9th April 2007

The House Buying Experiment - Round One

posted in real estate |

We made an offer on our first home - our first major investment. It went down.

The house was appraised at: $191,000
It was purchased for $181,000
They were asking: $179,500. Motivated Seller.

We offered 10% less - $162,000, and I was expecting a counter offer - I know I made a low offer, but “buyer’s market” and “motivated seller” equals “me making a low offer.” Oh well! We moved on to our other choice - a house in front of elevated rail road tracks. It was our original desire to get this house:

Appraised: $198,000
Purchased: $140,000
Asking: $175,000

I’m offering $160,000 - same reason as before - I’m looking for a deal, and to haggle. If they don’t counter offer, we’ll keep looking.

Of course, we could stretch out our budget and maybe we’ll write a post like Mighty Bargain Hunter about how we bought more house and got the banks to be suckers and forgive part of our loan. Or go bankrupt trying to hassle the system. I think we’ll stay legit and honest and buy a house we can afford, not a house that will do us in.

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There are currently 4 responses to “The House Buying Experiment - Round One”

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  1. 1 On April 9th, 2007, mbhunter said:

    Thanks for the mention!

  2. 2 On April 10th, 2007, zen said:

    No problem, anytime I get struck by an idea for a post, I always try and credit what got me there.

  3. 3 On April 13th, 2007, LAMoneyGuy said:

    Hey Zen, what area are you in? The prices don’t sound like the “bubble” areas, but the fact that properties are listed for just over or under the previous purchase price does.

    Also, I mean no offense at all with this, but are you sure this is the right time for you to be buying a house? I ask this based on the fact that you are currently in school, expecting (congratulations, by the way), and according to NetworthIQ have a negative net worth.

  4. 4 On April 13th, 2007, zen said:

    Central Ohio is my area - the prices are well below market in most areas right now.

    I take no offense! I’m working with a number of factors in this decision - I’m in school and it’s paid by work, and I’ve made the decision to buy a much cheaper house (which will put my monthly payments at a little above what my rent is).

    Baby Logan and Wife are quite well, thank you!

    Also, the Networth reflects all the bills and not all the income - I’m trying to keep focused on my debts at hand until they are resolved (which, at the moment, are student loans and one credit card).

    It’s definitely something we’ve discussed and leveraged, but where we are at now (in terms of living situation) and where we could be with minimal adjustment (based off my old salary and lack of a second income) really offsets it.

    And I *really* appreciate your opinion on this - it definitely keeps me focused on my tasks at hand (and our budget, and our planning, and our future).

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