Homebuying Questions

[Richard Hakluyt]

Languish meet sounds good to me, we may have to wait a while though 

[Josquius]

Wow. Thats amazingly cheap for such a huge house. Looks nice too.

[Grey Fox]

Good offer there!

[crazy canuck]

That is a very nice place Meri!  In Vancouver that is 2+ million.  (Yes Valmy Canadian)

But the chances of you taking a quick trip up to see us when the border finally opens have will go down 

One piece of advice, you might want to remove that link so the internet data mining thingies do not know where you live if the sale goes through.  As we found out recently, this is not the most secure of sites.

[merithyn]

That is a very nice place Meri!  In Vancouver that is 2+ million.  (Yes Valmy Canadian)

But the chances of you taking a quick trip up to see us when the border finally opens have will go down 

Yes, but now I have an excuse to just go straight to Vancouver instead of having to bother with the whole Portland/Seattle thing. Which I will be doing.

One piece of advice, you might want to remove that link so the internet data mining thingies do not know where you live if the sale goes through.  As we found out recently, this is not the most secure of sites.

Good call.

[merithyn]

They've countered.

Offer: $205,000, no closing costs, $2000 earnest money, no more than $500 repairs, and furniture is for sale if I want to pay for it.

They've had a previous buyer back out due to an issue of water in the basement found during an inspection, but they didn't disclose anything else to me.

I think I want to offer $210,000 plus they cover closing costs, $1000 earnest money, $500 max in repairs, and the furniture.

Thoughts?

[Valmy]

That sounds like a reasonable response. You have moved a lot in their direction. It has been on the market for awhile and they would be foolish to turn it down IMO.

But I am not a realtor 

[crazy canuck]

They've countered.

Offer: $205,000, no closing costs, $2000 earnest money, no more than $500 repairs, and furniture is for sale if I want to pay for it.

They've had a previous buyer back out due to an issue of water in the basement found during an inspection, but they didn't disclose anything else to me.

I think I want to offer $210,000 plus they cover closing costs, $1000 earnest money, $500 max in repairs, and the furniture.

Thoughts?

There may be a typo there.  Why are you counter offering more money?  Also, don't mess with the deposit as part of the counter if there is no doubt you are going to close.

[Barrister]

They've countered.

Offer: $205,000, no closing costs, $2000 earnest money, no more than $500 repairs, and furniture is for sale if I want to pay for it.

They've had a previous buyer back out due to an issue of water in the basement found during an inspection, but they didn't disclose anything else to me.

I think I want to offer $210,000 plus they cover closing costs, $1000 earnest money, $500 max in repairs, and the furniture.

Thoughts?

Wait - you're going to offer more than they're asking for?  Is that right?

How much are closing costs, and what do you think the furniture is worth?

Trying to match what you're thinking, I'd be tempted to match their last offer but include the furniture.

I'd also be worried about the water in the basement.  If that's a problem it is not a cheap or easy fix.

[merithyn]

I'm offering more for two reasons: One, I need them to cover the $7000 closing costs, and two, I want the furniture.

So, by offering $210,000, I'm asking them to cover $2000 of the closing costs and give me the furniture for free.

cc, I'm not sure that I can come up with $2000 in a week for the earnest money right before I move across the country. Hence, my request to lower it to $1000.

[merithyn]

They've countered.

Offer: $205,000, no closing costs, $2000 earnest money, no more than $500 repairs, and furniture is for sale if I want to pay for it.

They've had a previous buyer back out due to an issue of water in the basement found during an inspection, but they didn't disclose anything else to me.

I think I want to offer $210,000 plus they cover closing costs, $1000 earnest money, $500 max in repairs, and the furniture.

Thoughts?

Wait - you're going to offer more than they're asking for?  Is that right?

How much are closing costs, and what do you think the furniture is worth?

Trying to match what you're thinking, I'd be tempted to match their last offer but include the furniture.

I'd also be worried about the water in the basement.  If that's a problem it is not a cheap or easy fix.

The water in the basement... we saw this on the walk-through, and we inspected where and why the water was coming in. It's clearly because of the stone wall that was built around the patio outside. The stone connection caused an issue. It will likely require a good bit of effort, but it shouldn't be an expensive fix. I've corrected issues like that in the past, plus I have several friends in that area that are contractor who will do me a solid on prices to fix.

There's a risk, of course, but I think it's worth it. The house is on high ground and a slope, so running the water away from the house won't be a major issue.

[Grey Fox]

Imo, they are showing they need 200k in their pocket for the sale to happen.

[merithyn]

Imo, they are showing they need 200k in their pocket for the sale to happen.

They're selling the house at nearly a loss. They bought it at $199,000 seven years ago.

EDIT: They bought it $262,000 eight years ago.

[Barrister]

I'm offering more for two reasons: One, I need them to cover the $7000 closing costs, and two, I want the furniture.

So, by offering $210,000, I'm asking them to cover $2000 of the closing costs and give me the furniture for free.

cc, I'm not sure that I can come up with $2000 in a week for the earnest money right before I move across the country. Hence, my request to lower it to $1000.

How much of the price are you getting financing for?

[crazy canuck]

I'm offering more for two reasons: One, I need them to cover the $7000 closing costs, and two, I want the furniture.

So, by offering $210,000, I'm asking them to cover $2000 of the closing costs and give me the furniture for free.

cc, I'm not sure that I can come up with $2000 in a week for the earnest money right before I move across the country. Hence, my request to lower it to $1000.

Makes sense.