Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Real Estate Rally

We've started looking for our next project, now that this one is getting close to completion (Richard says this is how I make sure we never have any time off - LOL!).  But it's tough to find something out there that we can buy at a reasonable price, make improvements and put back on the market in 4-5 months.

Would you buy a house with this kitchen light fixture?
We've made offers on 3 different properties in the last month or so.  And these were houses that needed lots of work - 60's kitchens, wet basements, drafty windows and avocado green carpeting.  Not to mention that eye catching light fixture in the photo!
But, we've lost every bid.  Every one of them has been a multiple offer situation.  We've tried lots of things.....cash offers, no inspections, full price, letters to the owners telling them how much we love their homes.  All to no avail.

Is this just a weird phenomenon in our area?  Or are you seeing it in other neighborhoods too?  Maybe the real estate market really is starting to rebound!


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13 comments:

  1. Wow -- cash offers, no inspections, full price. Those would all work for me. Want to refurb a 2002 Jeep Liberty? :-)

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    1. I always told Richard I was comfortable with him tearing a house down and rebuilding it. But changing the oil on a car is a task that can take him a couple of days!!! I think we'll pass on your Jeep :-)

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  2. That fixture would be awesome with some paint on it.

    You'll find something, don't worry.

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    1. Ah, you're much more creative than I am! We lived in Colorado when I was little and since my parents were from 'back east', they wanted all the western touches. I can remember seeing light fixtures like this in our house......don't want to do it again!!! But maybe with an interesting color??? Maybe!

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  3. I just started following you a few months ago and love this blog! I don't know if you possibly already did a post about this, but how do you find the houses that you make offers on and buy? Is it through a realtor? Are there lists of foreclosures that you go off of? Are the homes you buy listed on regular "for sale" websites like realtor.com, or are they unlisted homes because they are in such bad shape? Just curious. Thanks!

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    1. Thanks so much for reading the blog Mindy. Thus far, we've bought all of our houses from realtors - even our latest project which is a foreclosure. It was listed in the MLS. Since it was a foreclosure, we needed to sign a special 13 page contract, in addition to all the usual stuff (a bit intimidating!).

      But given the tough market situation we're facing, we're starting to think about getting a little more creative!

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  4. In my area there are many houses for sale--dumps & nice places. NOTHING is selling. So we're still in the Great Depression II.

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    1. In our area, prices never went up as much as other parts of the country, so they haven't come down quite as much. That might be one of the factors. And proximity to the beach doesn't hurt either!

      Hang in there, I'm sure it will change at some point!

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  5. In our area, that's exactly what's happening. We moved this summer, and we lost out on a couple "dream" houses because the flippers are back in the market (no offense! it's even tougher competing with cash offers when we're financed!). A major part of town got declared historic, so all the developers and flippers that were working in that area had to find new hunting grounds...

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  6. I feel like the market is bouncing back.

    I know you guys are more in the South Portland area, but I love this little house in Lisbon, it has a kitchen that seriously needs help!

    http://www.trulia.com/property/3066361942-3-Frost-Hill-Ave-Lisbon-ME-04252

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    1. What a cute house (but what is all over those upper cabinets??). But I don't think we're up for that kind of commute :-)

      Thanks for sharing,

      Laurel

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  7. We were in the search for our current house over the summer, and throughout the whole search, I felt like we were behind the game. It felt like every time I asked our realtor about a property, there was already an accepted offer on it, or otherwise a very attractive offer pending. It was frustrating as a buyer, but fulfilling as a seller! We accepted an offer on our former house four weeks after listing. The market is definitely not as terrible as it has been in the past. People are getting restless!

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    1. Restless is a good term! And I wonder if people think prices have hit bottom and want to make sure they buy something before they go back up again!

      Laurel

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