Need home buying tips, any agents here, or anyone with buying experience? Long

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MileHighDart

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So, I have a couple questions, but I'll give you the situation first so you know whats going on. We have only bought one home, 27 years ago, and bought straight from the owner. So we have like no experience with agents.

A little over a year from know we will be moving from Lyons, CO to Lakeview Oregon. Moving from a small town surrounded my big towns, to a small town surround by nothing!

Anyway, last time we were up there we hooked up with a local real estate agent that a friend recommended. We didn't sign anything, but she was suppose to be keeping an eye out for what we wanted. Planning on buying when we find what we like, even if not moving for a while.
So I've been watching Zillow, and Realtor.com almost every day. We found a house that we think is perfect, everything we want, and in very nice condition. So about a week from now, I'm flying to Reno, renting a car and driving 4 hours north to Lakeview, just to look at this place. We called our agent in Lakeview, and turns out the house is one of her listings.

So, question 1. Is it a problem with her acting as both the sellers agent, and the buyers agent? Or do we need to hire a buyers agent to act as a go between. I mean, her acting as the sellers agent, she wants to get the most she can for the sellers, and her commission.

Question 2. I think I have her talked out of this, but my wife wants to give them a low ball offer, hoping that they will haggle and come down off their asking price. I was doing some reading on-line and think the only time its ok to lowball, is if the house needs work, or hasn't been well kept. This particular house is in excellent shape, has everything we want, and is basically my dream place. So also from reading online, I read that if the home is everything you want, you should be prepared to offer the asking price or more.

To further complicate things, Lakeview is experience a temporary high in housing prices, do to a company building a new biofuel plant on the edge of town. Hundreds of people have moved there, buying up all the houses, and driving the prices up. In about a year when the bio plant is finished, most of these people will leave and only 75 or so will stay to run the plant. Our agent is expecting the housing prices to drop back down to normal (cheap) lakeview prices after this all happens. So, we're kinda buying at the height of an artificial housing boom, and might end up with a price that sounds reasonable to us, but in a couple years the house might be worth significantly less that what we paid.

Any advice ?
 
P.S. This house was almost sold, marked as "sale pending" just last week. First couple that tried to buy it couldn't get the financing. So now its back on the market.
 
You might consider renting for a year or two. That way you can wait out the price bubble and get a better idea on the area & where you want to live.
 
j par said:
Why Lakeview..?
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That's a good question, ha ha.
My wife's dad lived just a little south of there. He passed away a little over a year ago. My wife has made several trips up there to clean out his house, deal with the estate, etc.
Basically she fell in love with the area, the small town, the natural beauty and the wildlife. I've been up there twice with her and I like it because of the lack of people, crowds, traffic, etc. It's literally like Mayberry, I kept expecting to see Andy and Barney Fife walking around town.
I've been I Boulder county my whole life, and I'm just ready to move, anywhere, just tired of everything here.
 
Mike69cuda said:
You might consider renting for a year or two. That way you can wait out the price bubble and get a better idea on the area & where you want to live.
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We have considered that, but I don't want to move twice, at or age one move will be a challenge enough.
We also considered waiting a year, and just stop looking at houses till then. Let the market settle down. But my fear is that the perfect place will come and go while we are waiting. We've already been watching the websites for like a year, and this is the first place we've found that we like enough to make a special trip up to look at it.
 
MileHighDart said:
We have considered that, but I don't want to move twice, at or age one move will be a challenge enough.
We also considered waiting a year, and just stop looking at houses till then. Let the market settle down. But my fear is that the perfect place will come and go while we are waiting. We've already been watching the websites for like a year, and this is the first place we've found that we like enough to make a special trip up to look at it.
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If you plan to stay in it a good long time, then the current market price doesn’t matter very much. The market always goes up and down in the short run, but over time it always goes up.

If the price is something you can live with and you like what you are getting...go for it.

I have bought and sold about 6 houses over the last 35 years and the one I have now I expect to stay in until they wheel me out of it on a gurney.

Only you can decide what your priorities are, but based on what you have posted so far it seems you just need to find the right house there at the price you can live with...and ignore the rest of the noise.
 
The real estate agent is essentially double dipping. She gets the listing and the sale. Not sure if that is a concern for you or not? If you bought thru another agent the listing agent wouldnt get as much commission as it would be split? Not necessarily equally.
Call the town where its located and speak to Public Works mgr. Find out when water and sewer lines were installed/repaired last.
If its older than 50/60 years and still on original water and sewer lines, that may be a concern.
You could also speak to building inspector to see what permits have been pulled on the address to see what/if work has been done?
Good luck!
 
The agent can act for both parties. Negotiate a reduced commission. Real estate prices are relative and don't mean much as real estate always increases in value. We have bought and sold many times. It's about the only asset that has made us money consistently. We have also bought and sold with no agent and saved a lot of money.
 
4spdragtop said:
The real estate agent is essentially double dipping. She gets the listing and the sale. Not sure if that is a concern for you or not? If you bought thru another agent the listing agent wouldnt get as much commission as it would be split? Not necessarily equally.
Call the town where its located and speak to Public Works mgr. Find out when water and sewer lines were installed/repaired last.
If its older than 50/60 years and still on original water and sewer lines, that may be a concern.
You could also speak to building inspector to see what permits have been pulled on the address to see what/if work has been done?
Good luck!
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A couple things we've found out about this home. It was custom built by the current owners in 1997. So not terribly old, and its only only had one owner. The couple is now elderly and are only selling to move closer to their children. Being the house is actually a few miles outside of town, its on city electric, but water is a well, and sewer is a tank or a septic field, not sure yet but will find out.
 
MileHighDart said:
A couple things we've found out about this home. It was custom built by the current owners in 1997. So not terribly old, and its only only had one owner. The couple is now elderly and are only selling to move closer to their children. Being the house is actually a few miles outside of town, its on city electric, but water is a well, and sewer is a tank or a septic field, not sure yet but will find out.

Ask for a sellers disclosure and a purchaser's good faith estimate of closing costs. Any financing institution will need a current septic pump test and a statement of availability of water. Best of luck!
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Ask for a sellers disclosure and a purchaser's good faith estimate of closing costs. Any financing institution will need a current septic pump test and a statement of availability of water. Best of luck![/QUOTE]
 
I was in a similar situation on my first house 25+ years ago with the realtor situation. The realtor said it was legal BUT was deemed unethical for him to act as agent for seller/buyer. Another agent from same company represented seller. I was able to "hold out " for a lower price and commission fee, as the market wasn't the greatest. Hind sight, I would get a different realtor if booming market. If the market is hot and you can afford the place of your dreams, give them what they want or it's likely gone. I say go for it.
 
Have a "draw down" test performed on the well. Also have local health lab perform water quality test. Test for hardness and bacteria.
Is there a homeowner water treatment system? UV?
If they are on well there should be no chlorine? A quick test to tell if they are "hiding" something is to add a packet of "free chlorine" reagent to water sample. If it changes color then chlorine is present in the water and shouldnt be.
I can mail you a couple packets if you like? Just pm me your address.
MileHighDart said:
A couple things we've found out about this home. It was custom built by the current owners in 1997. So not terribly old, and its only only had one owner. The couple is now elderly and are only selling to move closer to their children. Being the house is actually a few miles outside of town, its on city electric, but water is a well, and sewer is a tank or a septic field, not sure yet but will find out.
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If you insist on buying right now, don't haggle, just buy. The market won't tolerate your cheapness.

That said, there's no better time to sell and get out of Lyons, especially with the apartments and mass housing going up in Longmont. The housing prices in that area are gonna dip soon when that opens up, especially with immigration down.

I'm with the other guy. GTFO and rent for a couple years. I'm betting you'll be dollars ahead, even with the cost of rent, especially without the pressure to find a place RIGHT NOW, and the costs associated with doing so from 800 miles away.
 
MileHighDart said:
So, I have a couple questions, but I'll give you the situation first so you know whats going on. We have only bought one home, 27 years ago, and bought straight from the owner. So we have like no experience with agents.

A little over a year from know we will be moving from Lyons, CO to Lakeview Oregon. Moving from a small town surrounded my big towns, to a small town surround by nothing!

Anyway, last time we were up there we hooked up with a local real estate agent that a friend recommended. We didn't sign anything, but she was suppose to be keeping an eye out for what we wanted. Planning on buying when we find what we like, even if not moving for a while.
So I've been watching Zillow, and Realtor.com almost every day. We found a house that we think is perfect, everything we want, and in very nice condition. So about a week from now, I'm flying to Reno, renting a car and driving 4 hours north to Lakeview, just to look at this place. We called our agent in Lakeview, and turns out the house is one of her listings.

So, question 1. Is it a problem with her acting as both the sellers agent, and the buyers agent? Or do we need to hire a buyers agent to act as a go between. I mean, her acting as the sellers agent, she wants to get the most she can for the sellers, and her commission.

Question 2. I think I have her talked out of this, but my wife wants to give them a low ball offer, hoping that they will haggle and come down off their asking price. I was doing some reading on-line and think the only time its ok to lowball, is if the house needs work, or hasn't been well kept. This particular house is in excellent shape, has everything we want, and is basically my dream place. So also from reading online, I read that if the home is everything you want, you should be prepared to offer the asking price or more.

To further complicate things, Lakeview is experience a temporary high in housing prices, do to a company building a new biofuel plant on the edge of town. Hundreds of people have moved there, buying up all the houses, and driving the prices up. In about a year when the bio plant is finished, most of these people will leave and only 75 or so will stay to run the plant. Our agent is expecting the housing prices to drop back down to normal (cheap) lakeview prices after this all happens. So, we're kinda buying at the height of an artificial housing boom, and might end up with a price that sounds reasonable to us, but in a couple years the house might be worth significantly less that what we paid.

Any advice ?
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To answer question #1, it's absolutely legal for an agent to act in this manor. But, it's also worth the few dollars to hire an attorney to go over the paperwork. This could save you a ton later on should he find some type of deed restriction or other abnormality you wouldn't expect.
My BIL is a real estate agent, and if I've learned nothing from him, its regardless of who has the listing, he represents only one person, himself. He's not alone.
Question #2, it's not a crime to offer less. It doesn't mean they're going to take the offer, but they may counter and go from there. Every home I've bought, I started $25K or more under asking. Do some research, find out how long the house has been on the market. The longer, the more likely the seller is to come down. Having financing in place and ready to go also helps. That pre-approval letter is key to make that work to your advantage, especially if they've already dealt with a prior sale falling through.
If the seller isn't willing to come down on asking, then insist on their paying all closing costs.

Having the well tested is a wonderful idea. I would also have the septic inspected as well.
Every home I've bought, I've had the seller pay for any inspection and testing fees, with the understanding that they will be reimbursed if the home passes inspection. That saved me a ton on asbestos remediation other problems of a rental home I was considering.
Another thing you should do to avoid future aggravation,
go to the property, pull out your cell phone and see what the service is like. Research the cable TV and internet service and speeds.
Also, have a survey performed. Avoid any property line disputes that pop up later on.
 
Plumbing and electrical work need to be verified.

Sister bought house, plumbing failed in a few months.

My old house was being built when I bought it-master bedroom light switch killed power to the whole room.

Some light fixtures are grounded to the smallest degree and you end up changing light bulbs every few weeks.

Get a roof repair person to gauge how soon you will need to dump $7K-11K

City code. Is your house up to it?

Spend the $350 FOR AN INDEPENDENT INSPECTOR!!!!!!!!!!

If they know the realtor, you can GET SCREWED!!

Rain drainage in yard?

Trees over roof, near power lines, roots near house, signs of pests, roaches, snakes, rats, bats, skunks, raccoons, possums, mice, etc.

Some homes are near roads where a drunk driver can point their car into your family

Close the a road?train tracks? Military base that disposed of ordinance? Military base with two minute PA warning System about deadly force being authorized? Gun range? Drag strip? Repair shop with power tools??

Are you near a school?

Have you searched how close all the CONVICTED PEDOFILES ARE NEAR YOUR HOME?!?
Everyone here would be surprised and disappointed.
...
 
If you like it buy I, don't wait... but...Get an independent home inspector with a good track record. You want one that will be a stickler for details. 2nd get contingency against the appraisal, of course, if it's a hot market, you may have to pay above the value. I walked both my adult kids through recent purchases. They both used the same realtor from an adjacent town. The agent was acting on their behalf, giving advice, and steering them in the right direction. Also, abiding by the rules of what she could and couldn't tell them. She didn't sell in that town so, she was showing other agents listings. Good luck.

PS. Must have very large shop!!!!
 
Real estate prices are currently at an all time high with many listings selling for more than the asking price.

DO NOT low ball.

Most realtors will not act as an agent for both parties. They will usually appoint another agent, however you are still dealing with the same company. Better to have one of your own.

Question 1- why did this agent not alert you to this property, sine that's what you asked them to do? That's a strike in my book.

Question 2- have you considered purchasing your wife's fathers property?
 
I'll add that last year we ran the numbers on a fixer upper and were going to offer $1500 OVER the asking asking price.

We would have gotten it as it sold for $750 over asking.

In the grand scheme, that $750 is nothing compared to what the resale or rental income would have been.

We didn't do it because we would have had to do a 30 year instead of the 15 or 20 year financing we like to do, but it was nice to know we still "got it" when it comes to assessing repairs and value!
 
YY1 said:
Real estate prices are currently at an all time high with many listings selling for more than the asking price.

DO NOT low ball.

Most realtors will not act as an agent for both parties. They will usually appoint another agent, however you are still dealing with the same company. Better to have one of your own.

Question 1- why did this agent not alert you to this property, sine that's what you asked them to do? That's a strike in my book.

Question 2- have you considered purchasing your wife's fathers property?
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Answer 1, I dont know why she didn't call us about this one cause its exactly what we told her we wanted. I'm guessing she takes her local buyers more seriously, who knows. But I watch the online sites Daily, we contacted her as soon as we decided that this place warranted a special trip up to check it out.

Answer 2, father in law left everything to my wife, but his wishes were for her to split everything 3 ways with her bro and sis, which she has done. Her brother wanted the house and property, so he got it and less cash from the estate. Plus, her dad's house was actually just a few miles across the boarder into California. We do not want to be california residents. And his house was trashed anyway, needs to be knocked down and replaced, or completely stripped down to the studs and rebuilt.
 
Well, Crap.
Looks like we may have lost this one. I have a flight up there next Friday, have rental car booked, hotel booked, flight, etc.
She called us this morning and someone else has made an offer, and the owners countered. We have to wait till Monday to find out if the potential buyers are going to take the counter. Either way, even if we made an offer right now, it would be a backup offer, if the other buyers back out or something.
I could have gone up yesterday, a week earlier, but the flight would have cost like double.
But even if I did fly up yesterday, it would have gotten an offer on it while I was traveling up there. I'd be even more upset at that point cause all the money spent for the trip. Right now, if we get the call Monday that the other buyers are in negotiations, at least I'll have time to cancel the flight, hotel, car, etc.
This property was perfect, out of town on 4 acres so no neighbors, two car attached garage, plus a 24x40 shop.
Oh well.

To answer someones else's question, Why do we need to buy right now? We don't, but I keep watching the listings just in case we find the perfect property. Just don't want to let the perfect place slip by while we're waiting. Also, its a town of 2000 people, and we want to be on the edge of town, or out of town, so there is a limited number of propertys that will be available at any given time.

Here's a couple pics of the one we were trying for.

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8c38dc9ac921d590db8eb8b058372033l-m10od-w1024_h768.jpg


8c38dc9ac921d590db8eb8b058372033l-m3od-w1024_h768.jpg
 
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