I think in today's market you are crazy to buy another home if your home has not sold. If you can afford two mortgages, fine, but be prepared to hold both for a long time, especially if you're concerned the market is going down.

Sell your house first.

Ditto to everything sparksals said...particularly about carrying 2 mortgages for awhile.

This issue of not buying before selling is becoming a big cause of the slowdown in real estate. Think about it, all the homes for sale are also potential buyers, yet they won't buy until they sell,hence a standoff..Now the 1st time buyers who would have no home to sell are out of the market due to the tightening of credit and credit standards,so they can't relieve the bottleneck...I am not saying one should just jump into a purchase without selling,but until sentiment changes about real estate, i see little change forthcoming in the demand..

mercurygirl - is the price high because the house is not worth it to you, or do the comps support their higher price?

As far as carrying two mortgages - if your market is hot (and from all accounts Seattle still is), and you can carry two mortgages for six months with no problems, I'd go for it. We purchased our current home long before we sold the old house and will do so again.

Advice to hold off should be * for regional information. Not all areas are dead (my area is not), not all areas are hot.

I think you should do what's right for YOU. Several people on these boards are opposed to bridge loans or carrying two mortgages because of the slow housing market, etc. That doesn't mean it's a bad decision.

We found a house we LOVED...perfect for us in every way, especially the size and layout..and the price was right. We made an offer. Our old house hadn't sold yet. The owners accepted our offer with a 72-hour kickout clause. We were fine with that. We got an offer on our old house in mid-June and closed on a bridge loan June 29 for our new house. We closed on the old house July 11 and are now refinancing...maybe not the ideal situation since we have to pay two sets of closing costs...but moving ahead on the new house purchase before the old one sold was right for US and, in the end, that's all that really matters.

I say if your market is strong and you can afford two house payments (and related double expenses), go for it. Life too short to miss out on the house you really want.

Thanks everyone.

You all make good points, but terrig kinda nailed it. The thing is, this house is nearly everything I want...haven't seen that in the 1.5 year I've been looking. If we wait to sell this place, it may be history. I've been able to dither around because it's off the market right now, but they'll list it again soon. If I wait to sell my house, I may have a tough time finding another house, because I won't settle for something mediocre.

What's a bridge loan? The price is a little high because I know what they bought it for 3 years ago and approximately what they've put into it. I think they're holding out for a number they pre-decided.

Thanks again, this has been helpful!

If you're that picky Mercury, and haven't seen anything that good in the 1.5 years you've been looking, then definitely factor that into your deliberations.

And if the house is not listed currently, now might be the perfect time to make an offer directly to the owners if by doing so, you could avoid RE commissions. That could make a slightly lower-priced offer much more appealing. Or offer top-dollar if they're flexible time-wise and will help you avoid double payments.

Your house will sell -- and fixing it up and lowering the price will make it sell faster. Just do the math and talk to a few Realtors to see what combination of lower sale-price, possible two-mortgages makes the most sense to you. Or play with all of the financial elements -- The purchase price, sale price, monthly payments and RE commissions

As to what the price 'should be' -- try to forget what they paid for it and what they have in it as a basis for what they 'should' get out of it. That information is only useful for telling you their psychological selling point. Really, it has NO bearing on the value of the house, which is what a reasonable and knowledgeable buyer is willing to pay.

Do you really love the house? The neighborhood? Sometimes, it is 'emotionally worth it' to make a decision that is less-than-optimal in purely financial terms. Think of art -- What is the real value of some pigment smeared on paper? It's worth one amount to you if you love the painting, but something quite different to someone else...

Mercurygirl...A bridge loan is a sum of money lent by a bank to cover an interval between two transactions, typically the buying of one house and the selling of another. We borrowed the equity in our old house and the purchase price of the new house...sounds kind of scary...but that's your only payment. It's an interest-only loan. It's intended to provide short-term financing so you are able to buy the new house before the old one is sold.

Good luck! Let us know what happens!

Ask yourselves: How long can you manage the mortgages and maintenance on both houses? Is renting your existing house is a possibility if it doesn't sell by that time? Are you willing to ask and accept a lower price for your house than you would under other circumstances?

If you are comfortable with the answers to these questions, then go for it. We did it last year and have no regrets whatsoever, although carrying 2 mortgages was stressful and we didn't get the best deal on the one we bought, or top dollar on the one we sold. Life is short and now we have our dream house to enjoy it in.

Hope your situation works out for you, too.

The thing is, this house is nearly everything I want...haven't seen that in the 1.5 year I've been looking. If we wait to sell this place, it may be history. I've been able to dither around because it's off the market right now, but they'll list it again soon.

How do you know they will put it back on the market?

And if the house is not listed currently, now might be the perfect time to make an offer directly to the owners if by doing so, you could avoid RE commissions.

I would knock on their door, for sure. You never know why someone took it off the market or didn't sign another listing when it expired... What if someone made them an offer that if the house did not sell to call them and they'd talk... this way, there is no commission to pay if they wait long enough.

Isn't there a problem with the OP knocking on the door and offering even if it's off the market? Can't either realtor come back and demand the commission since they wouldn't have found the house without the realtor?

OP wrote:
The price is a little high because I know what they bought it for 3 years ago and approximately what they've put into it. I think they're holding out for a number they pre-decided.

Get what they paid out of your mind. So many people fall into that trap and try to determine how much profit someone should get on their house. What they paid does not figure into it at all. It is what the market will bear, what you are willing to pay and what they are willing to accept in order to sell.

If your belief it's priced high based on what they paid, you're barking up the wrong tree. They could be very much in line with comps.

As for double financing, bridge loans etc., as long as one can afford it, why not? However, there are many people who can't. It would be financial suicide for dh and I to risk buying another home while trying to sell the current one. We just couldn't do it in this market.

One must take their personal financial situation into account when making such a decision.

"Isn't there a problem with the OP knocking on the door and offering even if it's off the market? Can't either realtor come back and demand the commission since they wouldn't have found the house without the realtor? "

Yes if it is done within the 6 months after listing expiration/ withdrawal or whatever is specified in the listing agreement.

It is also completely immoral. If a realtor introduced the buyer to the property then they deserve their commission. Or do you all fancy doing your jobs for free too?

"If a realtor introduced the buyer to the property then they deserve their commission. Or do you all fancy doing your jobs for free too? "

I don't know about others, but 95% of the homes i looked at, were found by me via the internet sites or newspapers, and THEN a realtor showed me them..The issue is you really can't look at a home without a realtor,but unless the realtor "found" this particular home, i would not worry about paying them a nickel

Wow that's interesting. In my market when a buyer spends hours helpfully trawling the internet for listings and sending me obscure information that I then have to spend time decifering to track down that particular listing; 9.5 times out of ten the unit is already sold or does not meet one of the primary criteria which is why I haven't told them about it in the first place.

You must have a particular talent for finding the perfect listings yourself or an agent who doesn't bother to go through the listings they send you at all.

I send my clients all applicable listings from the MLS. The number of times I've received this e.mail:

" we saw this wonderful 2 bedroom on the Weichert website. Looks perfect - I wonder why it didn't come up in the search. It's a shown as a two bedroom, two bath with terrace listed for $585,000"

So now I have to go to the Weichert website, track down that particular listing and try to match it to the MLS - often not so easy when it's already been sold for 8 months for $569,000 or whatever.
Or more often than not it's because it's 950 sqft and the buyer said that 1300 sqft was the minimum space they would consider.

Do I mind this - absolutely not, it's part of the job. Does it bother me that someone posts " oh agents don't find the listings anyway". Absolutely it does.

Maybe you chose to work with a particularly ineffecient agent - but please don't make sweeping statements like that.

Perhaps you may be a professional realtor, but i stand by my statement..I don't consider it a sweeping statement either..The internet has allowed prospective buyers an opportunity to search for homes without the use of a realtor..Then, once a home is found they might be interested in, then the prospective buyer can "Google Earth" it, to check location, as not to be surprised by railroad tracks, or highways nearby, all this without the realtor.
When 1st buying a home in the late 80's, i can't tell you how many times a realtor would ask us our priorities, and then show us something we clearly weren't interested in..
The job of realtor may never completely disappear, but the internet will and IS going to eliminate some of their clout...

"when a buyer spends hours helpfully trawling the internet for listings and sending me obscure information that I then have to spend time decifering to track down that particular listing; 9.5 times out of ten the unit is already sold or does not meet one of the primary criteria which is why I haven't told them about it in the first place."

njrealtor, you & I must have worked with the some of the same buyers!

old magazines, websites with stale information, friends who say, "Why isn't your Realtor showing you my neighbor's house? It's a nice house & it's a lot cheaper."

As you say, 99.5% of the time, it's a wild goose chase:

not the desired school district,
yard too big/not big enough,
can't keep a horse/neighbors have livestock,
pool/no pool,
house has some problem not mentioned in the ad.

A buyer just called yesterday to ask why I hadn't shown him 2 houses that he found in a magazine & why I hadn't shown him one that his friend mentioned:

one had gone under contract before we even started looking...
one had this tidbit in the MLS that didn't appear in the magazine:
"foundation work done in 2003, may need to be re-done, gas in kitchen cannot be turned on, gas leak under house"...
& the one the friend mentioned was next door to an animal rescue that routinely kept 18 to 25 dogs in outdoor kennels.

I'm sorry, but if 95% of the homes you view are found by you then you must using a real incompetant as a realtor.

I think the internet is an enormously useful marketing tool for real estate and we positively welcome it. It has allowed us to provide a better service than ever before.

I don't know why it would remove a realtor's clout as you put it though. Unless a buyer wants to view every property directly through the listing agent thereby ensuring that they have no working relationship with the realtor negotiating the transaction, then why does it remove clout?

Because sellers can FSBO? I'm sorry, but that's no big threat. In a down market it's next to impossible to FSBO and even in a hot market I converted FSBOs all the time because they just can't manage alone.
When I sell my own home I list it through the MLS and have it on all the websites that our agency allows. This gives me access to all sorts of tools that a FSBO just doesn't have.

Anyway, FSBOs a whole other discussion. I just can't imagine who you must have chosen to work with when you find 95% of your own listings. Incredible.

njrealtor, stop patting yourself on the back, it is possible you are a good realtor.However,it is possible to find homes without the use of a realtor,but your opinion is that of all realtors,who's sole reason for that opinion is too protect their monopoly.
I would bet the majority of posters here, have utilized the web/and or other means much more then utilized a realtor to help find a home..
That said, there are Professional realtors that make a career out of real estate.They are diligient and do a great job.However, real estate lends intself to those who look to make a quick buck,those seeking PT work,and other less "professional" people..The barrier to becoming a realtor? A test my 8th grade daughter could pass...

I don't know about others, but 95% of the homes i looked at, were found by me via the internet sites or newspapers, and THEN a realtor showed me them.,

How in the world do you think they got to the internet? They don't just magically appear. They are put on the internet by the agents who pay to put them there as part of their marketing and advertising.

It is also completely immoral. If a realtor introduced the buyer to the property then they deserve their commission. Or do you all fancy doing your jobs for free too?

I should go back and reread before commenting...

We found a close to perfect place (for me) and made an offer. They countered and we came close...but backed off. They're not budging any more and I feel price is a little high.

I've been able to dither around because it's off the market right now, but they'll list it again soon.

Opinion changes...some... knock on the door to ask if they are still considering selling... since an agent already took you there and put a bid in, I feel you would owe something to the agent(s)...

Depending on when it went off contract and how long they are bound by the contract, they (or maybe ever you if you signed one) may owe commission, or at least what was spent to market the house.

How low did you offer that they rejected?

qdogni, I guess I have to simplify this for you. A realtor puts the listings on the internet so YOU CAN FIND THEM. You see, we actually want you to find the homes, its how they get sold. Its called marketing and advertising. Of course, if it were really the monopoly that you think, realtors wouldnt be using the internet at all, it would go back to the old ways, captive audience, in the office, flipping thru the books.

linda,i guess you don't understand the debate...It started with the need of using a realtor to FIND a home..njrealtor said the web isn't as important(i paraphrase) as a realtor in FINDING a home..So i guess you agree with me, as you point out the use of the interent as a listing tool...Now as far as a monopoly,can i directly list on the MLS service? Here in Nj and PA the answer is NO...Can i buy a listed house without a realtor and save some commish? NO, even though i don't have a buyers realtor, the listing agent would take the FULL commish, not 1/2 that they would get if i had a realtor(who would be entitled to the other 1/2)

rose, the first offer was about 6% under, which I thought was great, since the house sat for 6 months before expiring and has an unimproved kitchen and bath. It's a niche home, not likely to appeal to the average buyer and rather small for most as well.

Like I said, I think they're being a tiny bit greedy.
They are refinancing I think to do the kitchen, so I expect them to want even more when that's done. They do want to sell, though. I'm going on a trip for a week and will think it over.

The debate is pretty funny. Being the picky sort, I've found all of the properties we looked at, including the one we're discussing. A local real estate company has a great website with a geographical search function and automatic emails sent every day, so I've seen a lot of houses. I could sell real estate here by now. However, I have enlisted the help of an agent who sold us our current house. She never came up with many listings for me, but I figure it's the best way to see a place quickly and they sometimes have inside info. It doesn't cost any more anyway. And yes, I feel obligated to them now after making an offer!

qdognj - what was the point of the "stop patting yourself on the back" comment? I'm really interested to know.

I do very strongly believe that a realtor is a huge value added service IN MY MARKET when either listing or buying a home.

I am constantly getting calls from agents in my area asking me about long gone listings. Don't ask me how buyers find the old ones, I take them off my website as soon as they go into contract.

Lets put it this way so it's really easy for you to understand. We are thinking of moving to another NJ town. Do I look at the internet listings to get an idea of what is out there and what the cost is? Absolutely.

But when it comes to viewing things, I receive the MLS sheets from the agent and choose based on what is available. If I saw something on line which was just outside of the target area that we had specified then I would ask about it.
I might use the internet to view multiple photos of the homes I had narrowed down from the MLS search and narrow down further that way.

The internet is an invaluable tool both for sellers and for buyers. As is the use of a realtor.

I am licensed in NJ but will STILL use a realtor to buy a place in a NJ area I am not so familiar with. Saves us an enormous amount of time and aggravation.

You can list on the MLS just as soon as you take that test that your 8th grade daughter could pass and pay all your licensing fees. Until then you do not have the right to list on a private MLS system that we pay and work hard (whether you think so or not) to use. It is right and proper that you should not have access.

The same malarkey was said by stockbrokers about 10 years ago, about how the internet would NEVER replace them..in mid 90's you "had" to place a purchase of stock thru a broker and pay nearly 100 bucks for a trade of 100 shares..Now, i can place a trade via the internet with SAME investment firm for 9.95...Now, granted you can still have the privelege of placing an orde with a broker,but it'll cost you more..Some people prefer it over placing it over the 'net, some like the convinience of the 'net..
the same is happening in the "realtor" business, at some point the business model with shift away from the myriads of "realtors".
It will still be necessary ,to some extent ,to provide the services of realtors,but not nearly as much as they do now..
Commish rates are always negotiable,but they won't tell you that...There are firms now that will list your home for a flat fee,only 5 years ago, that was not happening..the monopoly is slowly changing, and those that adapt to the "new" era will survive

Of course the business is evolving. All businesses evolve and have new tools to help them along.
Is there any business that remains static without any change over the years.

Your point doesn't make much sense to me. Of course agents who can adapt will survive and those that can't will struggle. Isn't it the same way with any business/ job?

You're not saying anything new you know.

Do I think buying or selling a home with hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars is the same as placing a trade for $9.95? No. It is one of the most important and stressful events in life for many people and they need the help of an expert.

Now when you've taken that test your 5th grade daughter could pass and paid your dues, maybe you will be that expert. Until then, it's not.

I am still interested to hear about the "patting myself on the back" comment.

it's 8th grade daughter...5th likely would have a tough time with it...At the end of the day a realtor(not the broker)is simply a facilatator...And you know as well as i , you don't need a realtor to "help" you thru a purchase..Most people could do it, some prefer not to...Real estate lawyers say a similar thing...But it is funny that once you leave an area like NJ, as i have recently, lawyers are rare at a closing...It is done thru a title company...
And the patting on the back comment,was in reference to your self-serving comments about how you converted FSBO's ,etc..I am sure you are very good at what you do,though most realtors are simply not..

How do you convince people who don't want to pay for what they've taken that paying for it is the right thing to do?

How many questions on this forum boil down to
"How can I get out of paying the Realtor?"

Rationalizations include "I found it myself" (as nj says, that's the idea), to "Neighbor who looked at the house earlier came over *when the Realtor sign went up* & said he'd buy it if he didn't have to go thru a Realtor, so Realtor really didn't make it happen (wanna bet neighbor didn't think you'd really sell until he got ready to lowball whatever price you had quoted him pre-Realtor?),
to one of my favorites, "Realtor didn't work hard enough."

Oh, yes, Realtor did work hard enough.

just like your lawyer worked hard enough, & your doctor worked hard enough, & your mechanic worked hard enough.

If the lawyer gets you what you want, & the doctor cures your flu, & the mechanic removes the ping on the first visit, do you think they didn't work hard enough & wonder if you ought to "offer to pay them something for their trouble"?

no.

You are grateful that they solved your problem so quickly.

Do you think their services are worth more if they "work hard", ordering every test in the book because you do not agree that you have the flu or that the ping is in the engine?

no.

You think their services are worth less because they don't recognize the problem & know what to do about it on the first visit.

The difference is that the lawyer, doctor, & mechanic all charge you every time you use their time & expertise, they tell you what their fees are, & you pay them whether you get the results you want of not.

I don't have a problem with people not needing my services.

What I do have a problem with is people who use my services & don't want to pay what they've agreed to pay for them, or who don't want to pay for them at all.

qdognj; perhaps you would like to post your occupation so that we can all degrade and be rude to you also? Your last post is difficult to follow, it seems to jump around a lot. "Most people could do it" - do what? Be a realtor? Sell their own home. I don't think either is true.

You strike me as the kind of person who will always be right no matter what. If you say the sky is green, then it's green. End of story.
Shame - most people are able to see the point of others and value them. You it seems, are not.

Self serving comment about converting FSBOs?? Huh??
It just sounds like you have an axe to grind. It must be tiring feeling so superior all the time.

qdogni, I guess I have to simplify this for you. A realtor puts the listings on the internet so YOU CAN FIND THEM. You see, we actually want you to find the homes, its how they get sold. Its called marketing and advertising. Of course, if it were really the monopoly that you think, realtors wouldnt be using the internet at all, it would go back to the old ways, captive audience, in the office, flipping thru the books.

I had a big reality check the other night after the unsuccessful agents luncheon. I went to a few major sites (Century 21, Caldwell Banker) looking for a house in my area, my selling price, with my specs... my house never came up. This was why I used the agent I did because I found her as a buyer, she had the best site that pulled from the MLS.

To see that other people that only use these sites will not find my house makes me mad. I don't understand how they wouldn't want a sale... unless it was exclusive to their agency.

rose, the first offer was about 6% under, which I thought was great, since the house sat for 6 months before expiring and has an unimproved kitchen and bath. It's a niche home, not likely to appeal to the average buyer and rather small for most as well.

Like I said, I think they're being a tiny bit greedy.
They are refinancing I think to do the kitchen, so I expect them to want even more when that's done. They do want to sell, though. I'm going on a trip for a week and will think it over.

They wouldn't try to make a working offer with you?
What I don't understand is, why didn't you go up in price? Why do you think they will even consider another offer if they wouldn't try to meet in the middle then?

Well, they did come down halfway to our offer. We then came up a little, but they wouldn't come down any more.

So we got pretty close, and I am rethinking it, but am going away tomorrow for a week so can't do much until then.

Like I said, we are somewhat worried about carrying two mortgages and this one would be close to our upper limit. I try to be financially conservative, but I love the house, so...

qdognj: .But it is funny that once you leave an area like NJ, as i have recently, lawyers are rare at a closing...It is done thru a title company...

No matter what area of the country, regardless if it is customary or not, the best dollars spent during a real estate transaction are on a good real estate attorney. If you cannot find a local residential real estate attorney, call a local corporate real estate attorney for references.

As far as people pulling old listings off websites: it may help when you have a new client seeking to purchase a home to direct them to the local mls, not your website, not some else's website. Unless things have changed in NJ in the last two years, the njmls requires Realtors to keep very current with those listings. Personal websites can be pretty dated.

As far as qdognj's comments regarding an agent finding a house - this forum is littered with posts of people who used the agent only as a doorman (myself included). In NJ we used two agents (different areas) to find a home. The first agent sent her weekly "update" of overpriced garbage (market was very hot then so it may be all she had). The second agent had a long discussion with me once about how since we asked he showed us the 2% commission house, but otherwise he'd have never brought it to our attention. When we decided to move to WNY, it was even worse - our agent never brought one house to our attention, was not proactive at all, and was pretty useless. Since we were his first clients (the ole family friend gambit - wow did we give him advice after our sale. He sold his second house two weeks later and had done quite well since. He really took our advice to heart.) - and we knew what we wanted, how the local mls worked, and that the market while very hot, seldom sold in hours. Fortunately, I eventually stumbled upon our current home.

I'm quite sure there are Realtors who attend caravans, scope out the house prior to viewing (especially on very high end homes) so they can point out wonderful features to their clients, who send out listings as soon as something new comes on the market, who keeps files with buyers like, dislikes, necessities and price ranges.... but that seems to be a fairly rare Realtor. Bless you if that describes the way you work. You are earning your commission as the agent that brings in the buyer.

xamsx, i agree about the lawyer aspect you note..i was very surprised when i said to my closing agent, that MY lawyer suggested such and such...The closing agent said why did i have a lawyer? lol...

I am by no means the 'perfect realtor' if there is such a thing. No files on client's likes and dislikes - I listen to what they are looking for and then show them things which I think will appeal.

Of course I keep an eye on the 'new listings' every day on the MLS and if there is anything new that meets requirements then I forward it to my clients. That seems like a very obvious step.

Most agents also go to Broker's Open Houses or "caravans' as you call it - at least in my area.
That's normally the extent of my previewing (unless I have a client looking for something VERY specific who lives out of town).

Otherwise the buyer and I work together to chose which listings to view from the selection I have sent and off we go. The more we see, the more I get a feel for what they want.

Then I help them decide on an offering strategy and help them locate attorney/ inspector etc. I negotiate the offer and assist with everything through closing (and often beyond). Some clients end up as personal friends and I work primarily from referral from previous clients.

Most (but not all) agents in my office work on a similar basis, go to the broker's open houses and e.mail out new listings.
None of that is what makes a great realtor in my opinion - that should be a given. I think the real talent is in the negotiating and in giving people advice based on what you would do if it were you in their shoes.
I never advise anyone to do anything that I wouldn't consider doing myself.

I am well educated as are many of my colleagues and like most of them I would not go back into a 9 to 5 job unless I had no other choice.

I do not think I am that unusual at all in those respects. I see the odd terrible agent here, but they are the exeption, not the rule.

I find the comments qdognj pretty offensive - whoever qdognj is sounds like a pretty sad and pathetic person. I simply cannot imagine saying some of the things that he/she has said about another person's chosen occupation.

njrealtor, you really don't need to explain how you work. All the agents that take the time out of their busy schedules to enlighten the masses at gardenweb show their true desire to help, teach and learn with every post they make. We don't all agree, but the information from Realtors, buyers, sellers, bankers, lawyers, inspectors, etc. posted here helps to make a more informed buying and selling public.

Unfortunately, you will read many, many stories here about lousy agents. People come to forums for advise on how to fix something that is wrong, no one goes looking for advise to fix something that is right (well, you know what I mean :-P ). It does seem that this forum can be very anti-Realtor which probably can be directly laid at the steps of "bad Realtor" stories.

You will indeed find many people who believe Realtors preform an important function in the real-estate cog and would not consider selling a house without a realtor's services (myself included). You will find die hard FSBOs. You will find those that are apathetic, and those that wish there was some other way.

It takes all kinds to make up a truly informative forum. And the buying and selling forum certainly seems to have "all kinds".

Welcome to gardenweb. :-)

I have nothing against healthy discussion and disagreement - it's just terrible bad manners which irritate me and qdognj really takes the biscuit for bad manners!
What a terrible example to be setting the 8th grade daughter.

To the OP...

We are a society accustomed to instant gratification. As a banker, I would caution against allowing emotions of NEVER finding another suitable house to get in the way of sound financial judgment. Only you know whether carrying the entire expenses for two homes will burden your finances and/or your relationship with your spouse.

Also, if you're at all dependent upon receiving a specific dollar amount from your current home in order to comfortably afford the new one...best, IMO, to sell first. In a soft and/or declining market what your home might be worth today could be quite different than what it'll be valued at 2-4 months from now should it take that long to find a buyer.

Wishing you fair winds & safe harbor.

Tricia

Mercurygirl - some of the input here is based on the market in Seattle, but I think you have to look deeper than that before you look into carrying two mortgages. And perhaps you have and haven't detailed it here. Have you had a REA look at the house? Are you in a price range, neighborhood etc. that will sell easily? What are people looking for in your immediate area and do you have it? Schools, ranch vs. 2 story, basement vs. slab etc.
I.e. regardless of the Seattle market - will YOUR house sell in record time?

Also - you worry about the new place losing value. Are you looking for the perfect place to live for a long time or do you envision moving? Its very hard to do both, find the perfect place and break even if you have to sell in a few years. At least that's been my experience. I'm at a point where I'm considering renting long term and putting off the perfect place till retirement.

I certainly sympathize on finding the perfect house and I too have a very set mind on what I'm looking for an don't want to settle either.

How often have you looked at this place? Sometimes repeat drive bys and visits will help, you will either still love it or start to notice things that may not be as perfect as you thought.

P.S. I'm with qdog on this one, always found my own place. Before the internet too by old fashioned driving around. When looking realtors just drive me crazy and waste my time.

No one *has* to use a buyer's agent.

But I would never try to sell my home FSBO. It's simply beyond what I'm willing to do. I have a real job of my own and my employer expects me to be there. I can't be home on any given day to show the house to someone who turns out to just be driving around looking.

And marys1000, I'm sorry you think that driving around with an agent is a waste of your time. I've had a different experience, one which impressed me to no end. I was dreaming of moving years ago (it didn't work out) and I was using a buyer's agent. I had also been out driving around through neighhoods that I thought I would want to live in, just looking for "for sale" signs. Even though I would take notes, after a while all the houses just seemed to run together. I felt lost. Then I mentioned to by buyer's agent that I had driven past a house that I just loved (from the curb anyways), but I couldn't remember where it was. I described the unique roof line and a breeze-way that caught my eye, and she immediatly knew which house I was talking about. I don't know if it was a fluke or if her many years of experience with this area were paying off. As I said, that move didn't work out, but the debate about Realtors becoming useless reminded me of that story.

And one more thing, qdog, when you're out finding your own house all by your big self, how do you get IN the house to look at it?? No seller, including FSBO's, is going to leave the front door unlocked for you. They hire a responsible agency to control who and when someone enters the seller's house to view it, and to supervise the tour.

I like agents (good ones) but I also hate driving around in a car with an agent. Haven't done that in years, I just find my own on the net, then call the listing agent directly, much faster and better for negotiations. I'm experienced, I don't need a second agent.
Anyone reading this forum will realize many people have been burned by truly bad agents, there are good ones out there, but the bad ones overshadow the good.
Also, it is tiresome, reading many comments from agents on this forum that are self serving, not all are, but many try to scare people into using an agent.
Just like my comment about using the listing agent, another agent will tell me it is dangerous for me to do so, I must be protected by a buyer's agent. I do not agree.
As I said, I like using an agent, I would not do a FSBO, but I don't want emails from an agent.

Rose

I had a big reality check the other night after the unsuccessful agents luncheon. I went to a few major sites (Century 21, Caldwell Banker) looking for a house in my area, my selling price, with my specs... my house never came up. This was why I used the agent I did because I found her as a buyer, she had the best site that pulled from the MLS.

To see that other people that only use these sites will not find my house makes me mad. I don't understand how they wouldn't want a sale... unless it was exclusive to their agency

Rose - are you saying that you can't find your listing on other RE co's websites? Is it possible your realtor only put it on her companies website and not the MLS? That sounds like a major problem! You should be able to find your house on any RE co's site, not just your realtor's. Am I missing something?

No, she has it listed. It's the sites I was on, they only show (or were showing) their own listings. I'll have to go back, maybe there was something to check saying show "all" listings, I recall some sites having it when I looked in Feb / March.