Selling house, low-ball offer received, need advice - long

[Buckeye]

I'll bet they extend it because the economy still sucks and the fed will need the housing market to recover before the economy makes any kind of good upward ticks. My son just closed on his house in Naples, FL. and he said it was a nightmare dealing with the bank/mortgage company. After the closing was finalized, my son had a conversation with the loan dept mgr who disclosed to him that he was lucky to get the loan when he did as banks in general just aren't interested in lending money right now.
Reminded him about the $8000 tax break but he informs me he won't get that much because his salary is too high. He estimates $5500-$6000.
The tax break is reduced if you make over $72k. Think that was the number.

Best wishes on your upcoming closing.

We must be really lucky out here in the cornfields. Our refi went through in less than 30 days and the kids went to the credit union 2 weeks ago with the sales contract so the deal will take a total of 4 weeks. I think the deal for their house took a total of 5 weeks but their buyers were waiting for some special grant money from the state of OH.

Money being lent left and right out here.

 

[Buckeye]

Sold!

Closed yesterday at 5 pm. Kids closed on their house just before closing on ours. All went very smooth. We got a check for about $26,000. Less than half our down-payment of $60,000 but that's the way it goes. I wasn't complaining when my 850 square foot Sacramento rental house sold for $210,000 in October 2004.

Had a 3-day garage sale and made almost $800. Will pick up the U-Haul on Monday, loading labor coming Tuesday to load the heavy stuff, and hope to be heading to FL on Wednesday. Unloading labor coming Saturday morning at the apartment.

140 days on the market. Final sale price was $240,000 with a 2% commission to the buyers' agent (who actually did help get the deal done).

 

[Bestwifeever]

Congratulations!!! It was so interesting to read this thread as your story unfolded--thanks for posting all the updates.

 

[clifp]

Congratulations and it was an interesting thread, it looks like you'll miss spending another winter in Ohio.

Still I find it revealing that the original "lowball" offer of 232K was virtually the same as the final price of 240K less a 2% buyer commission. But it didn't cost you to much in terms of time to wait for the second and better offer. On the other hand it is scary to see that house, professional appraised at 270K by a couple of sources, and owned by a person who is experienced in real estate and not particularly motivated to sell, eventually ended up being sold 15% below the appraised price of six months ago.

 

[DangerMouse]

Congrats and have to say nice attitude as many forget their winners as they are too busy complaining about their losers. Enjoy moving onto Florida and the new adventure of finding somewhere to live.

 

[Buckeye]

On the other hand it is scary to see that house, professional appraised at 270K by a couple of sources, and owned by a person who is experienced in real estate and not particularly motivated to sell, eventually ended up being sold 15% below the appraised price of six months ago.

I think we would be have to be classified as motivated sellers. There was no reason we couldn't have hung out here for quite awhile waiting for a more qualified buyer. We hadn't purchased or rented another place to live and we didn't have to move for a job and we had just refinanced to drop our payments $200 per month and fix the rate for 3 years.We just wanted to get on with the next phase of our lives. It would not be unusual for it to have taken up to a year to sell this house, even in a good market, because of the sheer lack of qualified buyers.

Both the cash couple and the couple who bought the home were in their very early 30's and not in their prime earning years. We figured we could do better if we waited but life is too short which one of our neighbors demonstrated last winter when he dropped over dead of a heart attack at 28 years old. It really felt right for these kids to buy the house. One might expect we are bummed about selling so low but we aren't. We can actually stand back and be happy for the kids to have purchased such a beautiful home at such a young age. By closing this door, we allow the next one to open to reveal whatever great adventure is next!

My calculation is we sold for about 90% of the February appraised value ($240,000/$268,000) or 89% of the May appraisal ($240,000/$270,000).

 

[Maurice]

Congrats, Buckeye. Good luck with the move!

 

[tryan]

You'll make up any losses on the buy side in FL ... renting for a year should help even more. Congrats!

 

[Buckeye]

You'll make up any losses on the buy side in FL ... renting for a year should help even more. Congrats!

We are very hesitant to buy in FL until the insurance mess gets straightened out. IMO, the rates must be allowed to increase to cover the true risk. USAA coming back to the state will be an indication it might be safe to buy, and insure, a house. The other option is to build a house that will withstand a Cat 5 hurricane so we won't be trying to recover from bankrupt insurance companies (including Citizens) after the storm. Bunker? Geodesic dome?

 

[MichaelB]

Buckeye, I was reluctant to say anything 'till now - to not jinx anything. Congratulations on selling your house and welcome to sunny Florida. Anything at all we can do, please don't hesitate to ask.

We are very hesitant to buy in FL until the insurance mess gets straightened out. IMO, the rates must be allowed to increase to cover the true risk. USAA coming back to the state will be an indication it might be safe to buy, and insure, a house. The other option is to build a house that will withstand a Cat 5 hurricane so we won't be trying to recover from bankrupt insurance companies (including Citizens) after the storm. Bunker? Geodesic dome?

While there doesn't seem to be any reason to buy immediately, if you wait 'till the insurance mess gets fixed you many never buy.

Over the next year or so, however, you may find so much to choose from that you can get a well built well located house in a lower risk area that suits your needs. IIRC '02 was the latest update in building specs.

 

[Buckeye]

Buckeye, I was reluctant to say anything 'till now - to not jinx anything. Congratulations on selling your house and welcome to sunny Florida. Anything at all we can do, please don't hesitate to ask.

While there doesn't seem to be any reason to buy immediately, if you wait 'till the insurance mess gets fixed you many never buy.

Over the next year or so, however, you may find so much to choose from that you can get a well built well located house in a lower risk area that suits your needs. IIRC '02 was the latest update in building specs.

Thanks, MichaelB.

Yes, finding a well-constructed home is another concern. When we lived in Orlando and Lakeland in 2001-2004, we watched houses go up using labor that qualified for a job if they fogged a mirror. We definitely want a house with the latest code updates but we'll have to confirm the quality. The house we had in Lakeland was a gem because it was built by a custom builder who was just starting out. The initial owner was an engineer so he was all over them while it was going up. Solid and beautiful.

Lower hurricane risk would be staying in OH. We got 3 of the 4 2004 hurricanes in Lakeland. One hadn't hit the area in 44 years and then 3 in one year!

 

[Westernskies]

Buckeye,
Congratulations on the sale finally closing; It's never over until it's over... This was a great thread; nice to see it ended with sucessful closure. All the best to you in your new locale.
WS

 

[Buckeye]

Technically, it's not over as we did not get our settlement check because the lawyer's assistant didn't properly credit the sellers' deposit which was being held by auntie realtor. By the time we were closing afer 5 pm on Friday, the office help had gone home. Anna Mae will rerun the paperwork on Monday morning and we'll go pick up our check. The payoffs have already been sent.

Here's a funny story from the closing. Our neighbor brought over a beautiful London Fog wool topcoat to sell at our garage sale, 44L. He wanted $20 but would take $10 but we couldn't find a buyer. Sitting at the closing table, my husband looks over at Joe the CU president and mortgage guy and says, "I bet you're a 44L." Joe says he is and tells us he'll be over to the house Saturday morning to see the coat. He and his wife show up Saturday, he tries on the coat, she approves (it looked great on him), and he gets a new topcoat for $10 after having his other one for 19 years!

 

[Buckeye]

Over 1000 miles later, we now live in FL again. Thank you DH for driving the U-Haul truck. My job driving my car with kitty cat and listening to "books on CD" was so much easier. Much work remaining fitting the contents of the truck into the apartment. Pros coming on Sat am to help fit it all into second floor apartment.

 

[MichaelB]

Hey! Welcome to

sunny Florida - just in time for hurricane weather!

Have you decided where you're going to live, or just looking to kick around a bit and give it some time?

 

[W2R]

Over 1000 miles later, we now live in FL again. Thank you DH for driving the U-Haul truck. My job driving my car with kitty cat and listening to "books on CD" was so much easier. Much work remaining fitting the contents of the truck into the apartment. Pros coming on Sat am to help fit it all into second floor apartment.

Congratulations!!! You DID it! You sold your house, and completed the cross-country move, and now your plans have become your reality. I am so happy for you. Have fun exploring Florida!

 

[Bestwifeever]

Keep updating this th read, Buckeye--it's very educational!

Don't forget to get your car licensed before the fees go up on 9/1 (see how much I've learned from your posts?)

 

[Buckeye]

Hey! Welcome to

sunny Florida - just in time for hurricane weather!

Have you decided where you're going to live, or just looking to kick around a bit and give it some time?

We rented an apartment in Largo. We picked Largo because we are close to the Gulf and close to the company I interviewed with about 6 weeks ago when we were down visiting friends in St. Pete. At some point, I will email the company recruiter and let her know I am now in town and not 1000 miles away. She knew we were coming with or without a job offer so I'm pretty sure she figured it would be much cheaper for them to take the next step when I was local. The interviews went well so there is the possibility of working in one of four different departments once a position opened up. It might take me awhile to locate here email address.

 

[Buckeye]

Keep updating this th read, Buckeye--it's very educational!

Don't forget to get your car licensed before the fees go up on 9/1 (see how much I've learned from your posts?)

We went to the licensing place today and although it was packed, it only took us 45 minutes to get in front of a clerk. I think the wait was up to 3 hours by the end of the day. Unfortunately, the servers were crashing due to the high demand so we got an appt. for Monday and left. Later in the afternoon, we figured we would try it again. The clerk at the desk forced an immediate appointment for us because she remembered we had been there earlier in the day. It took 45 minutes to process two new titles and registrations because the servers were moving very slowly.

The best news is we didn't have to pay the $100 fee (increasing to $225) because we had had two cars previously titled in FL. We were able to transfer those two registrations to our current vehicles. We spent about $225 today for plates and two 2-year registrations but it would have been $425 if we hadn't lived here before!

Moving labor coming tomorrow morning at 7:30 to empty the U-Haul. We moved a few things today but left the heavy stuff for the pros. I hope the bedroom furniture can actually get into the bedrooms! It's going to get interesting. We also rented a storage unit to handle the overflow (DH rolling tool box) and things that just won't fit. The kitchen is SMALL!!!

But it's all okay. We are happy to be in FL.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Hey Buckeye, welcome to Florida. I'll bet the moving guys were happy when they showed up and found out they were hauling your stuff up two flights of stairs. Smart having that done. Best wishes on getting settled.

 

[Moemg]

Welcome to Florida !
The last time I closed on a house the people knew I was a widow so the husband tried to get me to include all the tools and a huge ladder . He was a giant pain and I almost cancelled the sale . I think they were surprised when I showed up and was a lot younger than them .

 

[heyduke]

Buckeye please keep us updated as my wife and I are looking to buy in Florida as well and can learn through your experiences...(live vicariously....)

 

[Buckeye]

Hey Buckeye, welcome to Florida. I'll bet the moving guys were happy when they showed up and found out they were hauling your stuff up two flights of stairs. Smart having that done. Best wishes on getting settled.

It was HOT and HUMID yesterday (Oh, that's right...we live in FL now!) and those two guys worked their tails off. I'd warned them when I made the reservation about the stairs and the two turns to get to our front door. We gave them cold water, towels to wipe the sweat, ice packs from the freezer to stick on their necks when they took a break (which we insisted they do) and a hefty tip. They said they would be happy to move us anytime!

The move cost about $3000 when the cost of the packing materials, 26' U-Haul for 5 days, gas for driving two cars and a truck, two hotel nights (one for the first car trip and one for the car and truck trip), return flight for first car trip, loading labor, and unloading labor is totalled. I suppose that's about 40-50% of what a professional move would have cost to move our household good and 2 cars 1,000+ miles. It was a lot of work and I'm kind of amazed we did it when I think about it.

Except for the boxes stacked in the kitchen, almost all of the boxes have been emptied. I have to purchase some sort of storage device to put in the kitchen because of the limited cabinets and drawers. A few rub marks and a couple of scratches on the furniture but all in all, it went very well. The cat rode with me and with the help of a half tablet of homeopathic sleep aid each day, she slept almost the entire trip. She's a trooper!

 

[Buckeye]

Hey Buckeye, welcome to Florida. I'll bet the moving guys were happy when they showed up and found out they were hauling your stuff up two flights of stairs. Smart having that done. Best wishes on getting settled.

Hiring the moving labor on both ends (loading and unloading) was the only way to make it through this move. Another good effect was the guys on both ends haven't been working much lately and really appreciated having some work. $225 to load (including good tip) and $225 to unload (including good tip). Money well spent!

The loaders worked twice as long as they unloaders but they were hired "direct" (referred by a moving company I called) and the unloaders were through a service. On the loading side, they had to unload the 17' truck and transfer a bunch of stuff to a 26' truck when it became obvious that wifey was right after all and we needed a 26' truck to fit everything. DH and I kept arguing about how big a truck to rent and husband (and U-Haul guy) wore me down. I knew in my gut we needed the larger truck so I should have just been a b*tch and said "this is what we were getting" but I didn't. Thank goodness the U-Haul place was able to immediately locate a 26' truck or our departure could have been delayed for days.