did you visit a home before putting in an offer? I feel like I always hear about people seeing houses multiple times before putting in an offer.
DH and I saw a home on Sunday. There are a couple things we want to do that would factor into our purchase price (new kitchen, new carpet). He was on the fence, but has come around a lot since considering the possibilities that we would have with this house. I'm wondering if we should try to go see it again before we offer.
The 2 homes weve bought were basically move-in ready. As such, we didn't feel we needed to go back in a 2nd time before putting in an offer.
However, if there was serious work that we felt we would need to do, I would absolutely ask to see the house again so you can more closely look at those issues. The first time - it's kind of almost a whirlwind. You're taking a LOT in. There is a good chance you'll miss stuff.
One was a short sale that turned into a foreclosure, so we did go back again to make sure that it was still in decent shape when we put in a second offer.
This house, we put in an offer the same day we saw it since it was really well-priced, well-cared for, and had a couple of other showings scheduled already (we saw it the first day it was on the market). We did go back with my parents that weekend to see it again, and would have had a couple of different ways to back out if we'd needed to.
1st house- once, put an offer in the same night I saw it 2nd house- technically twice, but it was the same day. We saw this one, went to see another, then came back here just to be 100% sure
Our first home - once. When we were leaving another family was coming to look at it. We put in an offer the next day and ended up in a bidding war with two other families. This was back in 2006, and that house was on the market for less than a week.
Both times we bought houses, only once. The first house we sold, the buyer viewed twice. The house we're currently selling, the buyer viewed once and gave us an offer while he was here (we're not using a Realtor this time, so it's for sale by owner).
Twice. The second viewing after having decided to offer, just to double check we haven't missed anything in our calculations and make the offer on the spot.
Our Chicago condo- once, we put the offer in right after seeing it. Our home here- 3 times, but that is because there were multiple offers on it the first time we saw it, so we didn't think we had a chance at getting it.
Normally, I would feel rushed to make an offer ASAP, especially with how quickly homes move around here and how low the inventory is.
This house has been on the market since November. I'm trying to decide why it hasn't been purchased yet. My first theory is that the sellers aren't in a hurry and have a specific idea in mind of what they want. The other is the high HOA.
So, follow-up question: would a $220 a month HOA prevent you from purchasing a house? The HOA includes all exterior maintenance except the roof (fence, siding, stone/brick, paint, etc.), snow removal, trash, tennis courts, and pool.
This is a SFH, not a patio home, so I think the exterior maintenance thing is sort of weird, but I'm also thinking it could be a good benefit. The HOA does make me pause though, and I wonder if that's bad for resale.