Living the American Dream

[wwattles]

My wife and I just got done spending 3 hours with our real estate agent to put together an offer for our first house! Hopefully, we'll soon be owning our little piece of the American Dream. Not only is it in a nice neighborhood, it's a beautiful home, and will meet our needs, but it's also about 10 minutes away from my work, instead of the 45 minutes I'm driving currently.

Now here's the real good news:
1) It's 30 minutes closer to the desert launch sites
2) It's got a 2-car garage for lots of rocket stuff
3) Get this: it's a 5-minute walk from Andy Woerner's Polecat Aerospace/What's Up Hobbies home/store! That's right, I'm gonna be close enough that I can walk over there when I need something!

Now we just gotta get the sellers to accept the offer...

WW

 

[Rob Fisher]

Originally posted by wwattles
My wife and I just got done spending 3 hours with our real estate agent to put together an offer for our first house! Hopefully, we'll soon be owning our little piece of the American Dream. Not only is it in a nice neighborhood, it's a beautiful home, and will meet our needs, but it's also about 10 minutes away from my work, instead of the 45 minutes I'm driving currently.

Now here's the real good news:
1) It's 30 minutes closer to the desert launch sites
2) It's got a 2-car garage for lots of rocket stuff
3) Get this: it's a 5-minute walk from Andy Woerner's Polecat Aerospace/What's Up Hobbies home/store! That's right, I'm gonna be close enough that I can walk over there when I need something!

Now we just gotta get the sellers to accept the offer...

WW

You should start riding a bike to work.

 

[MissileDaughter]

Originally posted by wwattles
My wife and I just got done spending 3 hours with our real estate agent to put together an offer for our first house! Hopefully, we'll soon be owning our little piece of the American Dream. Not only is it in a nice neighborhood, it's a beautiful home, and will meet our needs, but it's also about 10 minutes away from my work, instead of the 45 minutes I'm driving currently.

Now here's the real good news:
1) It's 30 minutes closer to the desert launch sites
2) It's got a 2-car garage for lots of rocket stuff
3) Get this: it's a 5-minute walk from Andy Woerner's Polecat Aerospace/What's Up Hobbies home/store! That's right, I'm gonna be close enough that I can walk over there when I need something!

Now we just gotta get the sellers to accept the offer...

WW

Congratulations! You sure seem excited! I am really happy for you!

 

[AKPilot]

WWattles that sounds great!!! I hope it works out for your wife and you! Walking to the hobby store sounds really exciting as well. Now you'll have somewhere else to go and shoot the breeze.

As for the cycling to work thing. I'd recommend it as well. When possible I've done it, and because of traffic sometimes beat cars into work. Besides it's relaxing and the exercise is a great side benefit.

 

[BrnAgainRoc]

ill buy it from you No luck huh? dont blame ya i wouldnt sell it either if i owned it But then again i like my privacy and home now. Wanna trade?

 

[rstaff3]

Congrats, bro! Sounds like a great location.

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Cool! I hope your offer will be accepted. The price of housing in Sandy Eggo is insane these days.

 

[wwattles]

Originally posted by Ray Dunakin
Cool! I hope your offer will be accepted. The price of housing in Sandy Eggo is insane these days.

Tell me about it! People are asking a half-million dollars for a condo that has virtually no yard, a one-car garage, and is still more than a half-hour away from downtown! Have people lost their ever-lovin' minds???

WW

 

[GL-P]

Sweet!

 

[cls]

oh man, if I lived that close to Andy's shop I'd have to get 2nd and 3rd mortgages on the house!! you bum, I hope you get it!!

 

[benjarvis]

Originally posted by wwattles
Tell me about it! People are asking a half-million dollars for a condo that has virtually no yard, a one-car garage, and is still more than a half-hour away from downtown! Have people lost their ever-lovin' minds???

WW

Come try buying a house in London my friend

try £300,000 ($550,000) for a tiny 2-bed house with NO car parking at all thats one and a half hours from central London by train


Or houses in the area my folks live, which were selling for the equivalent of $40,000 about 25 years ago when they bought... and are now worth $1,800,000 equivalent.... frikin ridiculous!

Anyone who doesn't already own property, or have a job paying a small fortune, is just about unable to ever buy a property now over here... prices have gone up 100% in three or four years.


Mad.



Ben

 

[cydermaster]

Originally posted by benjarvis
Anyone who doesn't already own property, or have a job paying a small fortune, is just about unable to ever buy a property now over here... prices have gone up 100% in three or four years.

Yep - I was amazingly lucky to be able to purchase my flat off my landlord about 7 years ago for the sum of £41k (the bank had to review my case 'cos even that was out of my usual buying power at the time) and its now worth > £120k Great for me, but no good for somebody wanting to buy their own place now. Basically the mortgage ladder has become an escalator with no way on!

Anyway, congrats on deciding to buy your own place, its a great feeling to not have a landlord to answer to, and knowing that at least some of the payment you make every month you'll see a return on.

 

[wwattles]

Well, maybe I won't be living the American Dream just yet. The sellers have their house on the market at a price that is way over the fair market value, and weren't willing to budge much. We offered just slightly below market value, hoping to come up to the fair price, but they weren't coming down much.

So now it's back to the search, and we'll see what comes up. Stand by for "Living the American Dream 2: The sequel that may or may not be the end."

WW

 

[powderburner]

Don't forget to revisit that piece of real estate periodically.

Sometimes an owner does not get many offers, or at least none that they are happy with. Persistence can pay off if you happen to be the willing buyer who is visible at the time the owner gives up and backs off his asking price.

You can also show a bit of 'good faith' by going up on your bid. You could go all the way to what you think is a fair price, and ask your agent to convey that message to the buyer.

It doesn't hurt to ask.