My thoughts on the current real estate market

[StarRidgeAcres]

I appreciate all the responses. I'm learning that the real estate market must be better in some areas than it is currently is southeastern Missouri. And for all of you I'm happy!

But if I had to sell a place right now in MO, I'd be devastated! The values have dropped considerably, although some would say it's simply a correction to the over-inflated prices of the last ten years, but it's horrible. The people who can afford to "wait it out" aren't getting any bites and those that have to sell are seeing their asking price go down by 40% or more. We've literally looked at a hundred properties online (via Realtor.com, zillow.com, homepath.come, foreclosure.com, etc.) and on those sites you can see a price history in many cases. I know that over half of the homes that have been on the market more than one year have dropped by, or close to, 40% in asking price.

The home we really want, but are having to sit on our hands, is a 1800sf, 4 sides brick ranch, 3br, 2.5ba, 5 acres, 2 car garage and an extra 2 car garage used as a workshop, plus a tiny shed. It's solidly built, but 35 years old so it needs updating: kitchen, baths, etc. It has been on the market for 470 days. They started at $249,900 and are now down to $169,000. We started negotiating and our last offer was $160,000 and theirs was $165,500. We couldn't get any closer. Will we just give up and pay the extra $5,500? We might. But sadly, based on what else we see, it's really only worth the $160,000 (or less) of our last offer. But yet it's a lovely home! We just don't want our emotions to dictact our actions and we end up paying more than something is worth just because we love it.

And one last note, we got a call from one of the mortgage places last night "encouraging" us to look at properties in the $300-$350k range!

Since when did mortgage companies solicit business like this? We told them to take a hike and we certainly won't be using them when the time does come. To me, it looks like all the law suits, foreclosure disasters, and financial crisis news has done little to bring a dose of reality to these big mortgage companies.

 

[muffntuf]

Did you ask them "Did that $350,000 property suddenly go down to $160,000? If that's right, then I would gladly look!" LOL!

The real estate market is horrible. UP here the state decided to re-value all our homes. I took a huge hit for what the state thinks my farm is valued at to what my mortgage says. AND they increased my taxes.

It will be awhile before I can make any kind of moves.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Well, after reviewing MLS info, pictures and driving by another 23 homes the last two weekends (I've put hundreds of miles on my car since we have such a broad area we're willing to look in!), and we've seen nothing that makes either of us go WOW. So we are putting another contract (offer) on our original choice. We're going to meet their price, but ask for a 60 day closing instead of the 30 they wanted. At 457 days on the market, one would think they'd be willing to accept this.

Please keep your fingers crossed for us!

 

[dgrminis]

Good Luck!!! I hope it works out for you both!

 

[REO]

Any news Parm??

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Thanks for asking Robin. You are always to sweet.

It's been pretty stressful and of course hindsight is always so clear, but I wish I had just followed my gut, and not my heart, and walked away earlier.

We have an "accepted" contract, albeit very much under duress on their part. I won't drag out all the details, but I know FOR SURE they do not want us buying the home due to the horses. The family members that still live on the street do not want them and they've said it outright to their agent, she told our agent, our agent said "well then their asking for a lawsuit because they don't have the legal authority to not sell on that basis." About 20 mins later they accepted our offer (which was exactly the dollar amount they wanted.

So now we are "stuck" having to pay $1005 for the five inspections which are tomorrow. And I know it's wasted money because there will be things wrong, it's a 37 year old house. And if we ask for even 5 cents in assistance toward fixing anything, they will just say no and we are out $1005. But we legally have to go forward as we now have a binding contract.

I wish I had followed my gut. I knew from the first moment we looked at the home and it was "shown" to us by a family member and not the agent we were in trouble. These people just can't let it be.

 

[Tab]

I think that the lenders take advantage because the buyers aren't savvy at all. When a buyer is approved for $XXX,XXX It flatters them into thinking they can spend that much. I was one of those in the not savvy category. I had NO sense when we were looking at our first home. I want to go back in time and slap some sense into myself. We were pretty desperate and needed a place for ourselves, our young baby, and the horses. I feel we settled because we were desperate. We may have missed out on the promised land because of our haste. Don't do that. What have I learned in the process? Stop and breathe. Whatever you are pre-approved for, go under. Go WAY under. Stay away from first-time home buyer government loans (er, gimmicks, like the plague), look for reputable lenders, avoid anything that looks "too good to be true" and find a low, fixed interest rate. Save a big down payment. We just should have looked around and researched more, started smaller and maybe upgraded.

In hindsight, Rog and I could have put more money into our kids and more FUN together, had we not settled on what we did. Life is good when you can work hard but be able to afford to do what you want with your loved ones when you aren't at work. What Jill says is true about their small Sears home, and I think the people that are making it are the ones who either rent or own below their means. Those giant subdivisions are disturbing to me. I am not an environmentalist, but I feel that some thought should be put into space efficiency and family size. They really don't make very much sense. They are big but are often built cheaply.

Enough ramblings, hope some of this made sense!

 

[Sonya]

I wouldn't say you are stuck...if there are repairs that need to done and they don't do it, you can still get out of it...real estate people correct me if I am wrong...when I put in an offer on our house/and it was accepted I believe it was still congigent upon inspection...

 

[susanne]

Parmela, I think eating the cost of the inspection is far preferable to being stuck for the long haul with hateful neighbors.

 

[REO]

I agree with Susanne! UGH! Even if all goes well and you move in, if they are hateful people (and it sounds like they ARE outspoken and have a nasty tinge) they may make your life h3ll to live there. You don't need them calling animal control or complaining about your horses all the time or them throwing bad things over the fence.

Can you walk to their front door and talk to them face to face? Maybe they'd change their minds when they know more about minis?

Nice new life starting! You deserve only good things and happiness!!!!!!!!

Love you Parm!

 

[KanoasDestiny]

We went through four different escrows before we finally bought the place we are in now. Long story short, we had trouble with one shortsale, didn't get bank approved for another property which ended up having mold, and we backed out of the other two because of we reached a point where they just didn't 'feel right'. Needless to say, we lost out on alot of escrow money. But this place was well worth the wait, and not settling or getting stuck in a situation we would have regretted. At any point, you can back out of the agreement/contract. The only downfall is that you would then forfeit the earnest money and anything you've spent for inspections, which may be worth it in the longrun if you're neighbors might be a problem in the future.

 

[Jill]

I've got my fingers crossed, Parm!!!

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Well, inspections were yesterday. The summary is:

New roof absolutely necessary "prior to closing" per the inspector.

Termite damage, due to how "finished" the basement is, we don't know if it's active or not.

Septic system needs new motor on aerator.

Well head is above ground and must be below ground here.

Electric furnance, central air and hot water heater are ALL 37 YEARS OLD! Oldly, they all still work.

Wood burning furnance is over 20 years old.

We meet tomorrow to decide what we are going to ask for - repairs and/or money.

We talked to a neighbor yesterday, that isn't one of the family members, and they have horses and goats. They said the people are way more bark than bite and just want to make sure their property values aren't diminished. He said if we keep our fences in good shape and our horses in good condition and don't junk up the place, we won't have any problems with them.

These pictures were taken from the public website, zillow, so I don't believe this is breaking any rules. We really love the house, even though it's dated, because we feel like it has good bones and lots of potential. I wish this was going easier.

 

[chandab]

I hopeit goes well for you. I like the looks of the house and it sounds like one neighbor would be good.

 

[REO]

Ooh nice!!

Our first house was built in the 60's. And this one is 100 years old.

I'm glad to hear that family won't be a bother! whew!

Good luck Parm!!!!

 

[dgrminis]

The pictures look great... Sounds like it does need some work though... Hopefully you will be able to work something out...