Originally Posted by
Brian Elfert
I probably spend too much time researching a house which means I might miss out. I probably wouldn't buy any house without at least getting the building file from the city. The building file has any permits, surveys, and septic information the city has on a property.
I've got an automated search going that emails me when any new listings show up in the county I am shopping in. I have also asked my agent to look for pre MLS listings that might work for me. My agent works for a company that has 60% of the market locally so they have access to a lot of listings before they even go public.
Nothing wrong with researching the property first. We seriously looked at 3 homes that thankfully we did some digging into before we submitted an offer. We seriously dodged the bullet on one home bought by a contractor to flip. The cliff notes: 2 stop work orders on home & shop; no permits, no inspections, not-to-code; meth inside house & shop; land behind house red-flagged for chemical contamination; 2-party well supplying 3 homes with no water tests over 10 years instead of mandatory every 6 months; meth-head neighbor controlling water supply; weekly police incidents; plus several other issues. When our agent told them we were not going to offer on the house, the contractor wanted to know why since it was "a superb house." When our agent listed all the facts & issues we uncovered thru the County & State, his response was "That's personal opinion."
One thing we have not tried yet ... this was suggested by an old friend of ours who lives in another state and works in a law firm. She said every week she receives calls from people who are looking for homes that may be part of an estate or involved in estate planning. Many of these homes change hands and never go on the market.
When it comes to offers, if the home is a Short Sale, offers can be accepted up until it closes. We had been "locked in" to a Short Sale for over a year. We weren't thrilled with the house but loved the land, shop & stable. After being locked in for a year, an offer came in for $1500 over our price. We had to outbid them to be locked in again. Two months after that we were told things were finally moving along and should close soon. Then a week later, yet another offer came in much higher and we walked away. The house then went into foreclosure.
We have also heard from agents that as many as a dozen or more offers have been submitted on some homes within the first 2 days. A 10-acre listing came on the market within walking distance from us. We were the first to look at it with our agent and while the 1954 home was in excellent condition and reasonably priced, it didn't feel right for our needs. We continued to walk around and admire how spotless the elderly couple had kept the house. A couple & agent came in, started to walk around and then whispered to the agent and they raced out. Our agent laughed and said he bets they are going to submit an offer. The listing agent is in the office next to his so he would know when he returns. Yup. He was right. The couple had already submitted their offer and another offer came from someone in another city who didn't even look at it yet!
I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, "Well, that’s not going to happen."