Houses

[dancerjodi]

So B and I looked at our first house last night - not too exciting (small rooms, old kitchen, old and wimpy electrical system and a lot of unusable land). Now that we've started the home search process things are getting excited . . . I want to keep looking and just get this phase of the whole thing done.

But we got our official pre-approval letter (woo hoo)! It was so weird to see such big numbers on paper!

I found another house in Waltham, this one is on the South Side off of Moody Street (only about 5 blocks from where my parents live its not RIGHT on the Newton Line but the realtor is advertising it as such) that we got the address for and drove by last night. Its a pretty big colonial with a nice sized yard for the city and its fairly private (its at the end of a long driveway from the street and there is 6 foot wood fencing giving privacy from the surrounding lots). We're going to look at it tomorrow during lunch - we're actually actively excited about this one (versus the one we looked at last night which we were pretty convinced we wouldn't like).

So - if we see this house and like it and the price and area and all amenities fit what do we do about it? I don't want to make an offer on the 2nd house we tour but on the other hand I don't want to lose one that just "clicks" and would perfectly meet our needs. I'm hoping that if all goes well tomorrow we can tell the Realtor that we're interested but need a few days to think about it and then we can knock out a bunch of other home visits at open-houses over the weekend. Do you think a realtor would be willing to call us if other offers come in (to see if we'll give a better one) or would they just sell to the first reasonable offer? Or is it up to the homeowner? This is a very confusing process to me, being someone that doesn't haggle for price . . .

Weird weird weird!

Comments

[devina.livejournal.com]

Something I found helpful to keep in mind when I was househunting: there are a gazillion houses out there for sale. If you absolutely LOVE the house and think it's just what you want right now, go ahead and make an offer for what you're willing to pay. If not, wait and look for others...I learned a -lot- just from shopping about what I should be looking for, what I wanted, what I didn't really care about, etc.

The realtor doesn't usually make the decision about which offer to take, the seller does. (But the realtor does make recommendations.) I don't know if they'll call you to let you know if other offers come in...they'll want you to bid your max to begin with, anyhow. But maybe. (It also might not be in your best interests; these folks work on commission, and I wouldn't put it past some of them to tell you other offers have come in when they really haven't.)

Hope that helps!

[erb23.livejournal.com]

i agree -- consider, the realtor is LEGALLY REPRESENTING the SELLER -- they will NOT give you any information that's not in the seller's best interest, you, the buyer's, best interest is not a factor. and as i mentioned below, the $'s involved are to maximize the seller's offer/price (and, directly, their commision).

i also wouldn't put it past them, at all, to say some offers have come in when that isn't really true. your buyer's realtor could see through this smokescreen, depending on their experience and savvy. and a buyer's realtor is LEGALLY REPRESENTING (looking out for) you! :-)

[devina.livejournal.com]

However - buyer's agent still works on commission, so be careful.