So I offered $180,000 on the house they were asking $199,000 for and...

[jagec]

The house across the street here just north of Toronto listed for $769,000. Sold in 6 days for $999,000

You'd have to be insane to buy a house in Vancouver or Toronto these days. It's screamingly obvious that the market is in a bubble.

 

[slag]

It blows my mind what some people will pay to live in an area. A freaking cold ass city at that and people are paying those prices. Never understood why anyone would want to live in a cold place to begin with.

 

[slag]

Where the hell can you buy a house for $180k?

Most places in the US that aren't major metropolitan cities. No way would I want to pay a shit ton of money to be cram packed next to everyone.

 

[slag]

Small town, USA. In hundreds, maybe thousands of towns, $180k will get you a LOT of house. Just get far enough away from the nearest city to where there are few jobs and the location isn't viable for commuting, and prices can be lower by half or more.

Hell, in the dying Pennsylvania rust-belt town where I grew up, you can buy houses for $50-75k. Many are older and need work and typically they're turned into shitbox rentals, but they're there in droves. Towns that are really bad off have vacant or abandoned homes by the hundreds and can do nothing but systematically tear them down as they get grants from the state.

Even where there are lots of jobs in places like St. Louis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, the burbs of most texas towns, etc, 180k will get you a 2000 square foot house with multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. I'm in a college town, 40 minutes from KC, 30 minutes from Topeka, and 180k is a decent house.

 

[Carson Dyle]

No way would I want to pay a shit ton of money to be cram packed next to everyone.

You just have different priorities... like being able to take a piss in your backyard, or leaving a '81 Buick on blocks in the front yard. So what if you've never seen a play or attended a symphony? Different strokes...

 

[IndyColtsFan]

You just have different priorities... like being able to take a piss in your backyard, or leaving a '81 Buick on blocks in the front yard. So what if you've never seen a play or attended a symphony? Different strokes...

You can get housing in the prices ranges slag discussed around fairly major cities and commute to those cities easily.

Oh, and regarding your stupid comment above - while you're "attending plays and symphonies" and grossly overpaying for what we'd probably consider a shack, I'm attending plays and symphonies, traveling the world, and coming home to a nice, big house that you guys on the coast would kill to own. Different strokes, indeed.....

 

[Ns1]

Different strokes, indeed.....

Pretty much. One day I'll give up having everything within a 2-5 mile radius in exchange for a giant plot of land and a McMansion and toys. That day is not anytime soon (unless CA runs out of water and starts restricting my showers).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Pretty much. One day I'll give up having everything within a 2-5 mile radius in exchange for a giant plot of land and a McMansion and toys. That day is not anytime soon (unless CA runs out of water and starts restricting my showers).

Don't get me wrong, I love California. But I can have a higher quality of life here IMO given my interests and lifestyle.

 

[Ns1]

Don't get me wrong, I love California. But I can have a higher quality of life here IMO given my interests and lifestyle.

yep. I love to talk shit on CA-haters all the time because forums, but I totally understand that Los Angeles only works for me because I love music/food and there are few locations in the US as good as Los Angeles for those 2 things.

I think my ideal next move would be to get a consulting or telecommute type job so I can live somewhere cheap but keep the SoCal pay range.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Oh, and regarding your stupid comment above - while you're "attending plays and symphonies" and grossly overpaying for what we'd probably consider a shack, I'm attending plays and symphonies, traveling the world, and coming home to a nice, big house that you guys on the coast would kill to own. Different strokes, indeed.....

Not me. I don't like cities. But I don't consider anyone paying to live in or near one to be stupid. Nor do I consider it a sign of intelligence that you live in an inexpensive home or a large one somewhere in bufu Indiana or Kansas.

You remind me of an uncle of mine who thought he was the king shit because he drove an old car, lived in a small house and bragged about how much money he saved. He dropped dead when he was 50. Just a thoroughly bitter little man.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Not me. I don't like cities. But I don't consider anyone paying to live in or near one to be stupid. Nor do I consider it a sign of intelligence that you live in an inexpensive home or a large one somewhere in bufu Indiana or Kansas.

You remind me of an uncle of mine who thought he was the king shit because he drove an old car, lived in a small house and bragged about how much money he saved. He dropped dead when he was 50. Just a thoroughly bitter little man.

Bitter? Not me, as I have no reason to be bitter. I just get a kick out of people making stupid, uninformed comments like the one you made.

 

[Feneant2]

Housing markets in big cities is ridiculously stupid:
http://globalnews.ca/news/1909369/east-vancouver-home-sells-for-500000-over-asking-price/

According to that article (or another I Read on that same house), it's a strategy to underprice to start a bidding war and people end up overpaying out their ass.

As to the seller's offer- Here in a (very) heavy buyer's market it's the opposite, house next door to mine is assessed around 224k, was listed 269k and sold over a year later for 203k. It's probably not like that everywhere around here but for every dollar I put in my house today, I would be lucky to get 0.50$ back if I listed tomorrow- and that's if I do the work myself, I pay someone and I'll get 0.25$ back on the dollar.

 

[jaedaliu]

Housing markets in big cities is ridiculously stupid:
http://globalnews.ca/news/1909369/east-vancouver-home-sells-for-500000-over-asking-price/

According to that article (or another I Read on that same house), it's a strategy to underprice to start a bidding war and people end up overpaying out their ass.

As to the seller's offer- Here in a (very) heavy buyer's market it's the opposite, house next door to mine is assessed around 224k, was listed 269k and sold over a year later for 203k. It's probably not like that everywhere around here but for every dollar I put in my house today, I would be lucky to get 0.50$ back if I listed tomorrow- and that's if I do the work myself, I pay someone and I'll get 0.25$ back on the dollar.

That's completely normal. No matter how much you improve your house, you aren't going to change your neighborhood.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

yep. I love to talk shit on CA-haters all the time because forums, but I totally understand that Los Angeles only works for me because I love music/food and there are few locations in the US as good as Los Angeles for those 2 things.

I think my ideal next move would be to get a consulting or telecommute type job so I can live somewhere cheap but keep the SoCal pay range.

For me, it would be the central coast area or the Bay Area. I used to go to the East Bay area on business in the early 2000s and made that area a frequent vacation spot, as I had friends in the area. Another friend lives in the LA metro area (Oxnard/Port Hueneme area) and I didn't mind that general area either.

I did request a transfer to California in the early 2000s and my boss talked me out of going, though said he would make it happen if I really wanted it to happen. Kind of interesting to wonder how things might have been different had I done it.

 

[Thump553]

To summarize and restate the good advice you've received in this thread and eliminae all the chaff:

1) Real estate is a uniquely local market dependent mostly on the local economy, school district, local conditions. It matters not one whit what houses are selling for in Canada or California. FL was one of the most depressed regions in the US, I doubt highly any part of it is now a seller's market.

2) Odds are your offer puts the seller underwater, ie, they would have to convince their lender to take a haircut or they would have to bring cash to the closing. I'm guessing that $199k is basically their breakeven point.

3) Most important bit of advice is from YOUR expert, not some internet armchair quarterbacking. Since she says $199k is overpriced and they won't budge you are wasting your time and effort on this house. Formally withdraw the offer (if necessary) and move on. If you are totally in love with this house revisit the situation in six weeks but be prepared to overpay if you truly want this house. And remember your lender has a voice in this matter too, they aren't going to lend you more than the house is worth.

I'm guessing the sellers still live in this house, have no real need to sell and this house is going to be on the market for many more months.

 

[jpiniero]

2) Odds are your offer puts the seller underwater, ie, they would have to convince their lender to take a haircut or they would have to bring cash to the closing. I'm guessing that $199k is basically their breakeven point.

Enough time has elasped that the principal remaining should be well below that even if they put nothing down @ 6%.

 

[Timorous]

Are you serious? Have you ever sold a home before? It is very simple -- if the first offer is a lowball, you come back with a counter offer, not countering with the exact same asking price again.

It depends entirely on the circumstances. The last time I sold a property I had it on the market for £125,000 and the first offer came in at £110,000 which was rejected by the estate agent without even consulting me and they followed that up with £115,000. I also rejected that offer and I instructed the agent to tell them that as it was new to market and it was getting a lot of interest I was more than willing to wait for a better offer so if they wanted it they needed to get much closer to asking price. There was some back and forth and in the end we settled on £124,000 and it was off the market in less than 7 days.

However, had the property been on the market for a month or so with only average interest I would have likely countered the £115,000 offer with £120,000 and settled somewhere in the middle. Sometimes it is the right play to stand firm on your price when you know you are in a relatively strong position and sometimes it is worth taking the lower offer because in the long run it comes out better.

 

[z1ggy]

The house been on the market since early February. They dropped the price from $205,900 to $199,000 a week ago.

The seller bought it in 2008 for $205,500.

08 was a terrible time to buy, looking back on things (at least around me). Home prices topped out in 2008, then took a nose dive by as much as 25-30% later that year, and haven't really climbed back since.

I think the seller was a tard for countering back at $199k. They were probably offended at an offer essentially 12% below what they are asking, but like the above person said, you can't get all "emo and whiney" when selling property.. Or anything really. A good salesmen would have countered back at $198 or $197 if they really wanted to prove they were very firm, but still willing to negotiate a bit.

 

[edro]

The best part about selling your house is packing up and moving.
just kidding, that sucks.

 

[gorcorps]

Denver metro area right now, everything for sale should be going within two weeks, often at or higher than asking. If you're under $400K and on the market for longer than that, you're asking too much.

Shit, my next door neighbors sold for $5K over asking their first day, and that's not an uncommon story. Fucking insane. I'd sell except there's no where around the city I could move to that would make any financial sense.

I don't miss that

I enjoyed CO but not worth it anymore

 

[Zargon]

Small town, USA. In hundreds, maybe thousands of towns, $180k will get you a LOT of house. Just get far enough away from the nearest city to where there are few jobs and the location isn't viable for commuting, and prices can be lower by half or more.

Hell, in the dying Pennsylvania rust-belt town where I grew up, you can buy houses for $50-75k. Many are older and need work and typically they're turned into shitbox rentals, but they're there in droves. Towns that are really bad off have vacant or abandoned homes by the hundreds and can do nothing but systematically tear them down as they get grants from the state.

LOL small town USA

is that code for not LA/SF/East Coast/Miami/Chicago?

08 was a terrible time to buy, looking back on things (at least around me). Home prices topped out in 2008, then took a nose dive by as much as 25-30% later that year, and haven't really climbed back since.

I think the seller was a tard for countering back at $199k. They were probably offended at an offer essentially 12% below what they are asking, but like the above person said, you can't get all "emo and whiney" when selling property.. Or anything really. A good salesmen would have countered back at $198 or $197 if they really wanted to prove they were very firm, but still willing to negotiate a bit.

around me 2008 was crashing, 2009 it bottomed out.

based on recent sales on my block, I stole my house.

 

[Jeeebus]

we made an offer of $500k on a house selling for something like $560k in 2010. The realtor came back and said that her client was too insulted by our offer to make a counter. If we substantially raised our offer they would negotiate with us. Told the realtor to tell her client to shove it up his ass and we bought a better house (for us) a month later.

That house sat on the market empty (with owner paying the mortgage) for 11 months and eventually sold for $430k. So much for being insulted by my offer.

 

[Aikouka]

Where the hell can you buy a house for $180k?

The south. Even close to a decent-sized city, you can probably get around 2,000 sqft or more for 180k.

Most places in the US that aren't major metropolitan cities. No way would I want to pay a shit ton of money to be cram packed next to everyone.

That's the one thing that kind of bugs me when I'm looking at houses. So many of them just feel sandwiched in against their neighbor, and some of them that I've seen really do have very little space between houses. I saw this one home where it was really the positioning of the home that made it look much more reclusive even though it still had a close neighbor. I think the lush trees on the one side really helped too.

 

[Genx87]

There are stories like that everywhere. I tried to work with a bank for the property next door that was clearly abandoned. Offered them 140 for the place. It was a low ball but it was in foreclosure. Actually pretty high for a low ball but I considered the convenience of having two rental properties next to each other. Bank didn't want to negotiate. They wanted 200. 2 years later it is sold to some dev company for 120 who then fixed it up and sold it for 230.

 

[slag]

You just have different priorities... like being able to take a piss in your backyard, or leaving a '81 Buick on blocks in the front yard. So what if you've never seen a play or attended a symphony? Different strokes...

But I've done all those things. There's not much you can't do in or around small town usa that you can do in the "big city". There's this idea that the big city has much more to offer, but really it doesn't.