NWR: Buying a House

dori851

I know I can ask this on TN, but thought I'd post here first! FI & I looked at a house on Tuesday. The house had been on the market for 3 days, a foreclosure home, in great condition, at a very low price. We went back last night to look at a couple more things & get some different opinions from our parents since this whole process is new to us (first time home buyers). Anyway, our realtor found out this morning that there are 6 other offers on the house already & the bank will probably have a decision made by tonight. So, we are meeting with our realtor at 3:30 to make an offer & hope that the bank gets it before they make their final decision. So, I have a couple questions:

1) Are we being naive in thinking that the bank will receive our offer before they make their final decision? Do you think they'll already have their decision made by then?
2) We have received different opinions on this & know what we are going to offer, but I'd like to hear what others have to say. Some people have told us that we should offer at least list price & maybe a little bit over since there are so many offers. Others have told us to absolutely not offer list price or over because if the bank has that many offers, they will come back & tell us to give them our best offer & we'll have a chance to go up from there. So, just out of curiosity, WWYD?

MyNameIsNot

1) If they are making a decision tonight, they will accept your offer until then.  But don't be dissuaded.  Often when they say they are making a decision tonight, it means they are making a decision in two months from now.  Foreclosures are a pain.

2)  If there are already multiple offers, someone has probably already put list or above.  Look at comps and get a feel for what the property is really worth.  That's probably what it will go for.  If you aren't comfortable spending that much, don't offer it.  With multiple offers, the bank probably won't come back for a better offer.  That's usually used when no one offers enough.  

Chick&Guy

Ditto PP I also wanted to add...

Just because there are multiple offers and the bank is 'deciding tonight', dont rush! Try not to get caught up in the trying to get this house and then end up out of your comfort zone.  The fact that you need to decide quickly is daunting but remember there are other houses out there and if it doesnt work out then it wasnt meant to be! 

It sounds like this is the first house you looked at? If so there is nothing wrong with that if you truly love it, but just dont feel like you need to offer above and beyond to get it.  Remember your budget and stick to it!

sparent2010

i would put in an offer today but banks can take a long time to actually make a decision.

While waiting for their decision keep looking. There are houses we loved and looked at but our house we found much later.

Your realtor should have a list of comps from the area and offer what it is worth per the comps.

clcranda

Ditto other PP's.  When we bought our house, it wasn't a foreclosure, but our realtor told us there were multiple offers.  We offered what we could afford (which was under listing price) and they accepted our offer.  It makes me think if there were actually offers on the house or if that was a ploy to get us to offer.  Do you know what I mean?  Don't stress!  If it is meant to be, then it will be.  Good Luck!

aragx6

Be willing to pay up to what the comps show the house is worth and no more. This is the biggest purchase you're likely to ever make (or at least until you buy a bigger house) and it's a serious investment. There will be other houses you'll see that will be just as good as this one. Keeping emotion out of it is hard, but important.

Oh and yes, if they're accepting offers until tonight I'm sure yours can be included.

Best of luck!

dori851

Thank you everyone for your advice! It's kind of a nerve-wrecking & stressful process, but SO exciting at the same time. This is the first offer we're putting on a house & we're trying not to get our hopes up (especially since there are those 6 other offers).

egeurts

Off-topic... I read the title of this thread as "buying a horse" and was all excited to talk about horses. Needless to say I was disappointed. Good luck with your house though