Househunters: AFSB Edition

Novemberrocks

Since it's slow, I figured I'd show a pic of my latest house-hunting obsession.  We went to see it on Saturday - of course, it's totally out of our price range, but I think I'm in love.  I'm hoping they can't sell it for 8 months and are willing to take a major bath on the price.  http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Westfield-Twp_NJ_07090_1110934957

HappyTummy613

I love Westfield.  It has some really beautiful houses.

FallinAgain

That is lovely.  I've already issued a rule that we will not look outside our price range b/c the $800K house will always look better than the $600K house and then you are just left feeling unsatisfied with a perfectly good house you can afford.

CaliopeSpidrman

What a cute little starter home!  It's so pretty.  Although if I lived there, I'd swap the living room and dining room.  Maybe you can drop hints that you're in the mafia and they'll give it to you for whatever price you want so they don't wind up sleeping with the fishes.

McLovins

I guess it's because I live in Podunk Indiana.....BUT WHY IS THAT HOUSE SO EXPENSIVE.   It would go for at the most $250-300 here.   I couldn't imagine paying that much for a house like that.  Not that its not pretty, but dang.

notquiteblushing

Every time someone posts a house they're interested in on AFSB I feel poor.  I love the center island in the kitchen and the built in wine fridge.

AngieP900

The kitchen makes me happy. Almost every house in our price range wasn't livable, which made househunting less than enjoyable. But we managed to find something that passed inspection eventually, but it is hardly what we would call our dream house. I torment myself by weekly looking at all the beachfront property we could never afford.

AngieP900

Every time someone posts a house they're interested in on AFSB I feel poor.Me too Sister Christian. My house was 1/8 of that.

FallinAgain

Me too, NQB.

notquiteblushing

Oh good I'm not alone.  We got our condo for $150k and hope to stay there for the next five years.  I shudder to think about a mortgage for even a $400k house.  God bless upstate NY real estate though.

Mrs.Expchic

Its gorgeous, Nov! What happened to last house?

Novemberrocks

HT - I adore Westfield...it's definitely on our short list.Yeah, I think we've got to stop looking outside of our range, because it only causes pain and heartache.  McLovin, in general, home prices are insane in this part of the country.  Anything that's reasonably commutable to NYC is going to cost a fortune.  Unfortunately, that's what we need though.

buddhagouda

[i]Yeah, I think we've got to stop looking outside of our range, because it only causes pain and heartache. [/i] I'm not house shopping, so maybe this is stupid, but wouldn't this go without saying?

CaliopeSpidrman

I like to look out of my range to see what there is out there.  There's plenty of houses I see that make me laugh and say, "You are completely deluded if you think anyone is going to pay that price!" and I like to see how long it takes reality to hit the owners and the price to drop.  But I also like to see how people have updated their houses and such.  It gives me an idea of what a house would be worth if we just did X.  Plus, I love looking at houses.  It's the best kind of window shopping.

cmc714

Ditto Cali. And I like to see if we saved X amount more $$ for a down pymt, we could could get a house like this. Though I wouldn't waste my time in actually going to see the houses, just browsing online. 

buddhagouda

Ahh..see I've never been a fan of window shopping. Looking at things I know I can't afford just depresses me. I should have been named Lorelai.

notquiteblushing

I agree with Cali.  I look at fancy houses all the time.  And less fancy ones.  It helps to know the market and also to fantasize.

Novemberrocks

I totally agree with Cali's points.  We chalk it all up to due diligence.  Some houses that are priced out of our range are good to look at because there's no way on Earth the sellers will ever get their price.  Perhaps more than ever before, list price matters very little - it's all about what buyers are willing to spend.  If a house sits on the market a while, you may be able to get a great house for a great price.  We saw another home that was over our range, but we're 100% sure we could get it for a reasonable price b/c it's been on the market for 6 months, and the sellers have already purchased a new home.  If nothing else, we've got to be prepared for a rich uncle dying and leaving us extra cash - it's only prudent.

EABwork

We are still in the process of looking and at first we didn't look outside our price range, but now we are because so many of those houses are overpriced (more than the tax assessed value), so we are now looking at houses that assess in our range.  We put an offer in on one, and our realtor is now having discussions with them.  The current owners are upside down in their mortgage so we might get a deal.  I would post pics but they give the address.

FallinAgain

I agree with Buddha.  I also think, if Househunters is any indication, this is the way that a lot of people end up house poor.  Our budget is $300K.  Well, $350K isn't really that much more and it has a nice backyard.  Then suddenly $400k seems not that much more than $350K and it has an extra bedroom.  Then, they buy the $450K house. Househunters amuses me b/c 90% of the time, they buy the most expensive option which is usually at the top of what they say they can afford and more than what they wanted to spend.

pdxmouse

That's why I can't stand the realtor on Househunters. The way she scoffs at people and then tries to convince them that going up 50k isn't a big deal just pisses me off. Gee, I wonder if those business practices have anything to do with our current market crisis?

CaliopeSpidrman

Mouse, there is no single realtor for House Hunters.  Are you thinking maybe of Property Virgins?  I can't stand that lady.

EABwork

The way she scoffs at people and then tries to convince them that going up 50k isn't a big deal just pisses me off. Gee, I wonder if those business practices have anything to do with our current market crisis? This is one of the reasons we are in the housing crisis we are in.  A lot of people bought homes they could not afford, and also bought at the height of the market.  Now they want their $ out of their homes, and can't get it b/c of foreclosures.  It might be a lucky break for November and I. 

lauralala

I admit that we go look at properties that are not in our budget. We did it yesterday, in fact - went to several open houses for places we could not afford. We just like to look at them, though, we would not seriously consider buying any of them. Of course, we are just wierd - we like to go to open houses just to look, even though we are not planning on buying right now. It is just a form of window shopping and getting to know what we each like or dislike in houses. When we are ready to buy, we will have a very specific idea of what we are looking for, based on what we have already ruled out.

pdxmouse

Okay, they kinda blur together. I was thinking of PV. I haaaate her. EAB, I know. The frustrating part was it was pretty obvious. Like in 2000 when people told me that investing in high risk stocks was the way to go because there was no reason for the market to ever go down. Um, does anyone learn history anymore?

FallinAgain

And that the banks were apparently willing to loan $250,000 with no down payment to two kids just out of college, one of whom was an elementary school teacher.

EABwork

Yep Stupidity all around.  Our lender told us what we could qualify for, but then in the same breath said, but this is the realm of what you can afford.  We are looking 50K and below of his 2nd number so we can still live life.

CaliopeSpidrman

The PV lady irritates me because of the way she pushes her own opinions on her clients.  She acts like any sort of renovation won't cost anymore than a couple grand and will yield huge returns.  I want to punch her in her stupid gap tooth.

pdxmouse

It got worse than that. [url]http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/04/13/carollloyd.DTL[/url] (strawberry pickers pushed into a $720k zero-down loan)

McLovins

I own several rental properties, I have one that I just had up for rent and had some really, really nice people/families applied for it.   3 of them just lost their homes because of the economy/not being able to afford it in the first place.  What was funny is one drove a Hummer and another drove a Jag, but couldn't afford their house????  I don't understand people.  

sparrowsocks

Fallin, what does the one being an elementary school teacher have to do with it?We bought under our price limit, but when considering properties we looked at what kind of mortgage we could afford and still live reasonably on my income in case something happened.  We were also able to buy a house that was 70k under assessment because it was a foreclosure.  It is a much nicer home than either of us originally thought we would get as a first home.  We had also been saving and had some money for a downpayment.