Buying a house is so frustrating!

[Matt Meiser]

We do. Their Realtor keeps jerking ours around promising to send comps he can use to dispute the appraisal but he sent him useless (like in another zip code, different design houses that sold a year or more ago) comps to dispute and now won't answer his phone apparently because its a holiday weekend and he doesn't work or something. Never mind the fact he sat on it since Tuesday afternoon and as far as I can tell did absolutely nothing until late Thursday night. that's OK, my family only needs a roof over our heads during business hours. According to his LinkedIn profile he's retired from another career and I can't find any other houses he has listed so apparently this is a hobby for him.

So I texted him this afternoon and said that since he won't reply to my agent's questions I'm asking directly because I don't understand why we can't work this out. And said I was thinking of driving over after dinner and seeing if I couldn't catch the sellers out on their golf cart (their famous for cruising the sub on their golf cart.) He didn't reply so we drove over there but didn't see them out and didn't have the nerve to ring the door bell. That may change by this time tomorrow night, though I would guess there's going to be some stuff hitting the fan tomorrow.

[Brian Elfert]

I get even more frustrated reading about everyone who has sold their house and already has a new house to move into while I'm still looking. I listed my house on Feb 3rd. It has now been six months and I still have no house. It has been almost three months since the purchase agreement for my house was signed.

I looked at three houses on May 23rd. I didn't go look at another house until June 23rd. I haven't looked at a house since then as there is nothing out there that will work for me. The one house I like needs too much work for the price. It might not be worth putting $75,000 into the house. The house is listed for $190k and my realtor thinks it is really worth $150 to $160k due to the work required. Even $150k puts it at $225,000 by the time it is fixed up. My agent says it is unlikely the bank would take an offer that low.

[Matt Meiser]

If this deal falls through for us we may be there too. Nothing else on the market is really what we want. We did find a foreclosure tonight driving around that has potential if its actually for sale.

[Brian Elfert]

If this deal falls through for us we may be there too. Nothing else on the market is really what we want. We did find a foreclosure tonight driving around that has potential if its actually for sale.

One would think the sellers would just reduce the price $8,500 if the appraiser won't budge. I suppose the sellers could put the house back on the market and hopes the next appraiser gives the house a higher value.

[Matt Meiser]

One would think. Their purchase is contingent on ours closing. I'm worried that for some reason (maybe changed their mind or ???) they are trying to shut everything down by getting us to walk away.

[David Weaver]

Showing up at their door and asking if they are is the best way to find out.

[Larry Whitlow]

I get even more frustrated reading about everyone who has sold their house and already has a new house to move into while I'm still looking. I listed my house on Feb 3rd. It has now been six months and I still have no house. It has been almost three months since the purchase agreement for my house was signed.

I looked at three houses on May 23rd. I didn't go look at another house until June 23rd. I haven't looked at a house since then as there is nothing out there that will work for me. The one house I like needs too much work for the price. It might not be worth putting $75,000 into the house. The house is listed for $190k and my realtor thinks it is really worth $150 to $160k due to the work required. Even $150k puts it at $225,000 by the time it is fixed up. My agent says it is unlikely the bank would take an offer that low.

Even though we are now moving forward, I know your frustration. We had looked at a ton of places and I was ready to throw in the towel and just stay put. Then, whamo, and everything moved fast. Hopefully you will run into that perfect place and all of the gears will mesh.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I get even more frustrated reading about everyone who has sold their house and already has a new house to move into while I'm still looking. I listed my house on Feb 3rd. It has now been six months and I still have no house. It has been almost three months since the purchase agreement for my house was signed.

We've been casually looking since 2008, semi-seriously looking since Jan 2010, sold our house Nov 2010 and have been in house-hunting hell since then.

We looked at a new listing on Thurs just hours after it was listed. The selling agent is known for putting no effort in his listings, overpricing them and stands in one spot in the driveway and takes a few pictures. The listing said it had 2 outbuildings big enough to fit an RV and a 1968 house on 5 acres. Doing a quick search of online records, it appeared to be owned by an elderly couple.

We arrive at the house with our agent and meet the wife. She's in her 70's. (It's so much nicer walking around an empty house so you don't feel like you are snooping in someone's closets!) The house was maintained years ago, but was in need of updating and repairs. It was almost all original and needs new windows, deck & roof. The husband arrived home and they unlocked the shop for us to look inside. He looked to be in his 90's and while mobile, he moved very slow. The gentleman used to restore old cars. Neither shop was tall enough to fit an RV. The shop near the house had a fair amount of black mold in it and needed a new metal roof. The larger building behind the shop had a paint booth as well as other auto-related stuff. That roof was barely there, black mold on the sheetrock, insulation, ... everywhere you looked. There is an enormous amount of work & money that will need to be done to that place as well as 40 years of collected stuff in the buildings to haul off to the dump. It was obvious that the owners kept it nice until their age prevented them from maintaining it.

What's sad is their selling agent has probably assured them that they can get his listed price. It is worth about $100k less. He has two other listings that have been on the market for several years and they too are way-overpriced. Our agent thanked them and planted the seed by saying we needed to research bank loans since it will be difficult to get a loan due to all the repairs and black mold. No point insulting them in the first few hours of listing their house by offering $100k less for it!

[Brian Elfert]

We've been casually looking since 2008, semi-seriously looking since Jan 2010, sold our house Nov 2010 and have been in house-hunting hell since then.

You must have some pretty specific requirements if you have been looking for a house for almost three years. I can't imagine what it would be like to be without a house for that long.

[Steve Peterson]

One would think the sellers would just reduce the price $8,500 if the appraiser won't budge. I suppose the sellers could put the house back on the market and hopes the next appraiser gives the house a higher value.

It is possible to purchase a house that has a low appraisal, but you have to put more money down to satisfy the banks loan to value ratio relative to the lower appraised value. The banks may also require you to sign a paper stating that you are aware of the low appraisal.

Steve

[Brian Elfert]

It is possible to purchase a house that has a low appraisal, but you have to put more money down to satisfy the banks loan to value ratio relative to the lower appraised value. The banks may also require you to sign a paper stating that you are aware of the low appraisal.

Why would a buyer want to pay more than the appraised value for a house? I suppose if the buyer really wants the house and the sellers won't lower the price then they might want to pay more out of pocket.

[Matt Meiser]

Well, for one there are costs to starting over and costs to being "homeless" as I'm sure you are aware.

[Brian Elfert]

I'm saving a fair bit of money staying with my parents. The rent I pay them plus the storage fees for my stuff and additional taxes is half of what I was spending before. (I pay more in taxes due to loss of interest and property tax deductions.) If I had a family I could see the expenses adding up.

[Pat Barry]

Why would a buyer want to pay more than the appraised value for a house? I suppose if the buyer really wants the house and the sellers won't lower the price then they might want to pay more out of pocket.

In a changing market, particularly as a buyer in a market where prices are going up, its possible that the 'appraisal' isn't accurate. You as the buyer have to make the decision. I don't think you have much leverage in a market with high demand, low availability to get a seller to accept a lower bid just because the asking price is higher than the 'appraised' valuation. They may feel the appraisal is not accurate. I see the appraisal as being something akin to real estate tax valuation - its never current and correct.

[Brian Elfert]

The good news for today is the one house that was way overpriced just dropped from $190k to $150k. I'm not at all confident of being able to buy the house because buyers will probably come out of the woodwork now that the price is realistic. Someone could very well make a cash offer and the banks usually like cash offers.