Skip to main content

Making an Offer at First Sight


On Sunday I went to two open houses in one of my ideal neighborhoods (the uncool parts of Brooklyn that are not Cobble Hill, Williamsburg or Bushwick). Both homes were clearly out of my price range but I was curious to see what I could get in a higher price point. Sadly, I realized that even with a larger price bracket, I wouldn’t get a larger, more updated house.  Even at my price point, I can only afford an attached fixer upper in this part of Brooklyn.  If I’m extremely lucky I would get three decent sized bedrooms.

I liked house # 1, still, I couldn’t imagine making an offer on this property. It had a lot of pluses. It was a two unit property known more commonly as a Mother/ Daughter. The top floor or first unit had two bedrooms, with a kitchen, dining area, living room and bathroom. The second floor had one bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom. Each unit had its own entrance.  There was even a patio and garage in the back. I liked the layout of the house.  I liked the idea of living in one unit and renting out the other.  But I strongly felt it was overpriced.  In fact, it was listed at $129,000 over my budget. My realtor felt that it would sell for above the listing price.  There was a lot of interest in this property and a large amount of people came to view it. So, my realtor’s assessment is probably correct.

House # 2 was listed as a short sale several months ago.  It was purchased by a developer, I guess you could call it a flip.  I hated house # 2. The workmanship was shoddy and the cosmetic choices were poor.  My number one pet peeve in viewing homes are developers who reorganize pantries or kitchen cupboards into bathrooms. Essentially a bathroom in your kitchen. Why would they do this?  The house had an updated kitchen with three super small bedrooms and a tiny basement. It’s only saving grace? The house was semi-detached and on a corner lot, allowing lots of light into the ultra-small space. Despite the lack of living space, this property was listed for almost $200,000 above my price point.

I walked away from these two properties feeling very disappointed about housing inventory. I also had a clearer picture of what I do not want in my house. Thirdly I realized that there are many buyers out there, and some of them have cash, it’s supper competitive, therefore whenever my ideal house comes on the market, I need to be ready to make an offer at first sight, even sight unseen.  And I’m not sure that I’m willing to do that just yet. Yes, I am a serious buyer. I would like to purchase a home in 2018, But I’m not willing to make an offer on a house after a ten-minute viewing. I would need to see that property again at a different time of day.  I need to walk the block.  Feel out the neighbors, check crime stats. How close is the bank, the post office, a supermarket?  And how long will it take me to get to work.  The search continues.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Urban Cottage

I’ve finally moved into my first home.  I’m bursting with excitement and happiness to share all my design and décor ideas that I’ve been pinning from google images and home décor magazines for many years. I am now the proud owner of what I’m calling my “urban cottage”, a small three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch house in New York.  I’m so excited to make this home my dream home.   For the past several weeks the cottage has been under renovations. Within days after closing we realized that there was leaking behind a wall in one of the bedrooms (which wasn’t noted on the home inspection report).   Apparently, there was an issue with the gutters and instead of falling away from the house when it rained, the water was seeping through cracks in the brick façade. Thankfully we were able to identify the source quickly and fix it. Initially, the renovation work was estimated to take about five weeks, however it’s ended up at nine weeks. And as I’m writing this no...
Post a Comment
Read more

I bought a house!

This morning I woke at about 4:00 am and couldn’t return to sleep. I was too happy knowing that in just a few more hours I would get the keys to my new home.   All that was left to do was sign a bunch of papers and this charming home would be mine. Well, I didn’t get the keys to my new home. Last night was the final walk through and to my surprise the sellers were still in the home and hadn’t packed a single thing.   They informed me that they needed more time and that they hired movers who would haul away their belongings on Monday. What? I was trying to be super understanding so I smile and nodded. However, my internal voice was screaming. At the closing, my attorney tld me that I would be compensated for every day that the sellers remained in the home.   On Tuesday afternoon, I will meet the sellers at the home where I will complete another walk through and then will be provided with the keys. Still, I bought a house, a house that I will not have access to for se...
Post a Comment
Read more

Guest Bedroom Reveal!

I have a long to do list for my home. The problem is trying to priorities that to do list. Every item in my home was purchase, from the farmhouse chandeliers in the upstairs bedrooms to the doorknobs. All the door knobs. Furnishing a new home is quite expensive. Even though I am giddy and excited to get this home completely furniture and renovated, I have had to take a step back. I have had to just learn to live in a minimally furniture home.   I love it. I love the bare walls. I love the space.   I love the feel of not having clutter. On my last blog post, I showed some pictures of my kitchen and dining room, Today I want to share a few pictures from some of the other parts of the home. It's not perfect. I still need a dresser and a mirror but those will come in time.  In the meantime, this is what it looks like.
Post a Comment
Read more