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house hunting blues

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Started 8 months ago by leftovers
Latest reply from Twixlen

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leftovers

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My wife and I are a young couple who have been casually looking for a home for the past several months. We recently found a bank foreclosure home that seemed to be perfect for our needs but being new to the realestate market we did not understand the process (it was a hud home and we did not know they auctioned everything). By the time we got in touch with a realtor to show us the house it was already out to bid. It went quickly. My wife has been crushed by this.

Since then, every house we look at in Columbus has been compared to this house we did not get. I think we broke the cardinal rule of not becoming emotionally attached to a house you are interested in buying.

I am trying to cheer her up and I realize that there are a ton of houses for sale in Columbus. Do any of you have house hunting redemption stories you could share where you found the perfect home after the 'perfect one' got away?

The plus side of this is we now understand the process of buying a foreclosure 100% more then we used to, though we have been kicking ourselves over that education.

Posted 8 months ago #
ChrisSunami
King-Lincoln District
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My wife and I looked for about a year and had our hearts broken over several "perfect" houses that we didn't get. But we ended up with a house that was super-cheap, in great condition, and in an up-and-coming neighborhood. Even including property taxes, our mortgage payment for our beautiful 3 bedroom KLD house is less than rent for the cheapest apartments.

So don't fret. Just be patient, and don't allow yourselves to rush into anything. This is still a buyers' market, and great stuff is available all over town. I just wish we had the money to buy more properties as investments.

Posted 8 months ago #
AmyD
Columbus, Ohio
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We have been through this many times as well. We even bid 1k over the asking price of a home once and were out-bid. It was 2004. Things were different.

There is always another house. We actually stay away from any house in which the seller says tons of other people are interested and we need to act quickly. There's always something else.

We are always more satisfied when we take our time.

Posted 8 months ago #
mrsgeedeck
Castle of Lions
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My husband and I fell into a similar situation. We were casually looking, fell in love, only to find out the seller accepted another (lower) offer hours before we'd submitted ours--after our agent had notified them an offer was pending.
We spent the next three! years looking at houses, placing offers and running into issues. We've got a basketful of house hunting horror stories, including one in which the seller wasn't prepared for how fast their house sold and created this wonky contract in which we'd close on X date, but they'd retain possession for a month after and pay us rent while they looked for a house. BUT if they didn't find a place in that amount of time they could void the contract. Needless to say, a year later and that place was back on the market.
We finally found a place this summer and I can honestly say it was worth the wait, stress, and near misses. Looking back at the first place we looked at, and comparing it to the house we actually bought, I feel like we got a better home in the end.

To add to Amy's advice, things may have changed a bit with the market in the state it is now, but I found seller's who hadn't even started packing to be a bit more difficult to work/negotiate with. So make sure you're working with someone that legitimately wants to sell, and sell at what their house is worth.

Posted 8 months ago #
tourist19
Merion Village
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I was in contract with a HUD when my (ex)Realtor failed to file an extension on time. This caused me to fall out of contract and HUD to place the house back up for bid. By the time I figured all this out it was too late to re-bid and the house was in contract with someone else. I had put my heart into that house even though it needed a TON of work, so I was crushed. I took a house hunting break for a month or so, found a new much better Realtor and then started looking again. A few months later I found a much much better house, really the most perfect house I could have imagined, and somehow got it for $20K less than the asking price. So 1) keep on looking, you will find something better and 2) if you're going HUD make sure you have a Realtor who knows what they are doing. Ask them home many HUD deals they have done, if you're going 203K make sure they understand that it takes longer and several extensions may be needed, make sure you really really trust them to not screw it all up.

Posted 8 months ago #
berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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Honey and I went through MANY ups and downs and getting our current home was no walk in the park. Keep at it and keep an open mind. there is no such thing as a perfect house but you can create your ideal home.

Posted 8 months ago #
leftovers

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Thank you everyone!

We are slowly learning the ups and downs, hopefully we will find the right house soon. This forum has been a great help in our search.

Posted 8 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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leftovers said:
This forum has been a great help in our search.

Good to hear! :D

What neighborhood(s) are you looking in?

We just started a new "be my neighbor" series, but we're only two neighborhoods into it. ;)

http://www.columbusunderground.com/tag/be-my-neighbor

Posted 8 months ago #
leftovers

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Walker said:

What neighborhood(s) are you looking in?

We started looking in Weinland Park as that seems like a pretty up and coming nieghborhood and it is hard to beat for proximity to a lot of things, but there seems to be a lot of competition for homes there at the moment and few HUDs or REO foreclosures.

We are now looking more toward Merion Village, Franklinton and the Hilltop as there seem to be more options for first time buyers in those nieghborhoods. Though everytime I read something about a particular nieghborhood on CU I get interested and wonder what it would be like to live there!

Posted 8 months ago #
SusanB
Hungarian Village, Columbus' fastest growing Gayborhood!
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Hungarian Village homes for sale:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/348-E-Hinman-Ave-Columbus-OH-43207/33825262_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-list-address}

This one is a screaming deal for someone who is handy.

Hungarian Village homes for sale:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/314-E-Hinman-Ave-Columbus-OH-43207/33854171_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-list-address}

I know of several others, depending on how handy you are.

Posted 8 months ago #
labi
Weinland Park
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If you're interested in Weinland Park, keep your eyes open. A friend just bought a foreclosed brick double today for $12,000... it was apparently going to be auctioned tomorrow. Another option (as you probably know) would be to talk to Wagenbrenner about some of the subsidized gut-rehabs. For what it's worth...

Posted 8 months ago #
ChrisSunami
King-Lincoln District
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Since we moved into the King-Lincoln district 2 years ago, we've seen a large amount of renovation and home rehabilitation just on our street alone, and our property value is quite a bit up from what we paid. This is a good place to be if you want an older home at a great price in a transitioning neighborhood.

Posted 8 months ago #
KingLincolnUrbanEnthusiast

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Lots of good values in King Lincoln District and Olde Towne East if you haven't looked over here I would highly recommend it - good values, upside and architecture - good luck!

Posted 8 months ago #
Likes Old Houses
Harrison West
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Damn, $12,000 for a double, I got to get me one of those! Opportunities abound for those who are able to make quick decisions. I like this place:
http://columbus.craigslist.org/reb/2572661373.html

Posted 8 months ago #
murfmurphy
Westgate
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There are quite a few houses in Westgate for sale. One in particular is coming up on Powhatan. There is a little old lady who lives there now, and she is looking to move into a independent living facility. She's owned the house for probably 30 years or more. The house next to her sold for $120,000 with two bedrooms. I'm guessing it's going to need some love, but she has taken good care of it in the 4 years that we've lived near her. Plus she has some awesome across the street neighbors, but I'm a little biased.

Posted 8 months ago #
SusanB
Hungarian Village, Columbus' fastest growing Gayborhood!
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http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/205-E-Hinman-Ave-Columbus-OH-43207/33840848_zpid/#{scid=hdp-site-map-list-address}

This one needs some cosmetic love, but overall very solid. Great neighbors too! So cheap, you could buy it on a credit card.

Posted 8 months ago #
Twixlen
Westgate, Columbus
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murfmurphy said:
There are quite a few houses in Westgate for sale. One in particular is coming up on Powhatan. There is a little old lady who lives there now, and she is looking to move into a independent living facility. She's owned the house for probably 30 years or more. The house next to her sold for $120,000 with two bedrooms. I'm guessing it's going to need some love, but she has taken good care of it in the 4 years that we've lived near her. Plus she has some awesome across the street neighbors, but I'm a little biased.

Huh! You live just down the street from me!!

This is the house Murph is mentioning - it's huge - http://www.realliving.com/HER/OH/Columbus/43204/homes-for-sale/150-Powhatan-Ave-65603143/popup

There's another, just down the street that's a short sale for $90K.

If you keep at it, you'll find something that's right.

Posted 8 months ago #