06.08Opinions Are Like…
… well, you know. Everyone has one.
In the short week that I’ve been elbows-deep in all things real estate, I can say that, above everything else, it is frustrating.
Now, I will concede that we are, perhaps, a little bit more of a difficult customer. We have a relatively low price range, we prefer to stick to the area we currently live in — which has the added bonus of qualifying us for a USDA loan anyway — and our lease is up in three months. We’ve found a fantastic buyer’s agent who is definitely earning his keep with us, helping us trying to find a great house within our numerous parameters; to be honest, I think I probably would’ve wound up on a police blotter by now if it weren’t for him.
In a world of short sales, cautious sellers, and properties going under contract seemingly every second, our search gets more and more difficult each day. (By the way? Short sales are a crock of shit, as there is nothing “short” about them. We’ve been told that they can take four to six months on average to close, sometimes going on for as long as a year.)
Another thing I’ve learned is that real estate gets shelved with conversational taboos like politics and religion. Everyone has advice and ideas as to how to buy a house; while they mean well, a lot of what I’ve heard has not been too helpful. I’m lucky enough to have a few people well-versed on real estate: our buyer’s agent, for one, who works for us and is dedicated to helping us, and my dad, who earns some income from properties that he purchases, fixes up, and rents for a profit.
Things we’ve heard from “helpful” people: look at no less than fifteen houses, crossing out houses without appliances is wrong (even though we are, again, on a budget and couldn’t comfortably afford to outfit a house with all the necessities), don’t buy in a neighborhood with an HOA (even though a majority of the neighborhoods in this area have them and are virtually unavoidable), townhouses don’t have any resale value, having a long commute is okay if you can get a bigger house (have you seen Orlando traffic?? Also, our jobs and friends are all on this side of town, plus we don’t have to pay tolls every day to and from work)… and I can’t even remember what else.
My head is spinning.
But I know that, once I have those keys in hand, none of this will matter and, in all likelihood, I won’t have to worry about this stuff for at least another five or ten years. (Of course, given how much of a headache this has all been and the time I’m going to spend obsessing over decorating, I may not want to leave ever unless they drag my cold dead body out of there or offer me a large sum of money to demolish it so they can put in another strip mall.)
Just getting to that point is going to be difficult.
Do you find yourself watching a lot more HGTV now that you are in the market? Are House Hunters and Property Virgins your new favorite shows? I feel like I get a lot of info from watching them. It's fun to see what people will compromise when they are faced with decisions. I hope you get what you want without having to settle too much.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I watch too much HGTV anyway. (And Food Network.) I've seen a few episodes of those shows and, the last one I saw, a young couple kept bidding on this one house to no avail so they had to go with their next bet. It just seemed like such a hassle! Actually, my house-related obsession has been decor. I've been obsessively scouring IKEA and other sites, plus looking at DIY projects. Of course, it's all a moot point until we get some place under contract but still. I even have a wishlist going of stuff I want, mostly for the home office I'll have at some point!
June 8th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
It's kind of sad that the fun of buying a home can be overshadowed by hassle. The current House of Nyt after looking at no fewer than 100 homes. After the first 20, we started a list. Three columns, "must have" "negotiable" and "no way". We gave it to our agent and kept one for ourselves. And we tried to stay realistic, keeping in mind that not every desire will be met. Even now, five years later, we wistfully look out on the beautifully landscaped yard and curse the stupidity we exercised when we thought we'd have the "time" to take care of it….
More useless assvice gleaned from experience….
June 8th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Someone has probably suggested this, but even though it adds a bit to your hassle, you might want to try and find a shorter-term or flexible term rental. It would suck to get close to your "drop dead" date and have to settle on a house you don't love because of timing.
But that's just my $0.02.
June 9th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Oh goodness. I am sorry that you are having such a frustrating time. I can't even imagine having to go through that, but I will soon. I hope the rest of the house buying process goes smoothly for you. Just keep your eyes set on that light at the end of the tunnel.
Good luck!
June 9th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
I agree with SciFi Dad… this IS a good time to buy supposedly but that also means the selections are a mixed bag of great, good, and some dismal. I'm hoping your landlord would be willing to go month-to-month or even on 60 day notice type of thing? I wish our old realtor didn't rush us so much (she was 8 months preggo, wanted one more sale before her maternity leave). And yes, listening to too many contrasting advices also adds to the stress.
I hope you find something you love and the sellers accept your offer and we can come check it out when we're in your area for Mickey World.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:56 pm