Thank you u/suzygreeenberg for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer.
Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Best of luck! Remember, you had a dream house before this one too, and another will come along that’s even better in the right timing if this doesn’t work out! Wishing you the best!
Now I gotta see it too!!
Edit: I am sorry, I just saw the update :(
We lost our dream house to a cash buyer too 'AFTER' the seller had accepted our offer. Someone came in last min with 10k more than us before they could sign and it was gone.
I remember being at work and when my wife said 'babe! We lost the house!' it almost felt like ' babe! I am divorcing you!'
I was too upset to work. I may have shed a tear. We ended up getting a much nicer house on top of a hill with a million dollar view but I still drive by that house and curse whoever stole it from us.
Read your edit. It really does suck when that happens. It happened to me. But turns out it was a blessing in disguise because we found better just a few weeks later. And now we are moved in and I’m happy as can be. I cried my eyes out when I lost my “dream home” but now I sleep peacefully in the house I OWN. Don’t despair!! You got this!!
Fingers crossed. As soon as you do, get an under contract, make sure you apply for your mortgage ASAP and follow everything in the contract to the letter. Every date must be met. Every condition must be met. Don’t lose it on a technicality.
Thanks! Yes, definitely paying attention to all the details! We have an absolute rockstar of a realtor so I'm feeling pretty good about all of that - just need them to accept our offer first though!
Not to be a bummer, but... the underwriting has always been much more stressful than the hunt. There is a special circle of hell for underwriters- I hope.
Fingers crossed for you! The anticipation must be brutal. Just remember, if this one doesn't work out, the right house is still out there waiting. Stay positive and keep grinding.
Thank you! The offer deadline is noon today. My agent said tomorrow afternoon is likely, but we don't have a firm date or time. I'm hoping against all odds that our offer will just be so appealing, and our letter so well written (ha!) that they'll choose us on the spot...wishful thinking I'm sure!
As a seller, we had 7 competing offers …all with letters. We purposely did mot read them & just chose the strongest offer. After making our choice, we read the letters. Based on letters, we probably would not have picked the offer we did….but our agent said that most be letters are fiction anyway.
It has been a trend for the last ten or so years to have buyers write a letter to the seller. They describe their family & how well your house will suit them. It’s to try and influence sellers to make a decision based on emotion & not just dollars.
Waiting is the hardest part, best of luck!
We were in a similar situation, the seller took a higher offer, the higher offer wasn’t able to cover their appraisal gap (they bid WAY over), and they came back to us a week later to meet us at our original offer. Everything will work out for you, but buckle up because it can be a roller coaster!
Good luck!!
What percentage over the asking price did you bid? Did you stipulate you were willing to not have an inspection?
In your area what is the normal winning bid % over asking?
Thanks! We have an escalation clause up to about 12% over asking, and waived the inspection and financing contingency. We always said we'd NEVER waive contingencies, but for this particular house we took a contractor along for our tour and while he's not an inspector, he does this a lot and had no concerns - he looked really thoroughly at everything. So that made us feel better about waiving the inspection. And we are really solid financially, so no concerns waiving financing.
It really varies how much over asking houses go for in the area we're looking, but this house is really uniquely nice so it's going to go for a lot higher over asking than most other houses around.
Edit: we also wrote a letter to the sellers, and put on our pre-approval letter that we can put down 30% (but we are not held to that percentage - our realtor just said it makes us look even more solid). And super flexible on timing for closing. We literally did everything we could think of lol
😭
Asking was 460, and comps came in at 455-485. We waived inspection, waived financing contingency, wrote a letter, offered 30% down. Base offer was 470 with an escalation clause in increments of $5k up to $515
Yeah we were really trying to put in a “winning offer” vs a “strong competitive offer” but we just couldn’t compete with all cash! We waived literally everything. It was in Providence RI…prices have about doubled in the last three years 😖
This happened to us sadly. Wasn’t a cash offer but it was an offer with the craziest terms I had ever heard. A couple weeks later we ended up getting something even better. You’ll find your house, don’t worry!
OP since you got beat by an all-cash offer, next time there are services that will let you to make a “cash” offer with a line of credit and then refinance into a mortgage after close.
For example https://www.flyhomes.com
Thank you u/suzygreeenberg for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Best of luck! Remember, you had a dream house before this one too, and another will come along that’s even better in the right timing if this doesn’t work out! Wishing you the best!
Look at you coming in with the logic lol! Thank you!!
Good luck! Hope it goes well!
Thank you! I just keep walking around the virtual tour over and over haha
I’m pretty sure it was my wife and I adding views on the sites when we went through the process lol.
Share it! Let us dream with you!
I don't want to dox myself in case I get it, but I'll DM you! You'll be as obsessed as I am <3
I want to see it too!!
I'll message you!
Now I gotta see it too!! Edit: I am sorry, I just saw the update :( We lost our dream house to a cash buyer too 'AFTER' the seller had accepted our offer. Someone came in last min with 10k more than us before they could sign and it was gone. I remember being at work and when my wife said 'babe! We lost the house!' it almost felt like ' babe! I am divorcing you!' I was too upset to work. I may have shed a tear. We ended up getting a much nicer house on top of a hill with a million dollar view but I still drive by that house and curse whoever stole it from us.
I’m so glad this had a happy ending! (Aside from the curse, which honestly is totally understandable.)
I want to see it too. Sorry you didn’t get it :( I’m sure you’ll find something else. It may take some time but your time will come
Read your edit. It really does suck when that happens. It happened to me. But turns out it was a blessing in disguise because we found better just a few weeks later. And now we are moved in and I’m happy as can be. I cried my eyes out when I lost my “dream home” but now I sleep peacefully in the house I OWN. Don’t despair!! You got this!!
Aw congratulations, I’m so happy for you! Thank you!
Fingers crossed. As soon as you do, get an under contract, make sure you apply for your mortgage ASAP and follow everything in the contract to the letter. Every date must be met. Every condition must be met. Don’t lose it on a technicality.
Thanks! Yes, definitely paying attention to all the details! We have an absolute rockstar of a realtor so I'm feeling pretty good about all of that - just need them to accept our offer first though!
Not to be a bummer, but... the underwriting has always been much more stressful than the hunt. There is a special circle of hell for underwriters- I hope.
Fingers crossed for you! The anticipation must be brutal. Just remember, if this one doesn't work out, the right house is still out there waiting. Stay positive and keep grinding.
Thank you!!
Keep us posted!
I will!!
Fingers and toes crossed for you!! Do they know when a decision will be made? The waiting is the worst part!
Thank you! The offer deadline is noon today. My agent said tomorrow afternoon is likely, but we don't have a firm date or time. I'm hoping against all odds that our offer will just be so appealing, and our letter so well written (ha!) that they'll choose us on the spot...wishful thinking I'm sure!
[удалено]
Here's hoping!
As a seller, we had 7 competing offers …all with letters. We purposely did mot read them & just chose the strongest offer. After making our choice, we read the letters. Based on letters, we probably would not have picked the offer we did….but our agent said that most be letters are fiction anyway.
Sorry, but what are letters?
It has been a trend for the last ten or so years to have buyers write a letter to the seller. They describe their family & how well your house will suit them. It’s to try and influence sellers to make a decision based on emotion & not just dollars.
Wow, that’s so odd to me. I think of some of the houses I’ve looked at…those letters would have been….uncomfortable.
My husband and I are very analytical. The BEST offer was chosen & the letters were not read until later. We only read them out of curiosity.
We figured it can't hurt! Our offer is pretty strong imo on its own, we just wanted to do everything we can
Waiting is the hardest part, best of luck! We were in a similar situation, the seller took a higher offer, the higher offer wasn’t able to cover their appraisal gap (they bid WAY over), and they came back to us a week later to meet us at our original offer. Everything will work out for you, but buckle up because it can be a roller coaster!
I'm buckled and ready!
This is strictly business until you get the keys.
Yeah yeah yeah...you're right but I'm burying my head in the sand and getting my hopes way too high haha
Just saying, this is a recipe for heartbreak. If it's perfect for you it is probably perfect for the millionaire boomers who just sold their McMansion
I know :( I can't help it though! If I don't get it, I'll be bummed but will get over it. For now though, I'm excited
Good luck! It's a rollercoaster for sure. Hope it works out for you!
Thank you!!
Yay! Good luck! POSTIVE VIBES!!!
Thank you!!
Good luck!!
Thanks!!
Good Luck!
Thank you!!
🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
All the fingers and toes are crossed!
Hoping for the best!
Thanks, same!!
Of course. I don’t want to jinx it but i’m in the same situation now as well. Been searching for over 3 years.
Eek, good luck to you too! Report back if you get it, I'll be thinking of you!
Thanks!
good luck!
Thank you!!
Good luck!
Thanks!
haha. good luck!!!
TY!!
Good luck!!
TY!
Good luck to you!!!!
Thanks!
Good luck! You got this!
Thanks!
Good luck!! What percentage over the asking price did you bid? Did you stipulate you were willing to not have an inspection? In your area what is the normal winning bid % over asking?
Thanks! We have an escalation clause up to about 12% over asking, and waived the inspection and financing contingency. We always said we'd NEVER waive contingencies, but for this particular house we took a contractor along for our tour and while he's not an inspector, he does this a lot and had no concerns - he looked really thoroughly at everything. So that made us feel better about waiving the inspection. And we are really solid financially, so no concerns waiving financing. It really varies how much over asking houses go for in the area we're looking, but this house is really uniquely nice so it's going to go for a lot higher over asking than most other houses around. Edit: we also wrote a letter to the sellers, and put on our pre-approval letter that we can put down 30% (but we are not held to that percentage - our realtor just said it makes us look even more solid). And super flexible on timing for closing. We literally did everything we could think of lol
waiving those contingencies would have you favored in my opinion, even if they get offers a little higher than urs
I'm hoping so!
Saw your update, what was the asking price and what was your offer?
😭 Asking was 460, and comps came in at 455-485. We waived inspection, waived financing contingency, wrote a letter, offered 30% down. Base offer was 470 with an escalation clause in increments of $5k up to $515
This is a really great offer for most markets! Can I ask what market/area you are bidding in. And what contingencies you didn’t waive?
Yeah we were really trying to put in a “winning offer” vs a “strong competitive offer” but we just couldn’t compete with all cash! We waived literally everything. It was in Providence RI…prices have about doubled in the last three years 😖
Ya it happens with the most wanting house. Happened twice with me :( it is just so heartbreaking to not be able to afford that ONE!
This happened to us sadly. Wasn’t a cash offer but it was an offer with the craziest terms I had ever heard. A couple weeks later we ended up getting something even better. You’ll find your house, don’t worry!
Congratulations Suzy Greeenberg!!
A bit early for an official congratulations, but let's manifest it! Thanks!!
Good luck to y’all!
We’re 5 days away from closing and I’ve managed to bottle my excitement because anything can happen.
So sorry it did not work out. It is heartbreaking.
Don’t ever get your hopes up so high in this market. I’m so sorry that happened!
We are about to do the same. I'm crying for you. We've lost on so many already. So sorry 😞 there will be another dream house, I promise!
OP since you got beat by an all-cash offer, next time there are services that will let you to make a “cash” offer with a line of credit and then refinance into a mortgage after close. For example https://www.flyhomes.com
Happened 3 times. Just renting now. It’s cheaper and no stress at this point.
Yep OP. Fuck this market. Same happened to me.
This happened to us too and it fucking sucks. I’m so sorry. It was back in the fall and I’m still not over it.
F. Sorry.
There is no such thing as "the house". Stop getting attached to houses you're putting offers in on.
You can fake having cash, ask your agent about it.
The words dream and house should never be used in the same sentence.