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

I'm Still Here

When I started this blog a year ago, I was in contract on a two bedroom cooperative in Brooklyn, NY. I was very enthusiastic about getting the property and I started planning my design strategies. A year later after being denied by the coop board for the property, I have taken a bit of a break from my home search. I will still update the blog from time to time. However, I am less enthusiastic about the property search and haven't really seen a coop that grabs my attention like that first apartment did. There are certain things that I do not want to compromise on such as location, price and bedroom space. I haven't become a homeowner just yet but I haven't lost all hope of that happening. It just may take a longer time and I'm ok with that.
Post a Comment
Read more

Money, Money, Money

Home-buying can be emotionally draining and stressful process. More than the process of searching for a home, making an offer, waiting for the seller to accept or counter your offer and then applying for a mortgage, I’m finding the financial to be the most stressful of all. For years, I have diligently saved and deprived myself certain luxuries in the hopes that I would someday become a homeowner. But now here I am writing the check for down payment, handing over what took me the greater part of two and a half years to accumulate. And then after that, there is the closing cost which is another huge chunk of change. As we get closer to the closing day, I find myself in a mini-panic. The money that I’m using to pay for my down payment and closing cost could actually afford me a three-bedroom, one bath with a finished basement and back yard in Pennsylvania. I could have bought a home in Pennsylvania for cash! It’s a little vexing that as a first-time home buyer in Brooklyn, NY, my home
Post a Comment
Read more

Choosing Paint Colors and Patterns

I’m always impressed by the way that furniture stores layout furniture. The photo above was taken at a Macy’s furniture store a few years ago.  The brass bed frame, dark wood armoire and end tables are all part of the Martha Stewart Turkey Hill collection. At the time this photo was taken, this was the look that I wanted for my dream bedroom.  My tastes have changed ( for the better I hope), but I still like the gray blue color on the wall. Over the last few days, I have been thinking a lot about paint colors. I thought, I had finally decided on a light blue paint color for the living room. But then I changed my mind. I have narrowed it down to the following: This is the sky light view paint from Valspar. It was my first choose but then I thought maybe I should try something darker. This is the twin cities paint. Then I wanted something blue and found this Silver Dusk color I like patterns and I have been thinking about doing a stenciled accent wall in the livi
Post a Comment
Read more