Did you buy/ have the most expensive house on the block?

[Gorechick]

We're trying to buy our first home in a seller's market. We have a second chance on a house that is completely redone and move in ready with high end finishes. Our only concern is it's priced higher than everything in the neighborhood. If you bought a higher priced house or made upgrades better than other houses on your block, do you regret it?

 

[superme80]

It honestly would depend on how much I wanted the house. Our house was priced fairly low, but we bought at the bottom of the market. Our home was a foreclosure, but taken good care of. It was basically move in ready. I really wanted this house, I fell in love with the kitchen, and I do not regret it. We are looking at selling in 5 years, and we will get what we paid for. Ours is a 3 bed 2 bath, so it was one of the more pricier homes.

 

[mombrontrent]

I honestly would not do it. I would rather have one of the cheaper homes in a more expensive neighbourhood. Makes for better re-sale value. Location, location, location! Every house I have bought was on the lower-mid priced homes in the area. I picked the best neighbourhood I could afford and then looked for a house I liked.

 

[gwynne]

We're trying to buy our first home in a seller's market. We have a second chance on a house that is completely redone and move in ready with high end finishes. Our only concern is it's priced higher than everything in the neighborhood. If you bought a higher priced house or made upgrades better than other houses on your block, do you regret it?

Has your realtor given you information on comps for the neighborhood/area? Is the house you're interested in pretty much in line, or does it appear to be "over-improved"?
If it's over-improved, that's their problem. Offer what the property is worth, not what they are hoping to get for the upgrades.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

No, I didn't.

 

[mamamary]

I have alwAys heard to not buy the most expensive house. My friend did and just sold it and did not get her money's worth back. She then went ahead and bought the most expensive e house in a community a few miles away. She didn't want to but she loved the house and plans to be in it for a long time

 

[soccerdad72]

We did not - we bought somewhere near the middle.

Then again, we've done some renovations recently that we know we're not going to recoup the cost of, but it's things we wanted to do, so we're willing to eat some of the expense if we were to ever sell.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

We have the cheapest house on the street and we live in a great neighborhood. Both realtors told us that we were doing a good thing buying the cheapest house because you never want to buy the most expensive. May not be able to get the best resale value.

 

[Gorechick]

The house had one owner and the house itself and property seem very well taken care of. This house is at the upper end of comps for the area and higher than everything in the particular neighborhood.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I always heard that the best thing to do was buy a smaller house in a better neighborhood, but I personally believe you should buy the house you love. So - do you love it?

If so, I wouldn't worry too much. As you said, it's a seller's market right now, so any house is likely to sell a little over it's actual value. And who knows what improvements might be made to the other houses in time.

I see a house as a home first, an investment second.

 

[Colleen27]

We bought the cheapest house in our neighborhood and we're in the process of "over improving" it ourselves. I don't kid myself about getting all that improvement money back when we sell, because I know what we're doing isn't in line with the neighborhood or the town. I'm doing it because we're going to live here for at least 7-12 more years (we've been here 6 already), maybe longer, and I want to enjoy the improved efficiency and liveability for those years.

I think you're better off with less house in a better neighborhood/community than more house in a lesser area because you can improve your home, but there's only so much you can do about the community around you. And when it comes right down to it, most of the things that matter in a home (schools, playgrounds, recreational opportunities, etc) have more to do with the community than the house itself.

 

[Gorechick]

We're going to take a second look tonight. The only downfall on this house is a smallish kitchen (that could potentially get opened up in the future) and it being in an ok neighborhood. Most homes are selling at asking, some bidding wars, and selling in a day. Our initial offer got trumped by a full price cash offer by an older couple. The wife seems to be having buyer's remorse.

 

[morgan98]

We just sold a home where we paid pretty much "middle" of the neighborhood in terms of purchase price. We had done some improvements in the 7.5 years we lived there (it was new construction to begin with, so not much to improve), more than the other neighbors actually. Those improvements were definitely not directly considered when looking at comps or setting the price, but they definitely made the home show better than the competition and resulted in a much faster than average sale.

That being said, I think for me it would depend how much higher are we talking about and my tolerance for putting that amount at risk. If it were my forever home and I loved everything about it, it may not bother me. But if the amount were material, I would definitely think twice. I would negotiate as hard as you can for the house as their upgrades should not increase the selling price dollar for dollar.

 

[bsblady01]

I purchased my grandparents old farm house. but I was always told buy something that is less then what the bank will give you and fix it up over time.

 

[Gorechick]

The comps according to Zillow are mostly about $10,000-$20,000 less than what this is priced at though most sold last year.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Yes, I would be afraid of how the neighborhood affects the true market value.

We might be looking to relocate when my husband retires.

My thoughts are that it would be better to find a way to afford to get into a better neighborhood, than to build a nice home that wouldn't be far from trailers or other much less valued properties.

Is there any chance that, even though it is now a better market for sellers, with the housing markets correcting.... you could use that to justify offering less, due to the 'comps' in the area? Are the sellers really holding out for big money?

 

[morgan98]

The comps according to Zillow are mostly about $10,000 less than what this is priced at though most sold last year.

Is your realtor showing you actual comps? Zillow is not the most reliable source of information. Sales prices may be accurate as that is public record, but for values, I would not trust Zillow. Your realtor should be showing you actual sales of similar homes within a given radius.

 

[Wishing on a star]

$10,000.00 is actually a very small difference in comps.

I don't know what price range this is. But, I might be more wary of a difference of like $25,000.00 or more?

Look at the square footage of the homes.
Also, what are the ages of the homes.
How much does the curb-appeal differ?
Other things like the size and situation of the lot can make some difference as well.

You just do want to make sure that you are not really priced out of that neighborhood.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Yes, I am not all that familiar with Zillow...
But, like Morgan98 mentioned, make sure you are getting real sold-for values on homes in the neighborhood.

My husband would be better than I would at finding this kind of info....

 

[Andtototoo]

Ours is the 2nd most expensive home on the block. It is valued at about $10K over the neighboring houses. When we've talked with realtors, they all said the selling price should come in at that value.

Not so for the most expensive house on the block that has been for sale multiple times over the last several years. It has not sold because the seller refuses to take what he considers and "unfair" price on it. Basically, he refuses to see that the huge, luxury deck and outdoor landscaping he put in are not going to get paid back 100% and that the middle class neighborhood he's in depresses the price of those very upscale luxuries. He keeps insisting that someone 5 blocks over has similar luxury outdoor spaces and that house sold for X, so his should too. The reality is that if his house were in the neighborhood 5 blocks away, it would be the smallest house on teh block and the fancy huge McMansions would increase his house's property values. He's so set on getting a "fair" price that he's stayed in the house 5 years past when he wants to move. I don't think there is a realtor in town who will deal with him any more, given that I saw a FSBO sign out front this morning.