qualify for a 203K loan. And make sure that the mortgage company you plan on using carries those loans. Go to www.hud.gov and look for the list of lenders who carry these rehab loans.
See if you and the property qualify for a 203K loan. And make sure that the mortgage company you plan on using carries those loans. Go to www.hud.gov and look for the list of lenders who carry these rehab loans.
But then the OP's boyfriend cannot do any of the work. It is a decision she would have to weigh. The cost of labor vs. the loan type.
I have another question. The first time we looked at the home, it was shown by the realtor listed. Then I got a buyer's agent, and she is also showing us other places. So my question is, we want to go back and see the first place again, with a contractor friend, to get a better idea of fix-up costs...so do I use my buyer's agent or the listing agent who showed us the place the first time? I feel like I'm stepping on toes if I don't use him for this particular home as he already came out on a Sunday to show it to us, and also his mortgage guy is the one I've been getting the pre-approval from. If I see it the next time with the buyer's agent, do I call the first agent and "break up"?
Did you sign anything with the first agent? Have you even had any communication with them since? If you didn't sign anything then you're fine using the new agent.
If you buy the house, the first agent will get over it since that means they're getting paid. Poor guy/gal, having to show their own listing lol. Although honestly if you don't buy this house but liked the first agent better than the new one, you can probably still use them to look at other houses (assuming they work with buyers); but you don't want to use them for their own listing.
Put the earnest money up and get it under contract. If it's been sitting for as long as you say and the realtor says it'll probably go with a conventional loan, move NOW. Put a financing/inspection contingency in the offer as an 'out' if the deal goes bad.
Did you sign anything with the first agent? Have you even had any communication with them since? If you didn't sign anything then you're fine using the new agent.
If you buy the house, the first agent will get over it since that means they're getting paid. Poor guy/gal, having to show their own listing lol. Although honestly if you don't buy this house but liked the first agent better than the new one, you can probably still use them to look at other houses (assuming they work with buyers); but you don't want to use them for their own listing.
Okay, we ended up nixing that house. It wasn't worth the work needed for 2 bedrooms, and the taxes were ridiculous at almost $9000 a year. I have a brand new question and worry now, lol. We found another place we really love, no lake but a 4 bedroom farmhouse on several acres, really peaceful, quiet road but less than 1/4 mile from a major highway entrance. Taxes less than half of first place, much more land, house needs less work, and about $25,000 less than the first house.
We looked at home, took a night to consider it, BUT when I looked on the Fannie Mae site that night, it said "Reduced: and the new price was over $10,000 less than it had been! I texted the realtor the second I saw it, and we put in an offer. The next day, my realtor called and said there were multiple offers and we had to make our best offer by noon (they e-mailed him at 11 to tell him this, thank God I can have my phone with me at work) We ended up bidding about $1000 over the original asking price, not the reduced price.
I would normally be confident in this bid (our agent made the suggestion knowing how much we want it, and we were prepared to pay that much originally anyway) except for the fact that I don't know if the other people even knew about the price reduction as it was only listed for one day at that price, or if they were bidding at the original price.
In any case, this was on Wednesday! We haven't heard anything yet, but the Fannie Mae site and Zillow both say "Sale pending". My realtor was reassuring on my panicky text and call, saying it always comes off the market before they let the buyer know if they won or not. He tried to call the listing agent and also texted her to see if she knew what bidder won yet, but she never answered him all day and he knows her and said normally she texts back even if to say she doesn't know.
The whole thing is making me feel pessimistic about whether we got it. I wish we bid more, lol. Does anyone have experience with this, and does it sound bad for us?
The next day, my realtor called and said there were multiple offers and we had to make our best offer by noon....
.... I wish we bid more, lol.
You can't go through this process with needing to submit a "best and final" offer and then turn around and say you wished you bid more. You should always bid a price that says, "If someone else wins, I won't be upset because I would never pay a penny more than my offer." If you can't say that, then you didn't bid enough and you can't be upset you didn't get it.
Hind sight is 20/20, and you're going to lose a few houses in the process if you don't just put your best foot forward to win. The goal is not to come in 2nd place.
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