It's been over a week since I posted. We spent a lot of energy and hours on this first offer, counter offer, second offer, extensions, etc. It's been a whirlwind, albeit a frustrating one. Unfortunately, we won't be getting a house for Christmas this year. The seller was still unsure about our offer at the time of our deadline, which we had already extended two days. We decided to walk away from it.
To us, this was indicative that they don't really want to sell. Our second offer was a great offer for the condition the house is in, and they still hesitated. E & i doubt they'll get any better offers, but they have had enough interest in the house, so I am guessing they felt they could wait and see.
The house we put an offer in was the yellow house in South Park. In the end, we decided an extra 10 minutes of commuting was worth it for the additional 300 sq-ft this house offered. I guess it wasn't meant to be.
Moving forward, we still have a house we really like and are keeping an eye on. We are also going to be looking at some new listings in other areas, trying to go for more square footage in less-desirable school districts (still Top-50) to see if we like anything there. For now though, our search is postponed until we return from the Holidays in mid-January.
December 17, 2009
December 8, 2009
Our First Offer
We have decided to put in an offer on a house. It might not be the house everyone was expecting us to go for, but rather a house that would make a really smart purchase. We offered 3% under list price, but also asked for the closing costs (in Pgh, these end up being about 6%). Our total offer ended up being 9% under asking price. I am feeling a little nervous that we may have low-balled, but this number gives us about $7K with which to negotiate.
The process of putting together the offer was rather lengthy, with a lot of scary paperwork to look over. It was at this point that we realized how big of a commitment we are trying to make. We read through every piece of paper and signed our lives away, knowing that we would probably have to do it all again with a counter-offer.
We are excited about this house. It has everything that we need and want plus extras! It would make for a fantastic first home. We're hoping this turns out to be The One.
Unfortunately, as soon as our REA let the seller's agent know about the offer, we found out that there might be another offer coming into the fold. We are hoping it doesn't happen, or that if it does, our offer is accepted above the competition. We'll find out by Thursday either way. Fingers crossed!
The process of putting together the offer was rather lengthy, with a lot of scary paperwork to look over. It was at this point that we realized how big of a commitment we are trying to make. We read through every piece of paper and signed our lives away, knowing that we would probably have to do it all again with a counter-offer.We are excited about this house. It has everything that we need and want plus extras! It would make for a fantastic first home. We're hoping this turns out to be The One.
Unfortunately, as soon as our REA let the seller's agent know about the offer, we found out that there might be another offer coming into the fold. We are hoping it doesn't happen, or that if it does, our offer is accepted above the competition. We'll find out by Thursday either way. Fingers crossed!
Indecision
This past Sunday, E & I decided to venture out again to look at houses. We were looking at one new listing, and two repeats. We were having a hard time deciding between two houses and needed to look at them again and talk the options out.
The new listing was a great renovated Cape Cod in Pleasant Hills. Three bedrooms, 2.5 baths. The only drawback was a small yard (small only by our standards). We are keeping this one on the list.
After long looks at both of our repeats, we spent the rest of the day mulling about the pros and cons of each house, each neighborhood, each commute, etc. E liked both houses and felt that it was my decision which one to go for. I was still conflicted. One house is smaller but move-in ready. The other house is larger but needs upgrades (mostly cosmetic). By the end of the day, we had decided to put in an offer. At the end we feel that if the offer is not accepted, then we have another great house to look into, and perhaps that is the way it is meant to go.
The new listing was a great renovated Cape Cod in Pleasant Hills. Three bedrooms, 2.5 baths. The only drawback was a small yard (small only by our standards). We are keeping this one on the list.
After long looks at both of our repeats, we spent the rest of the day mulling about the pros and cons of each house, each neighborhood, each commute, etc. E liked both houses and felt that it was my decision which one to go for. I was still conflicted. One house is smaller but move-in ready. The other house is larger but needs upgrades (mostly cosmetic). By the end of the day, we had decided to put in an offer. At the end we feel that if the offer is not accepted, then we have another great house to look into, and perhaps that is the way it is meant to go.
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