Thanks for your encouraging words, WTG.

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This thread was about the gap around the garage floor

I anticipated that it would go beyond the garage gap, hence the thread title... so as long as y'all are ok with it, I'll continue to share the ups and downs as they come.

We're on the schedule to see the other house tomorrow morning... I was just looking at google earth, there are a lot of trees in the back of that house. Which is nice, but we also spent a lot of money having some dangerous trees removed from our property at the old house...

We'll try to be clear eyed and dispassionate tomorrow. (we'll see how that works..

And the other house has an offer on it to. We have the option to put in an offer but we decided not to. We're just not that enthusiastic about it, and I don't want to get in a bidding war.

Ok, back to the starting point.

It's a super tight market here for housing for 'normal' people. By that, I mean a decent neighborhood with a reasonable commute, and an affordable price.

My daughter and husband (I still get a jolt when I say "husband" ) just bought a house at the end of the year. They looked at a LOT of properties, and found it useful. It helped them narrow down what they really wanted and, when they found one that ticked enough of their boxes they were ready to put an offer in pretty much the next day after discussing it overnight.

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It's a super tight market here for housing for 'normal' people. By that, I mean a decent neighborhood with a reasonable commute, and an affordable price.

Same here.

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They looked at a LOT of properties, and found it useful. It helped them narrow down what they really wanted and, when they found one that ticked enough of their boxes they were ready to put an offer in pretty much the next day after discussing it overnight.

We will get to this point, I think. I just don't think we're there yet.

I recall the realtor I used to sell Mom's condo said that the number of listings rises dramatically after the Super Bowl. People get serious about selling.

Wonder if you'll start to see a lot more properties going on the market soon...

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the number of listings rises dramatically after the Super Bowl.

Ooh, that makes sense actually. So that gives us hope!

In other news, a coworker told me that a neighbor is getting ready to sell his house, probably for-sale-by-owner. We've seen enough of it to be interested.

If we're working with an agent but the seller is not, is there anything we should be wary of? I've heard that FSBO sales can sometimes be a hassle so I want to be prepared.

I'd say a lot depends upon how much the seller knows about the market and home selling in general. In theory at least, agents get paid a commission because they provide knowledge about home buying/selling, and they bring a certain amount of detachment and predictability to the process. Some FSBO sellers have an inflated idea of their home's value. Or they're just super frugal and will refuse to budge on price even if a home inspection raises issues.

Agents can act as a buffer between (possibly) emotional buyers and sellers. In the same breath, of course, the agents want to make deals happen, so they are also acting in their own interest. I could see a buyer's agent potentially having to do more work to compensate for a seller who might not be familiar with the ropes, or who has unreasonable expectations about home value. So even if the seller is willing to pay the regular buyer's agent commission, that agent might end up doing more work than if the seller had a competent agent in place. And being human, if they're dealing with a seller that is a PITA, they may guide you away from the sale so they can save themselves headaches.


I've seen FSBOs that went super smoothly, and others that ran into obstacles.

FSBO issues:

https://www.businessinsider.co...r-sale-by-owner?op=1

This stood out for me

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Prepare legal documents. Sellers have to prepare paperwork such as the sales contract and residential property disclosure form. Depending on the complexity of the sale, it might make sense to work with an attorney. "Unless a seller is a licensed agent or broker, an FSBO seller may not be aware of all the disclosures that are required to provide a buyer nor be aware of the local rules and regulations," says Morales. "This may open a seller to litigation risk."

That's super helpful, WTG.. it makes me wonder if my agent will balk at the suggestion...

I'm not going to bring it up unless I think we're truly interested... The owner said he would send more photos, but it sounds like they have redone almost everything, *except* the kitchen. It's a mid-1980s house. So maybe that means the kitchen is dated but mostly fine and we could get a great deal... or we could be stuck trying to do a complicated and expensive remodel.

We need more info, obviously. And I will tread carefully with the FSBO details.

You may get a better feel about the seller and the house in general as you get more info. If the seller isn't responsive, is difficult, or has an unreasonable expectation of home value, you may decide not to bother.

OTOH, if you totally fall in love and it's the house for you and your agent balks at the deal, you are under no obligation to use them even though they've been working with you so far. As I said, they are human and will work in their best interest, as you are entitled to do also.

Paging Steve Miller....

When we’ve bought FSBO properties we’ve always used our regular agent for market analysis and to handle the paperwork.

The paperwork these days is absurdly complicated and varies by state. Having someone take care of it is worth everything we paid for their service.

Steve, oh definitely! I wouldn't want to do a home purchase without my own agent!

She's super experienced, so probably if we want to pursue this FSBO house, she'll know what to do and be able to handle it. I just don't want to make her grumpy.

Just to clarify...I didn't mean that I wouldn't use an agent for a FSBO. If my current agent declined, I would find another agent.

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I just don't want to make her grumpy.

I understand where you're coming from, but she's a professional who gets paid a lot of money to do this. It's not like she's a friend doing a favor and you don't want to inconvenience her...

I suspect she’ll be fine with it. She’ll be making a sale without having to drag you around looking at houses - possibly for months.

WTG and Steve, all good points!

I'm still waiting for the photos from the FSBO owner, so we'll see.

btw, Steve, re this:

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She’ll be making a sale without having to drag you around looking at houses - possibly for months.

Indeed, I think we would both prefer this!!

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Originally posted by wtg:
I recall the realtor I used to sell Mom's condo said that the number of listings rises dramatically after the Super Bowl. People get serious about selling.

Wonder if you'll start to see a lot more properties going on the market soon...

Also around the school calendar - lots of folks who are waiting to move until after the school year will start listing late March - April.