Any realtors/recent home buyers? Need Advice!

[Kellydelly]

My husband and I were going to put in an offer on a home that is owned by an estate. The realtor who we are dealing with (actually works for the company with the listing, but he is not the listing agent) hinted that dealing with an "entity" instead of an individual can be difficult. He told us that he has to represent the seller, since his company listed the property, but that he would do all he could to try and get our offer accepted. We were going to really low-ball the offer. The property needs a lot of work, whoever lived there last started a bunch of projects and didn't finish them, and also did half the things wrong (electrical, drywall, ventilation). My mortgage guy says it sounds like nobody really has an interest in the property (as in the estate), which made us think a low offer was appropriate. It is a lake property, and the recent sold comps in the area are around the asking price, but for more turn-key homes. This place needs a new kitchen (as in cabinets are rotten), new flooring throughout, new roofs, and a bedroom turned back into two rooms that someone started to turn into one big one and abandoned the project, as well as a garage, since someone decided it was a good idea to turn the one that was there into a rec room (that they renovated wrong and didn't finish!). Needs new windows too, most of the screens are missing. It is being sold "as-is," of course. The comps are from a lot of foreclosures. Should we start low and assume they will counter or go in with our max? I don't want to insult them, but as far as I know in 18 months on the market nobody else has made an offer. It has good bones, but needs a lot of thought and sweat equity . Is it appropriate for the person who has shown us the house twice to put in an offer for us or should we get a buyer's agent? The realtor wasn't trying to sell us the place at all. He seemed horrified that we actually wanted to take on the project . He didn't give us any idea of how much to offer. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated .

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My husband and I were going to put in an offer on a home that is owned by an estate. The realtor who we are dealing with (actually works for the company with the listing, but he is not the listing agent) hinted that dealing with an "entity" instead of an individual can be difficult. He told us that he has to represent the seller, since his company listed the property, but that he would do all he could to try and get our offer accepted. We were going to really low-ball the offer. The property needs a lot of work, whoever lived there last started a bunch of projects and didn't finish them, and also did half the things wrong (electrical, drywall, ventilation). My mortgage guy says it sounds like nobody really has an interest in the property (as in the estate), which made us think a low offer was appropriate. It is a lake property, and the recent sold comps in the area are around the asking price, but for more turn-key homes. This place needs a new kitchen (as in cabinets are rotten), new flooring throughout, new roofs, and a bedroom turned back into two rooms that someone started to turn into one big one and abandoned the project, as well as a garage, since someone decided it was a good idea to turn the one that was there into a rec room (that they renovated wrong and didn't finish!). Needs new windows too, most of the screens are missing. It is being sold "as-is," of course. The comps are from a lot of foreclosures. Should we start low and assume they will counter or go in with our max? I don't want to insult them, but as far as I know in 18 months on the market nobody else has made an offer. It has good bones, but needs a lot of thought and sweat equity . Is it appropriate for the person who has shown us the house twice to put in an offer for us or should we get a buyer's agent? The realtor wasn't trying to sell us the place at all. He seemed horrified that we actually wanted to take on the project . He didn't give us any idea of how much to offer. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated .

Ouch.

Have you ever gutted a house before? You are looking at close to 100,000 to fix it, maybe more. Hard to say. Not only will you need the roof redone, you will probably need all new subflooring + floor, roof guts and shingles. That right there could be 30,000+ easy. You do not know.

How much land does it have? What were you going to offer?

It does not matter what the comps are for the area. The house is trashed.

Basically I would just go with a round figure of estimating 100,000 for the renovations and go from there.

 

[momz]

Do you have a contract with the realtor you spoke with? If you do then he has a obligation to represent YOUR interests. But, if you don't have a contract, I suggest you find your own agent.

Your questions are best answered by someone local, who knows the area, and has an understanding of how the factors you listed will affect the offer you make.

Good luck!

Edited to add: If you plan on using a contractor to renovate, consider paying him to look at the home before your purchase it. As-is real estate means no inspection. Also, if you are getting a loan, you may have trouble.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

If the realtor is saying that he/she must represent the seller, they are not working for you. Get a different realtor to represent your interests. Never reveal your top dollar even to your new realtor until your final bid.

Offer whatever you want. comps dont mean much when the conditions are so drastically different. This is more than just getting rid of outdated ugly carpet and wallpaper, it sounds like this place is a money pit. You know about several major issues but there may be others you weren't planning on that also pop up. I would low ball it. Inevitably it will cost more thn you anticipate to renovate.

Good luck!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Do you have a contract with the realtor you spoke with? If you do then he has a obligation to represent YOUR interests. But, if you don't have a contract, I suggest you find your own agent.

Your questions are best answered by someone local, who knows the area, and has an understanding of how the factors you listed will affect the offer you make.

Good luck!

Edited to add: If you plan on using a contractor to renovate, consider paying him to look at the home before your purchase it. As-is real estate means no inspection. Also, if you are getting a loan, you may have trouble.

Absolutely.

We put an offer on a property that needed to be gutted and we were estimating at least 150,000 to fix it. We could have taken out a "builder's loan" of some sort. I cannot remember what it was called.

 

[barkley]

My husband and I were going to put in an offer on a home that is owned by an estate. The realtor who we are dealing with (actually works for the company with the listing, but he is not the listing agent) hinted that dealing with an "entity" instead of an individual can be difficult. He told us that he has to represent the seller, since his company listed the property, but that he would do all he could to try and get our offer accepted. We were going to really low-ball the offer. The property needs a lot of work, whoever lived there last started a bunch of projects and didn't finish them, and also did half the things wrong (electrical, drywall, ventilation). My mortgage guy says it sounds like nobody really has an interest in the property (as in the estate), which made us think a low offer was appropriate. It is a lake property, and the recent sold comps in the area are around the asking price, but for more turn-key homes. This place needs a new kitchen (as in cabinets are rotten), new flooring throughout, new roofs, and a bedroom turned back into two rooms that someone started to turn into one big one and abandoned the project, as well as a garage, since someone decided it was a good idea to turn the one that was there into a rec room (that they renovated wrong and didn't finish!). Needs new windows too, most of the screens are missing. It is being sold "as-is," of course. The comps are from a lot of foreclosures. Should we start low and assume they will counter or go in with our max? I don't want to insult them, but as far as I know in 18 months on the market nobody else has made an offer. It has good bones, but needs a lot of thought and sweat equity . Is it appropriate for the person who has shown us the house twice to put in an offer for us or should we get a buyer's agent? The realtor wasn't trying to sell us the place at all. He seemed horrified that we actually wanted to take on the project . He didn't give us any idea of how much to offer. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated .

just because no one has an interest in the estate to own the home doesn't mean the estate isn't trying to get top dollar.

you don't know what expenses the estate is trying to cover, or what the expectations of the beneficiaries are.

I administered 2 estates and with one I had the decision power to sell assets at what I felt was fmv, with the other all the beneficiaries had an equal voice and their voices could vary greatly in opinion. there's also the possibility that more is owed on the estate than all the assets are worth and they are being ordered to sell it for a certain minimum amount-and they are just going through the motions of listing it while they are waiting for a repo or lein judgement to take the problem off their hands.


I suggest getting your own realtor as well.

 

[DebbieB]

I just sold the house in my mom's estate. It needed work, it was livable but the kitchen & bathroom needed updating badly, carpeting was old, plus the driveway was in bad shape (cracks, uneven concrete). We started at $74,500, kept coming down, was at $58,900 6 months later. People said too much work. Then we got an offer from a contractor who is a "flipper". He offered $40,000, we countered and ended up at $45,000 as is, no inspection, cash deal. I was so happy to get it off my hands without any additional work.

He redid the kitchen, bathroom, carpeting, driveway and has it back on the market about 6 weeks later at $105,900.

 

[minnie mum]

Definitely get your own local agent who does not work for the listing agency. And even though it is being sold "as is", pay for a thorough inspection. This really does sound like a money pit, and a qualified inspector can identify problems so that you will have a pretty good idea of the amount of money that you will have to pour into this thing to make it habitable. Sounds like a lot of infrastructure problems may be lurking underneath the bad cabinets, room and flooring. After the inspection results come in, you can decide just how "low ball" you need to go.

Or you can walk away and look for something that won't require a total gut.

 

[Kellydelly]

Ouch.

Have you ever gutted a house before? You are looking at close to 100,000 to fix it.

How much land does it have? What were you going to offer?

It does not matter what the comps are for the area. The house is trashed.

Basically I would just go with a round figure of estimating 100,000 for the renovations and go from there.

The house isn't trashed, I don't believe I said it, it is however, in the middle of someone's stupid ideas!. We would do the rehab that it needs, my husband is handy. It would not cost that much to fix the things on the list, we have added it up and materials are probably $15,000 or less to fix the inside up (very small kitchen 8x8, small bath, knotty pine paneling, interior doors, flooring, 6 windows). It has good bones, and it is sitting on probably a third of an acre on 120' of frontage (very nice lot and neighbors have nice homes). It really does have potential, so I am kind of surprised that nobody has bitten yet. But on the other hand, it is going to be a lot of sweat equity if we do it ourselves, so I don't want to overpay and regret it. It isn't so trashed that it doesn't have value. The biggest issue is what to do with the garage that isn't a garage anymore (that is where the iffy electrical is, some moron decided to add outlets after they put up the walls and they were ignorant to junction boxes), the rest is mostly cosmetic. Someone who is richer than us might buy it and tear it down, but empty lots on the lake are going for $25,000 to $60,000 so not sure someone would bother if they can just buy property and begin from scratch.

 

[Kellydelly]

Wow, lots of responses already . To clarify, this home isn't something that has to be totally gutted, it is a three bedroom chalet style home with one bedroom up, and two down. The one bedroom that someone tried to renovate from two just needs a wall put back up (with the idea of making that dividing wall a closet for both rooms too, which is sort of what looks like the original floor plan spells out), taking down cheesy paneling and replacing with knotty pine. Then adding carpet. The kitchen is tiny, only 8x8 so tearing out the particle board cabinets that are there (which are not many) isn't a big deal. Would replace with Ikea or like priced cabinets. The bathroom is ugly, could use it as is, but would want to fix it up and add window. Flooring is easy. It is a wood sided home, outside looks solid.

It isn't a huge house, only 1200 sq feet. It has a lovely knotty pine cathedral ceiling that doesn't need replacing (yay!). My husband has inspected it a lot. When seeing a tube of caulk on the bathroom shelf he was concerned about water rot under the bathroom. He went under the house into the crawl space and looked over all the plumbing and stuff under there. We are not foolish enough to think that this house won't come with some unseen issues, it is probably around 25-30 yrs old.

Definitely a project, but in our price range it's either a project or a tiny 2 bedroom cabin that really won't fit us. I am just wondering about going through the agent that has shown us the house, or going through an agent from another company and how to approach the offer price.

 

[DebbieB]

I would get your own agent in a case like this.

Another thing I thought of after I posted was that keeping the house on the market costs money. I was paying insurance, taxes, utilities for the 6 months it was on the market. There was a break-in, all the copper pipes in the basement were stolen, that cost me about $2700 (vacant home insurance had a $5,000 deductible). So even though it's in an estate, someone is paying expenses.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I would get a buyer's agent. I would also make a fair offer based upon its condition, etc. Obviously what is wrong and what it will cost to fix it, plus the risk of other things that might need to be fixed too is a big factor. If that is substantially less than asking, so be it. If it is an insult, so be it.

 

[deedeecee]

You sound like you are already pretty familiar with the housing market.
We recently bought a house earlier this year. The same agent who sold our first home, also served as our agent for the purchase of our current home. In the second transaction, he was a dual agent because he also represented the seller. I was OK with that; we knew what we wanted and he had been very helpful and knowledgeable about the process. Now, 3 months after our purchase, we are very happy with our home.
In your case, I would use the agent that showed you the home but I would absolutely give them a low starting offer. Don't disclose your final price. Since the estate has not received any offers on the home, they just might negotiate with you.
Is your max close to list price?
Good luck!

 

[DebbieB]

Are you going to have a mortgage? The price will have to be equal or less than the appraisal.

 

[Kellydelly]

You sound like you are already pretty familiar with the housing market.
We recently bought a house earlier this year. The same agent who sold our first home, also served as our agent for the purchase of our current home. In the second transaction, he was a dual agent because he also represented the seller. I was OK with that; we knew what we wanted and he had been very helpful and knowledgeable about the process. Now, 3 months after our purchase, we are very happy with our home.
In your case, I would use the agent that showed you the home but I would absolutely give them a low starting offer. Don't disclose your final price. Since the estate has not received any offers on the home, they just might negotiate with you.
Is your max close to list price?
Good luck!

Our max is around $20,000 less than list price. If they won't take a low offer, then we just walk and look at something else. I like it, but in the condition it's in, it has to come to us cheap to make us want to dive in.

 

[Kellydelly]

Are you going to have a mortgage? The price will have to be equal or less than the appraisal.

Yes, it would be a mortgage. My loan agent told me that the sellers need to put some kind of flooring in the two bedroom area or it won't appraise. It is bare floor currently. The realtor seemed to know nothing about that .

 

[eliza61]

I would also suggest getting a architect or a professional home remodeler. They can work with you and give you an idea of how much it may cost to realize your dream house.

 

[eliza61]

Our max is around $20,000 less than list price. If they won't take a low offer, then we just walk and look at something else. I like it, but in the condition it's in, it has to come to us cheap to make us want to dive in.

Also remember if the are selling it "as is", they may feel they are already pricing it as appropriately.

 

[Kellydelly]

Also remember if the are selling it "as is", they may feel they are already pricing it as appropriately.

Yes. I agree. I also think that since nobody has bought it in 18 months we may have a shot at going in with a low offer. Maybe .

 

[DebbieB]

Yes. I agree. I also think that since nobody has bought it in 18 months we may have a shot at going in with a low offer. Maybe .

I think so. When I put my mom's house up for sale, I never dreamed of accepting a $45,000 offer (I was hoping for mid $60's). 6 months later and no serious interest, I was so glad to be done with it.