"Dodged a bullet" - My buyer gave away $85,000 to save $2K. Back in 2019 my house hunters fell in love with a great house. They backed out due to needing a water tank soon, Mom told them it wasn't worth it. Mom feels awful today.
They are ready to start looking again with their new budget, up about $50,000. The houses they passed on back then for much less, at a lower payment were nicer than what they will be able to buy today.
The worst part is, we saw the best house at the lowest price the first week we were working together and then they waited to see more options and see more houses not wanting to rush, the market went up about 11% over the next few months.
The house size and style they are hoping for is now $85,000 to $100,000 more expensive than they were.
I prepared them for what to expect, I helped them review the data, I met with their parents. I did it all.
The data tells the story.
The fact is the market is the market, it's not sensible but it's predictable, and if you can follow the trends you can make smart choices.
The choice for them was to negotiate the water tank, which I could have done and likely gotten them more off of the price but Mom couldn't wrap her mind around them paying $600K for a house that needed $2K.
Mom made a mistake that cost them real money. Her emotions got in the way of these people in their 30's buying a house they could afford in an area they liked.
I'm told if you are a good parent you worry about making mistakes. I worry constantly about my kids. I make a ton of mistakes.
Mom got on the phone with me, she knows she was wrong, she asked me not to tell her I told her so, which I would NEVER.
Their choice today is whether to adjust their expectations to the new market and find the right home for right now or do they try to out save it with a down payment.
Here’s what I told her and them :
If the goal of waiting longer and saving more down payment is to get a better house, you need to out save the market.
If the market is up 10% and you save 10%, you still have the same size and style homes to choose from that you are rejecting today.
To get into a new price range you need to save more than the increases.
To try to gauge how much more you need to save bump up your budget in your search today.
See what's for sale, would you buy any of those homes? If so then you have a target range.
If not then you have a market mismatch and need a new strategy, a larger down payment alone likely isn’t fixing the issue.
Let’s look at seller paid closing costs, let’s look for sellers who will pay down your interest rate so that your monthly payment is lower offering you more house for the same money.
Let’s look for negotiable properties where we can get a better value.
The market shows no signs of slowing, decreasing, dipping or crashing.
If you are feeling ready to buy a new home and you are worried about rates and "bidding wars" I hear it, I feel it for you and with you.
Let's find out what you can comfortably afford today in your dream towns.
If you like the look of them let's go see them and see how you feel in person.
If you don't love them let's look at whether it's sensible for you to look at lower taxed, lower priced communities with similar quality of living or look at other sizes and styles to try and save money in your dream towns.
The looking and learning doesn't cost you anything, the waiting to learn the market is costing you real money over time.
If you are wondering what type of mortgage, what type of home, what towns are right for you I’m here to help.
Before you agree to work with any mortgage person it’s smart to get a second opinion, ask me for a list of trusted resources that can help.
