Comments on: House Hunting, part two: Finding a Place

By: Andi B.

Andi B. — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 04:53:34 +0000

I think I just blushed. ;)

By: Andi B.

Andi B. — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 04:52:50 +0000

Ha! That was such a random insightful comment I had to respond. I still read GRS on occasion, but what had initially resonated with me was J.D.’s personal story. When blogs change their format and become more commercial or informational websites, I find myself reading them a bit less. I’m a huge believer that different things speak to you more at different times in your life. I still use GRS as a reference site, but I probably wouldn’t be considered a regular reader.

By: Diane C

Diane C — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:35:11 +0000

This should make you feel better about what you had to pay to get the home that suits your needs. New husband and I are looking for a home that is “ours”. His father recently died and we’ve discovered that his mom has dementia. None of our houses has a first floor bedroom, and MIL is way too physically healthy to be placed in a dementia facility, so a different floor plan is in order. We live in a high COLA and set a budget of 800K for a 3+BR, 2+BA home. We found the perfect house, but it was a short sale. The bank only wanted to see the highest and best offer. There were at least a dozen offers, all over asking. We ended up bidding 928K with no appraisal, no inspection, and as-is condition. We are putting over 50% down and are pre-approved for our mortgage. (Yeah, we could get a bigger loan, but we don’t want to.) The house is overbuilt for the neighborhood (fortunately, not in an ostentatious way). It is only three blocks from DH’s work. DH is also a painting contractor and is a build-it-right, fix-it type guy. He can do the inspection and any necessary repairs. We know we may be paying “too much”, but this home will suit our needs for the next ten or so years. With so many other bidders, we feel that when the time comes to sell, we will have no trouble finding a buyer. We may not make a killing on it, but it will be our family’s shelter as we embark on this next phase of our lives. We are working with a trusted RE Broker and with our Financial Planner’s approval. For all the bad news we hear about real estate, I’m here to tell you that it is roaring back to life in the SF Bay Area. Gads!
Congratulations on your new (and comparatively reasonably priced) home, JD!

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:47:08 +0000

I look forward to finding out how you enjoy condo ownership. I bought a gorgeous condo in 2010, and although I got a great deal (bankruptcy situation), dealing with strata ownership has been nothing but a hassle. There are 42 units in the building, and no one (including the strata council, which I am now on) ever reads the financial statements. There are constant budget overruns, which no one can ever explain, and we have had three different building management companies. The first two were horrible, and cost us thousands and thousands of dollars. The third (current) one is not bad, but still needs constant monitoring. For example, they have been overcharging us on their management fees by $400 per month for the past 6 months, and our Treasurer never noticed. I find that people just don’t pay attention to what is going on, but they get angry when things are not fixed right away, or when their monthly fees go up. No one wants to take responsibility for managing the finances, or has the skill to do so. This work all falls to volunteers, none of whom seem to have any financial knowledge. Based on this experience, I would not buy another condo.

By: Claire

Claire — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 00:50:15 +0000

How exciting, congrats! While I agree that paying cash for a home means shifting assets from stocks, a fundamental difference is that a home has utility value. You get a place to live, and hopefully one you enjoy; you can’t live in a stock. And I presume you paid rent for your apartment, so the condo is not a new expense per se.

By: Jen Patterson

Jen Patterson — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 01:48:16 +0000

That’s exciting JD! My daughter is fascinated by the Sellwood Bridge. She and Dan spend several hours watching the day that they scootched the old bridge onto the new pilings. They are always finding out some new news and excitement about the new bridge. They will both be jealous when I tell them your new place has a great view of the bridge. I get a little rush now when I drive over it on my way to L&C, knowing that I am on the old bridge and right next to it will be a beautiful solid new one. Your view looks INCREDIBLE. Super happy for you!

By: HappyFund

HappyFund — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:25:14 +0000

Did you at least leverage the fact that you were paying in cash? I am not sure if that really would’ve made a difference for the seller, but buyers buying with a loan usually have a “contingent on financing” clause to their offer. That really just means there is a risk that the buyer could back out if they can’t secure a loan. Even if the seller gets to keep the security deposit, it’s a big time waster and the other offers probably moved on.

By: jdroth

jdroth — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:15:50 +0000

TJ, you’re both right and wrong. Here in Oregon, an appraisal is part of the process if you want to get a loan. So, yes, that makes sense. However, the key piece you’re missing here is that I’m paying cash for the condo. With a cash transaction, no appraisal is needed.

By: TJ

TJ — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:04:55 +0000

Great story, J.D., as always with your writing, I’ve learned something I didn’t know before. I have to ask, though — maybe there’s something I missed in reading your post above, but I’m a little puzzled by your agreeing not to do an appraisal. In my part of the country, appraisals are a standard part of buying a house or condo — you can’t get a loan without one.

It just seemed unreasonable to me for the seller to balk at an appraisal. Maybe it’s different in Oregon — is that the case?

By: Anna

Anna — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 02:16:58 +0000

I paid about $5,000 more for my place than I thought it should go for (although the final price was still under my budget), but had to pay that because there were other bidders. I worried about this at first, but then worked out that as a percentage of the overall price, it was a very small difference.

Also, I felt a bit ill and not very excited after the purchase – buying was a bit stressful!! But as soon as I moved in, I felt really good about buying it. Over time I enjoy my home more and more – and I have watched the market since I bought and have seen very few equivalent properties.