House hunting makes me ... nauseous?
Mr. Speedy and I went to see two homes last night. The first was a total bust, as it was a case where the photos made it look far more desirable than it was in reality. But the second was mighty tempting, and by far the nicest home we've seen thus far.
It's an East York semi with a lot of the things we were looking for, including three decent sized bedrooms, a nice living space and dining area and room for all the video games in the partially finished basement. It's close to transit and appears to be in very good condition. As an added bonus, it's been lovingly, and stylishly, decorated. It's been on the market for a total of three days.
We really liked it. I pictured our furniture in it, and thought about coming home to it. But, here's the rub. We're nervous newbies. We weren't immediately ready to make an offer. We saw other people viewing it, but still hoped for a little time to mull it over, we we needed to make detailed pro-con lists and secure a slightly higher mortgage pre-approval.
In the meantime, there may be another offer coming in (though nothing definite yet), and I don't know if I'm ready! And, we're not so sure about getting into competition — it seems like an awfully nerve-wracking and stressful process, especially just before the long weekend!
The thought of buying makes me nervous and nauseous, but at the same time, I'd definitely be bummed to lose out on the property.
But, we also know that it's springtime, and lots of new properties are coming on the market all the time — so it's not like this is the only house we could ever buy.
So, we're going to need to make a decision, either to make an offer, forget about it, or play the waiting game. At this point, Mr. Speedy and I still don't know what we're going to choose!
Catch up on the home hunt:
How to know when the house is right?
Resources for first-time buyers
Finding Mr. or Mrs. Right ... Realtor, that is
Do you love it, and is it appropriately priced? If yes, then you might consider making an offer sooner rather than later. However, sleeping on it for a day or three may be a good thing. It might give you more time to learn more about the neighbourhood anyway. You can even speak with the neighbours to get a real feel of what the area is all about.
OTOH, if it's "just" the best you've seen out of a mediocre bunch, then that's not the same thing. There's a lot of "not bad" houses out there, or at least there will be eventually on the market.
Whatever the case, just try to avoid getting caught up in a bidding war, especially in this market.
Sorry for stating the obvious, but having been a newbie twice (first with a condo, then with a detached house), I know first hand how tempting it is to jump at the chance of putting down an offer on that "not bad" house, once you've seen umpteen worse ones.
Good luck!
P.S. Aren't you afraid your posts here will give the sellers' agents an advantage? ;)
Posted by: Eug | April 09, 2009 at 07:45 PM
if you find a home that you truly fall for....and see yourself in for years to come.....and know it is the "one"...(and you WILL know the feeling)....THAT....is when you act accordingly and SWIFTLY. throw the fear aside and do it when that happens...
lets face it...if you are seriously in the market, pre-approved and educated on what is out there you will STILL always feel scared when you actually do the offer....it comes with the territory of making a huge purchase or choice in life does it not?
i just sold my property (100% privately i might add) and two seperate couples who were very very interested last weekend told me wed and thursday they cant get it out of their mind...and want to make an offer....
sorry, i told them, it was sold.
to say they were both more than despondant and disappointed is an understatement...one even said "is it 100% unconditionally sold?" ..."we are willing to offer over asking...." (yes it was completely sold...drat!...lol...though i got 99% of asking so im ok with it....)
so they are now both kicking themselves...and both said it was easily the best house they have seen and knew they should have acted swiftly....never hurts to learn from other peoples mistakes...
if you have done your homework in your house hunt...when you see THE right house...move on it fast....and accept fear as part of the deal...
Posted by: greg johnson | April 10, 2009 at 11:39 AM