We found our new house because I was chatting to a neighbor and they mentioned they knew someone who was planning on listing. We knocked on his door three months before he intended to list so it never even went on MLS.
Any chance you can cruise some preferred neighborhoods and talk to people? haha
At the risk of sounding like creepers, we did that when we bought our current house. It was listed but we walked the neighborhood after seeing it and asked people who were outside how they liked it and what the area was like.
We found our new house because I was chatting to a neighbor and they mentioned they knew someone who was planning on listing. We knocked on his door three months before he intended to list so it never even went on MLS.
Any chance you can cruise some preferred neighborhoods and talk to people? haha
At the risk of sounding like creepers, we did that when we bought our current house. It was listed but we walked the neighborhood after seeing it and asked people who were outside how they liked it and what the area was like.
The geneticist has a social worker who sent me the information about a bunch of parenting and "newcomer" groups in that town so I'm definitely going to check them out.
I was hoping you'd say that the realtor showed you tons of houses you'd never seen on the internet before.
Our agent, also the one devonpow used, has insider scoop about homes that haven't hit the market yet but will soon because of the relationships she has with other agents in the area.
I get new listings sent to me every day but I usually see those myself the night before on newenglandmoves. Which is a local site like mls.
I know, I love that one!! It needs a fireplace. I would have to install a fake one or something lol
This one looks like you get a lot more for the price! However that might mean there is something wrong with it ...
When are you planning/hoping to buy?
I *think* it's because it's farther from the train and the town. The other is super close, like steps away. We are looking to move before kindergarten so next year at this time. But V's school program is 12m and we won't pull her out, so she will end in August and then start kindergarten like 2 weeks later. So we will probably buy around now (hopefully) and then have a few months of (very expensive) overlap. We aren't 100% going to this town, but it's on the radar now because the geneticist feels really strongly about their school program and its #5 in the state, #40 in the country. It sucks but we really need to care about schools A LOT because we need a great program for Violet.
I just had to come in to say that it makes me sappy that you're such wonderful advocates for V TrudyCampbell And I love having heart palpitations at house prices
We used realtor.com, and occasionally our realtor would send us listings that hadn't posted yet. My brother lives/works near that area, and the prices (and property taxes) always make me feel ill.
I just had to come in to say that it makes me sappy that you're such wonderful advocates for V TrudyCampbell And I love having heart palpitations at house prices
Thanks <3 And trust me, I feel the same about the prices!!
It's like the school choice programs. Where you get a voucher for your school of choice. I feel like I have read about Jersey implementing one or hoping to implement one. If there is maybe it might give you more options house wise, but still give you access to this district/school for V.
It's like the school choice programs. Where you get a voucher for your school of choice. I feel like I have read about Jersey implementing one or hoping to implement one. If there is maybe it might give you more options house wise, but still give you access to this district/school for V.
That's interesting, thanks! I'll look into it. The worst thing about any of these towns/districts is that we need to wait until we are enrolled to see where they will really place my child. Everything else is just hypothetical. So maybe I should rent a place there first? Who the hell knows.
TrudyCampbell Ugh are you serious? That is crazy! I can see how this would be very nerve wracking and overwhelming. I'm sorry.
Yea it's just the way it works anywhere. We will get an IEP for NYC and they'll tell us options of where they'd place her. But if we leave we have to take that to NJ or wherever and we are at the mercy of the evaluations from the district. We plan to see that developmental pedi again for additional evals to help her get whatever services she needs, but yea, we won't know for sure what any district is going to offer us until we are enrolled. It's making my head explode.
TrudyCampbell just for the timeline perspective we do our EI transition iep meetings in April/May so hopefully you could start working with the team there early
Post by onehitwonder on May 12, 2016 23:15:47 GMT -5
What is required to be enrolled? Is it a deposit or do you have to sign a contract? What are the deadlines, penalties for default, etc? In other words, can you enroll V in more than one district, have her evaluated then make your decision? I know this costs money, but factor it into your house budget. You don't have to answer these questions because my guess is that it's not possible, but I just wanted to throw it out there. To answer your original question... yes, where I live there are always off market houses, but they are generally over $1M. I think Zillow has a "make me move" category where people who aren't selling really will for the right price. Good luck with your house and school hunt!
Everything we saw was on Redfin but our RE agent was the one who found the house we bought. It was WAY out of our price range but the REA had insider info on why she thought we could make an offer (at the top of our price range) and have a real shot at being accepted. I didn't originally even want to see it and have my heart set on something unaffordable but am glad we trusted her, obviously, since we bought the house for within our range!
FYI, the prior owners were being relocated and the house had some kind of a guarantee to them from a pro relocation company on how much they'd get if they could sell it themselves (instead of the relo company having to do it when they left). With our offer, the company made up the difference to the acceptable level, apparently, so there was a win-win. I had no idea such a thing existed so I'm super glad the REA gossip chain exists.
You mentioned square footage earlier...we used to live in a 1400 sft. 3 bed 1.5 bath house with a basement. The basement wasn't included in the sft and had a 600 sft. bonus room, so it really was more like 2000 sft but on paper just 1400. It felt waaay bigger than the 1200 sft apartment we moved from. Something about the stairs providing more separation and that extra basement space made a huge difference.