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Me and the old lady are starting to look at houses to buy. Prices are down, and we have to move anyway, so it seems like the right time. I have been looking at houses nonstop for the last week. There is a house that I have noticed many times, in neighborhood we like. It is obviously vacant, and has been for some time. I did a little investigating, and came up with the owners name, and current address. Would I be out of line to send him a letter asking if he was interested in selling the place? I figured a letter would be more professional, and less annoying than a phone call.
Opinions? Feedback?
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Carl, a question comes to mind...Do you have a realtor helping you?? the reason I ask this is because realtors do not charge the buyers for helping them find homes. They make money from the sellers. They could do all the leg work for you (calls, contracts, escrowing of monies, apraisals of what similar homes are selling in the area). You may first want to talk to the neighbors around the place you are considering to see if they might know the owner and could give you some direction as to his/her intentions of selling the property. That said...If you choose to go it alone (without realtor) I believe a phone call would get you the best results. If you send a letter, and the owner is not interested, he/she may just disregard the letter and you could be waiting a long time for a reply. Good luck and I pray that I may have beenof assistance.
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You want...NEED...a buyer's agent!
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If you like the place you have nothing to lose by calling the person. The worse they can do is hang up on you.. You could also check with the town to see if the taxes are paid and up to date as that is a matter of public record.
I wouldn't call a realtor about that particular house as this could be between you and the potential seller.
However, going to a relator to help you find places is not a bad idea.
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Carl my pug brother. As being in the Real Estate business for the past 14 years WOW I'm old yes since i was 18(ah to be young again) you could go at it however you prefer because the property is not listed on the market at this time I am assuming. If you have the owners number and you really really like that house I would just call him and talk business. That way you will get a quicker answer since you said you have to move anyways, so I assume time is of the essence. Plus it shows your not a tire kicker.
As for buyers/sellers agents in the end they are glorified sales personally they both want to close and make a profit. With that being said yes a buyers agent will be good to have just make sure you dont put a 100% trust in them, they only show you a portion of the market that is out there. I personally would always use my attorney in a big transaction even if there is a buyers agent.
If I were you i would def. buy for location and not house, you can always change the house. If you have a little time on your side get a agent to find you houses since you will not have full access to MLS without one(shows history of active/sales on each house with gives you ideas on what to offer, problems etc etc). Tell them where you wanna live and you wanna see pre-foreclosures, foreclosures and short sales. I say this because there is good deals to be had. And you can put in multiple offers until one grabs and get the deal of a lifetime. Do they take sometime yes but motion creates a motion.
As we all know I sold my house over a year ago and my family is stuck in our 2nd apartment in the last 14months(not a bad apt, private garage, personal laundry, etc etc). I am ok with this though and so is my wife and kids, I am holding off for the RIGHT house I will pull the trigger when i find one that is 35-40% under what I know it will be worth 3-5 years down the line. How can one predict what the market will be like 3-5 years? Well first off you cant but if you do your research and BUY FOR THE LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION you should be pretty much in the ball park. Which in the end makes your liquid.
Ok that'll be 10 padron 80th or $300 cash for my time. HAHAHA I'm kidding.
Carl my pug brother you have my number anytime you wanna chat about Real Estate just give me a text or a call.
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(04-13-2010, 04:41 PM)carl609 Wrote: Would I be out of line to send him a letter asking if he was interested in selling the place?
You would absolutely NOT be out of line to send him a letter. A gentleman in my office has been flipping houses for two years now, and has done this on plenty of occasions.
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(04-13-2010, 05:49 PM)CigarJohn Wrote: Carl my pug brother. As being in the Real Estate business for the past 14 years WOW I'm old yes since i was 18(ah to be young again) you could go at it however you prefer because the property is not listed on the market at this time I am assuming. If you have the owners number and you really really like that house I would just call him and talk business. That way you will get a quicker answer since you said you have to move anyways, so I assume time is of the essence. Plus it shows your not a tire kicker.
As for buyers/sellers agents in the end they are glorified sales personally they both want to close and make a profit. With that being said yes a buyers agent will be good to have just make sure you dont put a 100% trust in them, they only show you a portion of the market that is out there. I personally would always use my attorney in a big transaction even if there is a buyers agent.
If I were you i would def. buy for location and not house, you can always change the house. If you have a little time on your side get a agent to find you houses since you will not have full access to MLS without one(shows history of active/sales on each house with gives you ideas on what to offer, problems etc etc). Tell them where you wanna live and you wanna see pre-foreclosures, foreclosures and short sales. I say this because there is good deals to be had. And you can put in multiple offers until one grabs and get the deal of a lifetime. Do they take sometime yes but motion creates a motion.
As we all know I sold my house over a year ago and my family is stuck in our 2nd apartment in the last 14months(not a bad apt, private garage, personal laundry, etc etc). I am ok with this though and so is my wife and kids, I am holding off for the RIGHT house I will pull the trigger when i find one that is 35-40% under what I know it will be worth 3-5 years down the line. How can one predict what the market will be like 3-5 years? Well first off you cant but if you do your research and BUY FOR THE LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION you should be pretty much in the ball park. Which in the end makes your liquid.
Ok that'll be 10 padron 80th or $300 cash for my time. HAHAHA I'm kidding.
Carl my pug brother you have my number anytime you wanna chat about Real Estate just give me a text or a call.
+1
I would call - you don't know how long it will take to respond to a letter and in order to get the home buyer tax credits, you have to have a signed contract on or before April 30 and close by June 30.
Have you started shopping for a mortgage? If you want to buy, and show a seller how serious you are, you may want to get pre-qualified for a mortgage.
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Thanks for all the feedback guys. I am in the works with a mortgage broker right now, just waiting on him to get back to me. We do have to move out of the place we are in, but we have until August, so it isnt a super time crunch. I was looking at rentals at first, but for the money, I want to buy instead. To get into a rental in the area we want, its going to cost around $5000. First, last, deposit, and most people want and extra deposit for the dogs. Finding a rental with two dogs over 100 pounds is a challenge.
The house I am interested is mostly for the location. It is probably going to need a bit of work judging by the outside, and who knows whats inside, but as long as it is liveable, I dont care. I can do the work as time and money allow. It is a pretty big house, in a GREAT neighborhood. I am looking at it as a stepping stone to get into that dream home if I ever find it.
The original plan was to buy the old ladys grandmas place, but she isnt ready to move yet. It is a 3 bed rambler on and acre, and not that far from the city. I am picturing a big shop in the back yard, and a nice garden to boot. Time will tell I guess, and everything is in a holding pattern until I hear from the broker.
As far as an agent goes, well...... I know I will get better access to listings with one. I bought a house a few years back, my first house, and I was a little too trusting. I now know that the agent is not out for me, at all. I jumped in way to fast, and way too deep. But, as my dad always told me, "An education costs money."
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