Squee!!! House hunting tonight! (UPDATED IN THREAD)

AprilH81

H and I are going to look at a house tonight...  It is a foreclosure and just had a $14,000 price reduction today that makes it $74 a sq ft.  HUGE house that just needs a little TLC from what I can tell in the pictures. 

Our house (bought before I met H) is going on the market next week and we will see more houses on Sunday. <happy dance>

I love buying houses... 

KeptInStitches

Good luck!

JennyColada

AprilH81

I'm trying not to get too excited because this house would need some work (which we have the money for, especially since the price dropped so much) but I absolutely ADORE the outside of the house it has a touch of craftsman and a bit of a country farmhouse look.  A huge deck and a walk out basement...  Two fireplaces...  Four bedrooms...

It has just about everything I could put on a wishlist (except to not have to do any work).  It is in our third choice of school districts, but we are splitting hairs when you compare the three.

ALL of the bedrooms will need paint and wallpaper borders stripped...  The master bath is straight out of the 80s and needs remodeled, but as long as it is usable I can deal with it for awhile.  The kitchen is blah...  But I like home improvement projects and I would love to redo the kitchen and bath with the help of a contractor for the important stuff to make sure it is done correctly.

 

 

AprilH81

The space and light is good...  But man it is UGLY!  lol

 

ElcaB

Good luck! I hope things work out for you Buying a house is really exciting. 

chibiyui

The outside is gorgeous!

And yeah, that Master Bath is ugly, BUT THINK WHAT YOU COULD DO WITH IT.

AprilH81

I think I've already spent our reno budget on the kitchen and master bath.  LOL  I hope it doesn't need a new roof and windows too... 

jdluvr06

I love the outside. That master bath is ugly but that just means you have a blank canvas. Good luck!

photokitty

Sweet!! Good luck!!

cupcait927

Yay!! Such an exciting time! And that bathroom is gigantic and definitely has lots of potential! And the outside of it is just beautiful.

AprilH81

Bummer...  We just got back from visiting the house and it is a hot mess.

All but maybe three windows need replaced (mostly for broken seals), all of the bathrooms were really gross (combination of dirt, out of date and broken), the entire house needed fresh paint and we couldn't figure out why they divided up the basement with cheap (and wrong) construction to create two play rooms and then just rolled out linoleum flooring on top of the carpet.

The outside is by far the best thing about the house and even it needed work (rotting wood, busted garage door and overgrown landscaping).

We are disappointed, but looking forward to seeing more this weekend!

phira

Ack, that is a huge disappointment! It explains why the price was lowered so much. Eesh! That's just too much work if you're not looking for a serious fixer-upper.

KeptInStitches

Bummer. Hope something else comes along!

AprilH81

phira said:

Ack, that is a huge disappointment! It explains why the price was lowered so much. Eesh! That's just too much work if you're not looking for a serious fixer-upper.

We don't mind projects and I pretty much expect to do a kitchen and/or bathroom remodel but EVERY room had multiple projects that needed done.  Wallpaper needed removed, painting, carpet, windows...  Just about everything but the ceilings needed work.  

We both agreed that MAYBE if we could get it for about $50,000 less than it is listed for than it might be worth the hassle.  Whoever get the property will be able to get a lot of equity in the house once the projects are done, but it was just too much for us to consider since there were some other drawbacks (small kitchen and small master bedroom).

jdluvr06

Well damn that sucks.

thisismynickname2

I love house hunting too! FI's place just went under contract today so I have less than a month till he moves in with me.... Cannot wait (until next year) to go hunt for something bigger!

I can't help but make a House Hunters reference based on the thread title, so next time you go, you have to report back if:

a) There is enough room for entertaining

b) there is granite and stainless steel

c) there is ugly paint you just can't get past

d) there is crown molding, which is great

e) there is crown molding, which is bad

f) if the closets can fit my 600 sq ft condo because if not, they're obviously not big enough

g) if there is wood flooring

i) most importantly of all for marital bliss....there are dual sinks in the master bath (not just any bath... master bath). 

AprilH81

thisismynickname said:

I love house hunting too! FI's place just went under contract today so I have less than a month till he moves in with me.... Cannot wait (until next year) to go hunt for something bigger!

I can't help but make a House Hunters reference based on the thread title, so next time you go, you have to report back if:

a) There is enough room for entertaining: Yes, formal dining room, formal living room, family room and eating area off the kitchen plus a basement with a fireplace and walkout.

b) there is granite and stainless steel: Not without a kitchen remodel.

c) there is ugly paint you just can't get past: Lots of ugly and bright paint, including faux finishes

d) there is crown molding, which is great: I don't remember any. I was distracted by all the ugly.

e) there is crown molding, which is bad: Probably, again, so much dirt and grime it was hard to tell.

f) if the closets can fit my 600 sq ft condo because if not, they're obviously not big enough

g) if there is wood flooring:  Closet space was decent but not outstanding.

i) most importantly of all for marital bliss....there are dual sinks in the master bath (not just any bath... master bath). :  Yes, there were duel sinks in the master bath.

I will try to remember this checklist for you for the houses we will visit on Sunday (supposed to be 5).  In the meantime, the above is the checklist for today's craptastic house.  

If there is nothing else on tv I default to HGTV.  I love the remodeling shows and part of me would love to gut a house and start from scratch it really doesn't make sense financially.

AprilH81

phira said:

Ack, that is a huge disappointment! It explains why the price was lowered so much. Eesh! That's just too much work if you're not looking for a serious fixer-upper.

This is actually the second big price drop.  The bank is crazy to think they will get the current list price for it.  It is a lovely neighborhood and in even half way decent shape the list price would be a good deal, but holy crap it was a disaster!

AprilH81

We went house hunting today and found three properties that would work, but we fell in love with the first one.  Move in condition, lots of updates (including a newly finished full basement) and a wonderful yard.

Our realtor is doing the research so we can put in an offer tonight!  We think there is already an offer in and there was another showing at the same time so we don't have much room to negotiate.  This is at the top of our price range, but the only work that needs done is to add a deck (already has a three season Florida room) and replace the back splash and kitchen countertops to match our taste.  The bathrooms are beautiful!

I think we are going to go in at full list price or a few hundred more to make our offer attractive enough for the sellers to be okay with the offer being conditional on the sale of our home (which will be on the MSL tomorrow!!!).

If this one doesn't work we have a second choice, but we may look at a few more houses to "make sure".  The back up house is nice and great features but all the bathrooms need updated (possibly gutted).  The basement is finished but they have a bunch of sound proofing stuff on the walls that will be a bitch to remove and most likely damage the walls in the process.

AddieCake

Awesome!

JoanE2012

AprilH81 said:

We went house hunting today and found three properties that would work, but we fell in love with the first one.  Move in condition, lots of updates (including a newly finished full basement) and a wonderful yard.

Our realtor is doing the research so we can put in an offer tonight!  We think there is already an offer in and there was another showing at the same time so we don't have much room to negotiate.  This is at the top of our price range, but the only work that needs done is to add a deck (already has a three season Florida room) and replace the back splash and kitchen countertops to match our taste.  The bathrooms are beautiful!

I think we are going to go in at full list price or a few hundred more to make our offer attractive enough for the sellers to be okay with the offer being conditional on the sale of our home (which will be on the MSL tomorrow!!!).

If this one doesn't work we have a second choice, but we may look at a few more houses to "make sure".  The back up house is nice and great features but all the bathrooms need updated (possibly gutted).  The basement is finished but they have a bunch of sound proofing stuff on the walls that will be a bitch to remove and most likely damage the walls in the process.

Yay!  Good luck!!

I love looking at houses.  I still look online, and we bought our house last summer.  

AprilH81

Seller's agent has acknowledged receipt of our offer so now we just wait.  I keep hoping we will hear back tonight, but who knows.  We went in $100 over asking conditional only on inspection and a mutually agreed upon closing date (not contingent on the sale of our home) so I wouldn't think that it would take that long to make a decision.  Either we are the best bid or not...

<fingers crossed>

jdluvr06

AprilH81 said:

Seller's agent has acknowledged receipt of our offer so now we just wait.  I keep hoping we will hear back tonight, but who knows.  We went in $100 over asking conditional only on inspection and a mutually agreed upon closing date (not contingent on the sale of our home) so I wouldn't think that it would take that long to make a decision.  Either we are the best bid or not...

<fingers crossed>

The waiting is the worst. My fingers are crossed for you.

KeptInStitches

Good luck!

JoanE2012

AprilH81 said:

Seller's agent has acknowledged receipt of our offer so now we just wait.  I keep hoping we will hear back tonight, but who knows.  We went in $100 over asking conditional only on inspection and a mutually agreed upon closing date (not contingent on the sale of our home) so I wouldn't think that it would take that long to make a decision.  Either we are the best bid or not...

<fingers crossed>

Good luck!  I think this gives you a FAR better chance than when you mentioned above you were going to put the sale as a contingency.  In my area, good houses fly off the market, and an offer with a contingency like that unfortunately wouldn't make it through.

AprilH81

JoanE2012 said:

AprilH81 said:

Seller's agent has acknowledged receipt of our offer so now we just wait.  I keep hoping we will hear back tonight, but who knows.  We went in $100 over asking conditional only on inspection and a mutually agreed upon closing date (not contingent on the sale of our home) so I wouldn't think that it would take that long to make a decision.  Either we are the best bid or not...

<fingers crossed>

Good luck!  I think this gives you a FAR better chance than when you mentioned above you were going to put the sale as a contingency.  In my area, good houses fly off the market, and an offer with a contingency like that unfortunately wouldn't make it through.

That is one of the reasons we did it.  It has only been on the market 4 days (5 today I think) so a big contingency would be a drawback on a prime property like this one is.

We are fortunate that we can afford both mortgages if we need to (but we don't want to) so we decided to be as flexible as possible and hope that they don't want a 30 day closing.

I didn't sleep well last night because I was hoping the phone would ring but we still haven't heard anything this morning.

The waiting SUCKS!!! I keep looking at the pictures and imagining how it would look with our furniture and making a list of things we will want to buy (like a formal dining room set with a buffet for storage).

 

Sugargirl1019

Oh it's beautiful! Good luck!

AprilH81

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SQUEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There were multiple offers (not sure exactly how many) but ours was the best package.  Our offer is tentatively accepted pending receipt of our pre-approval letter (which our lender will have to me by 11:30). 

We still don't know how anxious the sellers are to move to be able to pinpoint when we will be closing, but WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

beharrington

Congrats!  We moved into our first house mid-February and it's been awesome decorating.

phira

Congratulations!!!

I am DROOLING LIKE WHOA over the photos. Omggggggggg.