Jayna78
03-08-2005, 03:41 AM
Any advice on the process of buying a house for the first time?
We're currently renting in St. Louis County, MO. We've been renting this house since July 2003 when we moved here. We're ready to purchase our first home, and while we'd love to stay in St. Louis County, closer to everything, we may not, b/c we can get more house for our money (and newer houses) out in St. Charles County, MO, which is to the north and west of us. We'll see.
We're really mad b/c we made our first official offer this weekend, on a 7-year-old vaulted-ceiling ranch home with an unfinished basement, a great master suite, and a killer wrap-around deck in St. Louis County. We offered full price and asked that they neutralize a couple of walls that are very bright and crazy (used to be little girls' bedrooms), but that we'd take care of the rest of the house (crazy busy wallpaper that needs to go!). We also asked for them to replace the carpet, or help us do so, b/c there was lots of wear & tear from the 2 kids, dogs and cats that lived there - there was also a rip in the master bedroom carpet. Anyway, we saw all kinds of potential in the house, and our realtor showed us cost comparisons of similar homes selling in the area, and because this one's basement needs finishing, it was a really good price they asked, and that's why we agreed to pay that price.
They countered our offer, saying they wouldn't help with the carpet (well, that's one thing - we could deal with doing that ourselves, if needed), and they raised the price $3000, and they also said that we had to cover the closing costs - they claimed the $3000 they were raising the price to was going to help them with closing costs, when in actuality, we would be having the loan taken out for an amount $3000 higher than the house listed for, as well as having to cover the other part of the closing costs on top of our down payment, which is just NOT doable, and not fair - if they wanted that much for it, that should've been their asking price. Gotta love aggressive, arrogant, young jerky real estate agents. Our agent thought they were crazy - she's been great - everyone we've talked to thinks these people are nuts. We'll see. We countered that we will take care of all the interior repairs that are needed, but we won't be paying closing costs, and we'll pay the price they asked for the house in the first place. They of course said no. These people are just jerky and stupid. They'll find out that other people aren't going to be stupid and duped into paying more than asking price either, and they'll be sorry they missed out on us.
It's been a stressful process so far, but I guess we got our first house offer out of the way. Anyone have any sage advice about buying a home?
We're currently renting in St. Louis County, MO. We've been renting this house since July 2003 when we moved here. We're ready to purchase our first home, and while we'd love to stay in St. Louis County, closer to everything, we may not, b/c we can get more house for our money (and newer houses) out in St. Charles County, MO, which is to the north and west of us. We'll see.
We're really mad b/c we made our first official offer this weekend, on a 7-year-old vaulted-ceiling ranch home with an unfinished basement, a great master suite, and a killer wrap-around deck in St. Louis County. We offered full price and asked that they neutralize a couple of walls that are very bright and crazy (used to be little girls' bedrooms), but that we'd take care of the rest of the house (crazy busy wallpaper that needs to go!). We also asked for them to replace the carpet, or help us do so, b/c there was lots of wear & tear from the 2 kids, dogs and cats that lived there - there was also a rip in the master bedroom carpet. Anyway, we saw all kinds of potential in the house, and our realtor showed us cost comparisons of similar homes selling in the area, and because this one's basement needs finishing, it was a really good price they asked, and that's why we agreed to pay that price.
They countered our offer, saying they wouldn't help with the carpet (well, that's one thing - we could deal with doing that ourselves, if needed), and they raised the price $3000, and they also said that we had to cover the closing costs - they claimed the $3000 they were raising the price to was going to help them with closing costs, when in actuality, we would be having the loan taken out for an amount $3000 higher than the house listed for, as well as having to cover the other part of the closing costs on top of our down payment, which is just NOT doable, and not fair - if they wanted that much for it, that should've been their asking price. Gotta love aggressive, arrogant, young jerky real estate agents. Our agent thought they were crazy - she's been great - everyone we've talked to thinks these people are nuts. We'll see. We countered that we will take care of all the interior repairs that are needed, but we won't be paying closing costs, and we'll pay the price they asked for the house in the first place. They of course said no. These people are just jerky and stupid. They'll find out that other people aren't going to be stupid and duped into paying more than asking price either, and they'll be sorry they missed out on us.
It's been a stressful process so far, but I guess we got our first house offer out of the way. Anyone have any sage advice about buying a home?