Update #3: Well, well, well. Look what we have here.
I got a call from my agent today telling me (through the grapevine) that the seller is now interested in listening to my 95% offer. I know he's gone through several "OPEN HOUSES" and apparently hasn't gotten much (if any) response, so now 95% is starting to look a lot better. It's getting close to "back to school", so I'm sure that has something to it.
The good news for me is that I've found another house that I think I'm going to put an offer on. We'll see how things work out with this house, however, because I'm starting with another new seller to the market.
Seems to me that there's still a ton of inventory in Dunwoody, I think maybe even more than last month. I think the odds of selling something in this market in September, is going to be half of what it is today.
If you're a buyer, give me some more feedback. What's it looking like out there now as we approach August? - Yesterday, 11:54
Update #2: Thanks for the followup questions. I wanted to answer some of them, but before that, I wanted to say that it's now July 10th, and the house is still for sale. If the house will be on the market in 2 more weeks, and I have not found something else, I will probably make another offer. It will be closer to school starting, so he will have to make some decisions.
The house that I'm looking at is in NO WAY my dream house. It's a "Good enough" house. In fact, I would say that if you take the whole Dunwoody market, it would be right in the middle in terms of likeability. I have seen more expensive houses with more WOW factor (yet have some other fatal flaw which prevents us from going further), I have seen more expensive houses that were in NO WAY worth the listing price, and I have seen cheaper houses that were, well, just cheaper and not enough house. This house is a "good value" house. Or to put it another way, this house has the least number of problems with it.
Now, why isn't it a "great value"?
Because it's missing a few items that other houses have and that we would like to eventually add to this house. And that's why I'm not going to chase this house up the price totem pole, because I know I'm going to have to put about 30-40K more into it to get it where I like it. Of course, the seller doesn't care about that, but I do.
Or I can keep waiting for another house that already has these items, and maybe costs 30-40K more, so that I don't have to get my hands "dirty" doing it. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened so far.
Also, I am financing part of this house, so I understand that interest rates will come into play. They have shot up a lot in the last few weeks, so my hope is that they will come down a little more in a couple of weeks time.
Stay tuned... - Thu Jul 10 2008, 08:17
Just an update....
It's been close to a month since my offer was made. The house is still "for sale", but the sign is getting a little more worn out at the edges. I'm keeping an eye on the scene almost daily. Not much is moving in the whole Dunwoody area, as the same signs are all over the place. Think he's starting to sweat a little more (and not just from the summer heat!). Hoping for Mr. 99%, I guess. LOL!
If I could just find something else better, I could drop this house, but unfortunately the stars aren't aligning with everything I want. At least I haven't seen all the inventory yet. My hunch is that sellers are gonna have to pull the trigger on things in the next 30 days, if schools are a factor. Going on vacation pretty soon, but when I get back, I'll give him another chance.
Any buyers out there? Let me know what you're seeing. - Wed Jun 25 2008, 12:15
Lee,
Thank you for your compliment (I think?) and I'm flattered that you're paying such close attention to my threads. I can assure you that my questions are posed without seeking any attention, just simply trying to find the needle in the haystack and using the online community as much as possible to my advantage.
I'm convinced that the seller isn't in tune with the current market and doesn't realize the opportunity that he just passed up. Unfortunately, I've been in buying mode for most of the year, and yet this was the first house that I put an offer on, because I just hadn't seen something that I (and my wife) can both agree on. And at the rate it's going, looks like I'll be on here asking questions a few more months too.
Speaking of agents, I'm not sure the listing agent did a good job explaining this opportunity to the seller. I just saw a house (that we saw earlier this year and passed on) go down 20K more in price, it's come to "bring me an offer". - Thu Jun 12 2008, 12:24
"JR: And yet people do it all the time. I've taken people out once, in the dark, to see a house. They came back early the next day and made an offer on the spot. I've had people stop in front of a house, call, see it, and make an offer."
People do stupid silly things all the time with their money. Their problem, not mine. If house buying turns into an "impulse" buy, we'll that's pretty stupid to me.
Look, the house is a nice house (otherwise I wouldn't have put an offer on it), but it's NOT knock-your-socks off incredible. The neighbors house is actually more awesome (awesomer?), but it's not for sale.
The owners problem is that he bought it a few years ago, overpaid, and now is clawing for every penny to recover his investment. But that's not MY fault. I'm sure that if he had built up many years of equity, then a $10K difference would be PEANUTS for him to get out from under a half-million dollar house in this market. And I KNOW that he's itching to sell because his agent (through mine) was bewildered why I stopped cold and wouldn't go back-and-forth (a thousand here, a thousand there).
Bottom line: I'm looking for a good deal. We DON'T HAVE to buy, but he eventually HAS to sell because of kids, schools, etc...
Elvis, I'm agreeing with your logic. The guy needs to listen to the wind whistling through the trees for a few more weeks, or maybe go back and forth for yet another 94-95% offer (but this time he pays for closing), and maybe I'll approach him again in a month or so (if I haven't found something else) and see if he changes his tune. - Thu Jun 12 2008, 07:36
"Why on earth do you care what the list price to sale price is? Your negotiating logic is flawed. What you need to do is independently determine what a fair market value range for the home is. Make your offer based on what YOU think it is within that range. Do not get wrapped up in the ego driven numbers like this. Buyers market, sellers market...it doesn't matter."
In the abscense of complete timely information, list price to sales prices gives you an idea of when you are overpaying and when to put the brakes on an offer.
Why a lack of timely information? Because I saw the house that I was interested in a grand total of maybe an hour total over 2 trips. And from that I'm supposed to decide what it's value is and negotiate on price (and "value") BEFORE an inspection is done. I have to take a guess at the difference in value a 5 bedroom house with scratched engineered hardwood floors, a 20 yr. old heating/AC system and original cabinets, versus a 4 bedroom house with a small sunroom, 2 car garage with a slightly cracked floor, and nice manicured backyard. Try googling that answer.
Stop saying my logic is "flawed". There is no "one size fits all". Just like there is both room for "technical" and "fundamental" analysis in the stock market, there are different ways to measure value.
I might get emotionally attached to a house and decide to pay full price because, to me, it's the most beautiful thing and has lots of value (a la fundamental),
OR might decide that it's an average house but the lower price represents good value (a la technical). Either way works. - Wed Jun 11 2008, 22:16
Thanks for your answers so far. Here's some of mine:
To me, IMHO, as a buyer, the idea of a house being "priced" right, meaning selling for FULL price applies to the house where EVERYTHING (and I mean EVERYTHING) is perfect. Nothing is out of whack. And sadly, that applies to VERY FEW houses. If I see ONE thing wrong, you're not getting full price.
Frankly, you are a fool if you aren't taking advantage of being a demanding buyer (in the current market). And a fool and his money are soon parted. - Wed Jun 11 2008, 19:29
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