Really bummed.

[Liberty Belle]

We just decided to start looking for a house and decided that last Saturday we were going to go look at one (I've been watching it online for a long time - it's been on the market since early spring!). I checked online one more time before we contacted a realtor and saw that a sale was pending.

Ok, I thought, I'm sure there will be another one we like almost as much. We go look at one this morning that didn't work out (bedrooms were too small) and then our realtor called us with this amazing property. It was 3400 sqft in a beautiful neighborhood. He said it was a foreclosure and priced way below what it should be, so it was probably rough inside.

We go to look at it and fall in love with it. It was incredibly rough and needed a completely new kitchen, had some water damage, etc, but the bones were just awesome. We decided we were going to take my husband's uncle out to look at it in the morning (he's a builder) to see how much he thought it would cost to fix it up. Got home, talked about it some more and told the kids about it and then the phone rang - it was our realtor saying he talked to the listing agent and the bidding was closed on it with five offers put in.

I know I shouldn't have got my hopes up, but I loved the house so much. Now I'm just bummed and I'm trying really hard to shake it, but it's just not working.

 

[luvindisneyworld]

Oh, I am sorry to hear that. But a way to think about it is that your Perfect house is still out there waiting on you, you will definetely find it may not seem like it right now but you will

 

[LadyZolt]

I'm with the other poster -- you and "your" house will find one another. Sometimes it seems like there is just one "perfect" house, but I'm confident you'll feel just as strongly about another house. Also, I think if you're meant to have that one, you'll get it. It's possible in this market that all five existing offers could fall through for various reasons. This is really a good time to be in the market to buy a house (assuming you don't also have to sell one because it's a hard market for sellers), so keep your eyes open and I think you'll find more bargains. Hang in there!

-Dorothy (Ladyzolt)

 

[Angelhalo]

I know it stinks. Man it stinks so bad. But I have to go with the other posters. The right house WILL come along. We just bought a new house and there was one that I LOVED and just KNEW it was our house and its not the one we ended up in, and I love the one we DID buy even more than that other one. I barely even remember what it looked like LOL!

 

[MushyMushy]

You'll get "your" house.

 

[sunnyday123]

We've all been there. I had the perfect house in my sights, put a bid in, and didn't get it. I was seriously bummed and didn't want to look anymore.

I've been in my absolutely perfect house for 12 years now. I love love love it, crappy neighbors and all.


Are you pre-approved? That will make the whole process go quicker, and sometimes can make or break a deal.

Good luck!

 

[Mom2Nick]

I know it's so corny - but everything happens for a reason.

When DH and I were looking for our first home - we found one we fell in love with only to find out that somebody big $5,000 over asking price and we just couldn't go higher. In hindsight - there was no attic, no basement and no garage - we fell in love with all the other things but we paid no attention to the practical.

Second house was more practical with a basement with a finished room, 3 bedrooms, 2 walk in closets in the master - we put in a bid was accepted and then they got another bid slightly higher than ours. We were already pre-approved for the mortgage the other people were not. The sellers wanted to play a game and we refused so we backed out. (The other offer fell through and they were calling us 7 months later to see if we were still interested - karma baby)

In hindsight - that house was in a town with horrible schools which would have been a nightmare years later when our child with special needs was born.

What we ended up with...

A 3 bedroom house custom built by a woodworker for him and his family. It had a cedar closet, wide oak staircase, parquet floors, crown/dentile molding, built in bookcases on either side of the fireplace. A finished basement with wall to wall and floor to ceiling custom oak bookshelf, a huge jacuzzi tub in the master - I could go on and on about that house

Just wait - a beautiful house is out there for you - you just haven't found it yet.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Hoping you find something you'll like soon!

So could the market be starting to turn around if there were 5 bids on a house? With prices in the toilet, I would think there would be a number of people bidding on one house. That was our experience in 2004, but the prices were up. I knew I loved this place when I first walked in. The owner had 4 other appointments to show it that day. I played the trump card...we moved here a couple weeks before. DS was in school but couldn't understand why when we didn't have a house. He was 5th grade at the time. That was it! She sold it to me and canceled the other appointments.

Hang in there!

 

[bicker]

He said it was a foreclosure and priced way below what it should be, so it was probably rough inside.

This reminds me of a warning I heard on the Today program a couple of weeks ago. Realtors report about 1/3 of all foreclosed properties on the market today would not pass inspection for a federally-backed mortgage, because the previous homeowners, in an effort to capitalize on their property before they lose it to foreclosure, either took with them, or just plain sold, fixtures from the house -- stoves, ovens, sinks, kitchen cabinets, plumbing (especially copper pipe), toilets, showers, baths, etc.

Good luck with your home search.

 

[Liberty Belle]

This reminds me of a warning I heard on the Today program a couple of weeks ago. Realtors report about 1/3 of all foreclosed properties on the market today would not pass inspection for a federally-backed mortgage, because the previous homeowners, in an effort to capitalize on their property before they lose it to foreclosure, either took with them, or just plain sold, fixtures from the house -- stoves, ovens, sinks, kitchen cabinets, plumbing (especially copper pipe), toilets, showers, baths, etc.

Good luck with your home search.

Thank you and everyone for your support. I do feel better this morning.

The house was really rough. The appliances were gone and it was filthy. The cabinet doors were ripped off (splintered wood and all - they were really ripped off). The carpets were stained. It appeared they left the kitchen sink on and it flooded through to the basement. Drawings on the walls, etc.

It was priced at $159,000, though, and if fixed up (with just low to medium quality cabinetry, etc) it would be listed at about $350,000. I mean, the bones were just gorgeous. It was huge with a huge backyard and the neighborhood was excellent - one of the very best in town.

The realtor suggested a construction loan. He did mention that we would not be allowed to live in it until it had a kitchen and the heating and water were working, but thought it would take a month or two max to fix it up, so we were geared up to do that.

I guess I just let my excitement and imagination run away with me. I'll know not to do that anymore.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Oh, I am sorry to hear that. But a way to think about it is that your Perfect house is still out there waiting on you, you will definetely find it may not seem like it right now but you will

It sounds like the advice I got when I broke up with my long-term boyfriend (only to meet my husband 4 months later). I'll keep that in mind.

 

[All American]

Buying a house is such an emotional roller coaster. Excitement, joy, disappointment, frustration, curiosity, and anxiousness all rolled up into one. Here's to finding the perfect house for you!

 

[Colleen27]

Keep watching those listings... I cannot believe the number of homes we've looked at that were listed as pending but came back to the market. What is happening, around here at least, is that people go shopping with their pre-approval and make an offer, only to find that credit and income standards have tightened since their initial application and they cannot finalize financing.

The house we're negotiating on right now sold at auction on election night, but the high bidder couldn't secure a loan to complete the sale within the time specified in the auction terms so it returned to the market. When I saw it go from sold to pending, I was so disappointed because this is the perfect hosue for us. And when it went from pending back to sold on the same day the CD where our house fund was stashed matured, it really felt like it is meant to be ours.

 

[N&B'smom]

Oh, I know the feeling all too well. I felt the same way. We fell in love with a house and before we got to go through it (it was actually going on the market the next day) someone snagged it! They contacted the people, made an offer and they accepted. I was heartbroken. My husband kept telling me that we'd still find a house in the same area that would be perfect. I wasn't buying it.

Some time passed and it was getting towards Christmas, I went shopping for some future house decorations to cheer myself up. When I got home I realized I had unknowingly purchased TWO wreaths for a front door. I couldn't believe I had done that.

Anyway, getting to the point. We ended up finding another house on the same exact street that we loved even more. It was bigger and less money. We were the first people to go through it and we bought it. Guess what? It has a big wrap-around porch with TWO doors. Good thing I came home with those two wreaths months before we had even found the house!

Shelby

 

[The Mystery Machine]

You can't "fall in love"... We looked for 8 months while living in 2 different apartments.

Near the end you get so burnt out and numb, I suppose is the word.

When we FINALLY bought a house, it took awhile for me to actually feel emotion toward it.