All Forum Posts by: Naomi Gunter

This is our first house and we would like to get the 8k for sure. Also, interest rates are rising (yes, I know... the big "OH NO get in while you can" argument).

I just don't know what to offer at this point. Do we make a final offer? Do we just pay the $170k? If we could get it for $168k we'd be happy. $2k would mean a much easier loan situation for us.

I'll let you know how it goes and thanks for your responses.

Thanks all for taking the time to respond. We counter offered at $162,900 and they came down to $170 with them paying closing costs. We didn't feel like it was low enough for the house so we countered $164,900 and they countered identically to their previous offer, but with $5k for closing costs covered instead of $7k (which may be a typo).

The listing agent also said that there is another offer coming in and on its way to the bank. But I suppose there's no way to know how much for or if it's possibly even been fabricated. I feel pressured and a bit disgruntled but I guess we have to decide how much we want the house.

It has only been on the market a week - we saw it right after it was posted, so I agree that they may not be willing to budge much yet. We didn't see anything major other than cosmetic, (everything is outdated), there is some mildew under an eave but I think it's fairly solid, from a non-inspector viewpoint at least.

I think we may come up 5-7k and leave some room for them to come down. Risking of course, that someone else would come in and offer competitively. I don't think an investor would be interested, but another family in our situation might. And if we can see it again and make a list of what we'll have to do, do you suggest listing cosmetic changes? The kitchen is technically livable, just 30 years old.

Thanks again.

We have placed an offer on a bank owned property that was listed at $172,900. We offered $155k and asked that they pay closing costs. It generated a counteroffer of $172k with them paying closing costs.

Any advice on how to proceed? We had agreed that we didn't want to pay more than $165k, but with them coming down only $900 plus closing costs, we're wondering if that will be doable.

It's our first house. We can live without it, but we haven't found any other houses (out of 25 houses viewed or so) with the right qualities and price. This house is pushing it since it needs a new kitchen.

Also, the realtor can't find an appraised value for the house. I'm not sure how the bank knew how to price it if it has not been appraised. Zillow estimates it at around $191,795 - $230,585 but I know that can be a rough estimate.

Thanks!

We are first-time home buyers. Our lender has approved us for a 150k loan for the Seattle area and is suggesting that we pursue a Fannie Mae home. We have up to 25k to spend on down but would rather not put that much down if not necessary.

- Can anyone share advice on how to go about successfully buying a house this way as a first timer? We literally know nothing about buying, let alone REO's.

- In the bank's opinion, do we have any advantage over investors?

- We will want at least 3 bedrooms, and the prices are high around here. How negotiable would the prices on Homepath be for someone in our situation? ie. could we look at a 200k house and offer less than that and still have a chance at it?

- We want to close by April 30th for the tax credit. I'm sure this depends on how good the lender/agents we are working with are, but is this even possible?

- Is anyone familiar with this area specifically? (Seattle). I've noticed that prices are cheaper farther south (Kent/Auburn) but we'd rather not go too far away from my husband's job on the eastside.

Some of these may be questions to ask our lender but we just got started in the process and I thought some of you may have some ideas. The posts in this forum have been very helpful so far.

Thanks in advance for reading and offering advice.