Will be making an offer on a home - need advice
7 years ago
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- 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
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Making offer on older house. Need finacial advice.
Comments (8)I think refurbishing old windows is much wiser than sticking new ones in unless you can afford to have high quality true facsimiles made (very big bucks there). Windows are so important to the look of the house. Old windows that are rehabbed can be quite energy efficient. And older windows were made with much better wood than is available today. Don't let the replacement window guys talk you into it until you've had a chance to look into refurbishing properly. Try the old house forum on this site or John Leeke's website (link below). There's also a very good book by Terry Meany called 'Working Windows'. Most window repairs are something that can be done by even relatively inexperienced DIY'ers and it's a very good project since it can be done in quite modest chunks, even just one window at a time. Molly~ Here is a link that might be useful: John Leeke's website with excellent info on repairing windows...See MoreNeed advice on putting in 'low ball' offer
Comments (7)Most towns do a horrible job with assessments, so I would toss those out the window. As for the comps you are pointing out, they need to be recent. Sales from 2 years ago are not good guides. If you have an agent, they should be able to help you out with pricing. A general strategy is to find recent homes that have sold in the area and calculate the price per square foot. That should give you a range for "reasonable" prices. As for strategy, there is no downside in making a fair offer. If the owner doesn't think your fair offer is in the ballpark, then you are going to be a match. A"lowball" offer is where you purposely give them a below market offer to see if the are desperate. That does have the potential to backfire because the owners may be insulted and unwilling to negotiate back towards a fair price. If your idea of fair and their idea of fair are nowhere close, no amount of strategy is going to make a deal happen. Also of note, if you are looking in "transitional" neighborhoods where people are making major improvements to older homes, it is not unusual to see a renovated house going for say 500k+ while the houses that haven't been renovated sell at half that. This can be confusing for both owners and buyers in terms of pricing....See MoreFront of house needs advice to make front look more appealing
Comments (6)Not being familiar with what is winter hardy in your region, I hesitate to make a lot of specific recommendations. However, a few things to consider: Japanese maples are adaptable, but have only moderate to low tolerance for salt, so think about whether your road is salted in winter and where run-off goes when you are placing that tree. Basically, think about placing plants to connect your house to the land, so it looks like it is nestled into the setting rather than sitting atop it, and something to soften some of the edges. The large trees behind and alongside your home give you a good start on this. Evergreens will, of course, give you color and coverage year 'round, but don't overlook deciduous plants hardy in your region that will also provide winter interest, like winterberry holly (you'd need a male and a female), red twig dogwood, witch hazel. Plants native to your region are usually a good choice, as they are well-suited to the climate and have co-evolved with and support local wildlife (think birds, butterflies, bees, and a host of tiny beneficial insects that help control pest insects). Therefore, native plants usually (but not always) require less attention from you. There are many non-native plants, too, that will "play nicely" with your native choices. Choose plants that are well-suited to the site where they will be living. Consider the amount of sun/shade, moisture levels, wind conditions, and, very important: your soil. Best bet is to have a soil sample analyzed for structure, pH (acid/alkaline balance) and nutrients. Here in the U.S. we have our cooperative extension services, run by state universities, with offices in most counties that provide a wealth of information, including soil testing. Perhaps you have something similar? If not, then you can do some basic tests at home. Most common landscape and garden plants on the east coast of North America prefer slightly acid to neutral soil that drains well, but is rich enough in organic matter to retain some moisture and nutrients....See MoreReally close to making an offer, need some advice...
Comments (4)The first thing to do is get the lot under contract. You can do an option period in my state that you pay a fee to the owner that they get to keep if you back out for taking it off the market for a certain time frame for you to do the due diligence assuming all other terms are good with the owner. For example one may pay $100 for 10 days to do the inspection of whatever you may want to do during that time period. This option allows you to back out for any reason, ie you don't have to give one. You will forfeit the $100 if you do so. If you move forward the $100 is applied at closing towards the price so you don't loose it. If offering lower and there is a lot of other interest make sure you put a short time limit on the offer as the agent will likely call others who have shown an interest to let them know there is an offer and if somebody else wants it it is likely they will submit one too. We had this happen recently. However the property we were looking at was not one where to us we wanted to pay a higher price so we choose to not increase our offer....See More- 7 years ago
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