So nervous...made an offer on a house

[haha]

Sorry this didn't work out for you, but it may well be a blessing in disguise.

There is a hilarious movie from the 80s with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long named Money Pit. Rent it before you are past the point of no return.

Ha

[NW-Bound]

I hope you will find something else. Please keep us posted.

Recently, we found ourselves without internet for a week, but with cable TV. So, we watched a bit of the show "Property Brothers" on HGTV. Since you talked about remodeling, that brought it to my mind.

We liked that show. The amount of work that they did was often more involved than what I thought the budget would allow, but then I don't really know much. I think any homeowner who ever entertains the idea of remodeling would find that show interesting.

[Bestwifeever]

You really were smitten with that house! You are so lucky to get so much information about how costly the repairs were going to be, to enable you to decide to walk away. And who knows what will move into the building the grocery store vacated.

Hang in there, your perfect little house is out there, waiting for you.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyounge1956 Alas and alack! The architect I asked beforehand, plus the contractor and inspector today all concur, it doesn't just need more repair than will fit in my budget, the needed repairs and even phase 1 of my desired remodel exceed the budget by a factor of 2 or 3. So I must regretfully pass on this one. A slight consolation is that when I went down today with the inspectors I discovered the grocery store across the street is closing. (But there is a Safeway only a block further away, so it is only a very slight consolation.) I will ask my agent to keep an eye peeled on it, but unless the three non-occupiers all similarly decide against it, I won't have any opportunity to make a (drastically) lower offer on it. I kind of doubt it will still be in my price range after developer tears down the existing house and rebuilds it and anyway they would be most unlikely to replace it with an equally small house. Where are us retired spinsters supposed to live if all the cute little housies are torn down and replaced with McMansions?

As painful as it is, this experience makes you much more proficient at assessing the next opportunity that comes along, and you'll get through it much faster.

The more you see, the faster you can make a decision. You might even see previous "opportunities" come up again.

[FIREd]

Sorry to hear it didn't work out. House shopping often involves disappointments.

[MBAustin]

Understand your disappointment. A few years back, we were house-shopping for a year before we got a house we liked for the right price. About 9 months in we were really wondering if we'd ever find a house. Then we got a contract on one, but the owners got very squirrely about a number of things, including wanting to raise the price after they got the roof replaced by their insurance company. We decided to walk away and give up what we had spent on the inspection and appraisal (the house also didn't appraise to the selling price, another red flag). That was a true blessing in disguise. A few months later we had a contract on a much better (for us) house in a much better location. After remodeling (slightly over budget but within our tolerances) it is as close to perfect as a house could be for us (we're picky!). Hang in there!

[meekie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords As painful as it is, this experience makes you much more proficient at assessing the next opportunity that comes along, and you'll get through it much faster.

Agree. Now you know what it costs to fix up a house in that condition, you can look for a house that fits your needs better.

We made offers on two houses that didn't work out, and I'm *SO* glad now, because we were able to find a much better (for us) house, at a much better price. Hang in there and be patient, I'm sure you'll find something.

The house we ended up buying was a flip from a company that does 50 or so houses a year. It may be a long shot, but it might be worth finding some of these flippers and let them know what you're looking for. Maybe they'll consider remodeling to your specs instead of tearing down a cute old house to put a McMansion in.

[kyounge1956]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meekie (snip)The house we ended up buying was a flip from a company that does 50 or so houses a year. It may be a long shot, but it might be worth finding some of these flippers and let them know what you're looking for. Maybe they'll consider remodeling to your specs instead of tearing down a cute old house to put a McMansion in.

How do you find the flippers?

I told my agent if the property came back on the market as a vacant lot or after rebuild, and was still in my price range, I'm still interested. But I imagine that will take longer than I want to wait to buy a house. Meanwhile I saw another one on the MLS. It's only a few blocks away from the other house, and from the exterior photo it appears to be in much better shape. It also has a nice big lot, but so far no interior shots on the MLS. I am planning to go down there with agent on Friday unless he hears back from listing agent that the inside is trashed. This one is right up at my top end so I wouldn't have any money left for more than a couple gallons of paint. In many ways (size, # of bedrooms, etc etc) it looks like a good possibility, but it's not as cute as that little yellow wreck.

Should I buy a house I'm not "in love" with? What is that old saying about not dating on the rebound?

[KB]

When I've bought houses, I always had a list of what I needed and then the wants too. I think my most successful house was the one that met all my criteria...even though I didn't love it. The location was great, it had the right amount of bedrooms and it had a pool. Everything I had on my list at that time. I never loved the house but it worked well for a long time. A lot longer than I had planned when I bought it.

Once my kids were grown, I had different needs so I moved to a different location with less bedrooms. It worked for me to buy a house I didn't love because it met all my requirements. If that will work for you, maybe you have different requirements than what you were looking for initially.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyounge1956 How do you find the flippers? I told my agent if the property came back on the market as a vacant lot or after rebuild, and was still in my price range, I'm still interested. But I imagine that will take longer than I want to wait to buy a house. Meanwhile I saw another one on the MLS. It's only a few blocks away from the other house, and from the exterior photo it appears to be in much better shape. It also has a nice big lot, but so far no interior shots on the MLS. I am planning to go down there with agent on Friday unless he hears back from listing agent that the inside is trashed. This one is right up at my top end so I wouldn't have any money left for more than a couple gallons of paint. In many ways (size, # of bedrooms, etc etc) it looks like a good possibility, but it's not as cute as that little yellow wreck.

The inside might win you over, though. Or it might be awful. Maybe your realtor can help you to negotiate the price down to a more manageable level. At least it is in the same area, and location was part of the appeal of the little yellow house as I understand it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyounge1956 Should I buy a house I'm not "in love" with? What is that old saying about not dating on the rebound?

Yes? They say that one should never fall in love with a house one is considering buying, but for some of us that is pretty much impossible.

When I was shopping for my present house, I fell "in love" with a little house that was overpriced. I made an offer but the seller wouldn't come down any, and my real estate guy recommended that I should walk away. So, I did, but it was hard. I never really "fell in love" with my present house but it had a lot of good attributes, including being close to work. I am so glad that I ended up with this house instead of that other one. Not only did the other house get flooded during Katrina, but also it was smaller, more expensive, and had termites. This house has been a lot less of a headache than that one would have been.

[Purron]

Sorry it didn't work out. I just know there's another place for you out there. A place with heart and soul. A place you're meant to be in. You'll find it.

[sheehs1]

Keep the faith Kyounge1956.!
I'm a believer that if it was meant to work out all the stars line up.

And what might seem disappointing at first ends up being a blessing in disguise.

I've walked away from 2 contracts for 2nd "getaway homes" now. One last summer and one just 2 days ago.

It so easy to get emotionally attached to a house that one is looking at. But the reality is it's far better to get all the facts, all the dollars nailed down and then make the decision. Like you did. Good job! Pat yourself on the back for that!

Still , I know it's disappointing for you.

[meekie]

Google was pretty good when I searched for house flip Lacey wa.

http://flippingolympia.com/6910-35th-ave-lacey-wa/

I think if a house matches all your requirements, you should consider it even if you don't love it.

[kyounge1956]

Well, I made an offer on the second house. It has a horrid coarse-grained texture on all (or at least almost all) of the interior walls, which has just got to go! But other than that, it is quite habitable as is, and has possibilities to be quite nice, although I don't think it will ever be "cute" in the same way the yellow house would have been. I am waiting to see if the seller counters or rejects my offer outright--he has until Monday. If the former I will have the same inspector look at it as checked out the other house. He sent me a 37-page pdf report on all the needed repairs. I will have to add another to his long list of glowing reviews on Angie's list. The contractor who did the repairs on my townhouse, not so much. He always seems to be suggesting I try to evade permitting and environmental requirements to save money. I told him on the other house, "If I can't afford to do it right, I can't afford to do it at all". I may ask him about potential cost to insulate this house if required. It is 60 years old and I am guessing not insulated, unlesss the ugly texture is on top of new drywall put in after the plaster was torn off to install insulation from inside. But I don't think so--the baseboards and wall heaters all look like they may be original. If he keeps singing the same tune, I won't use him for the work, if this offer goes through, nor invite him to look at future possibilities, if I have to keep looking.

[growing_older]

Oh, depending on when the new house was built and when the textured wall treatment was applied, you might want to get that carefully inspected before you try to remove it. There are different ways to texture walls, but there were asbestos based wall texturing products. They weren't banned until 1977, so if it's older than that, a test might be prudent.

[kyounge1956]

Quote:

Originally Posted by growing_older Oh, depending on when the new house was built and when the textured wall treatment was applied, you might want to get that carefully inspected before you try to remove it. There are different ways to texture walls, but there were asbestos based wall texturing products. They weren't banned until 1977, so if it's older than that, a test might be prudent.

Absolutely! This offer also is conditional on an acceptable report from the building inspector, and that's one question I will definitely ask. I might even sneak a sample and get it tested if I can, because I think abatement for the whole house would be a budget-buster, and I just can't stomach that texture! It looks like someone used an electric mixer to fling globs of thick pancake batter against the walls, and then painted without cleaning up the mess! In any case I would not be doing any of the work myself except possibly interior painting. I think that's about all I'll be up to (if that) before I need to be able to move in.

I'm a little suspicious of the kitchen floor too. Its avocado-green/harvest gold color combo is all too suggestive of the mid-1970's. But that's a small area. If the kitchen floor, and a fluffy substance I can see around the gas fireplace insert are the extent of the asbestos in the house, I don't think the cost of dealing with them would break the bank. Remodeling the kitchen will have to wait, though.

[Amethyst]

Could even be late 60's. My parents bought a house built in 1970 and everything was harvest gold and avocado.

Amethyst

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyounge1956 I'm a little suspicious of the kitchen floor too. Its avocado-green/harvest gold color combo is all too suggestive of the mid-1970's. .

[kyounge1956]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst Could even be late 60's. My parents bought a house built in 1970 and everything was harvest gold and avocado. Amethyst

Yeah, it could be any time in there. However, the floor is sheet goods, not tiles. Maybe it's just plain ol' vinyl flooring. One thing I learned on the yellow house is that the adhesives used to glue the stuff to the floor can also contain asbestos. Maybe the best thing to do when I get around to kitchen refurb is plan to leave it in place and add a floating floor on top. I had a popcorn ceiling in my old house that was remediated by sealing it up in place. Maybe there is a way to do that on a floor too, then add new flooring over the top.

[kyounge1956]

Inspection next Monday at 9 AM.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyounge1956 Inspection next Monday at 9 AM.

Wonderful! Best of luck to you.