You already said that you were going to repair the roof. So don't worry about that part of it. But, you should use the roof repair as leverage... never give anything up unless you get something in return, or at least try. The buyers do not know that you are willing to do the repair, so use it to get something that you want... probably a higher price. Your list price is $248,000. They are at $228,000 minus the $5000 closing costs. if you both give in the same amount, ($12,500) you end up at a net of $235,500. Is this acceptable to you? If so, then it should be an easy negotiation. If you need more, than you and your agent need to negotiate harder. (Use that roof replacement as leverage) If your agent did his homework and educated you thoroughly, you should already have the comps in hand from when he listed the place... it's only been 18 days. Doesn't matter what the buyer throws at you. In fact, you can throw those above comps at them sometime during the negotiations. Most of the time, I call my seller after I have emailed them the offer. We then go through the offer term by term, over the phone. Congrats on an offer so quick and good luck.

We have done 2 DIY kitchen remodels. The first was on a lower scale, but it involved removing a wall, new floors, new cabinets, new counters, new drywall, new recessed lighting, etc...I think it cost us probably $35k. The only thing we hired someone for was to install Cambria Quartz counters. It took about 4-5 months to complete from start to finish. That was while DH and I both worked full-time and we had 2 dogs and 2 cats but NO KIDS. The 2nd remodel only involved recessing a fridge into an existing wall. But DH basically had to remove that wall and rebuild it. We added 2 new windows, new cabinets, new gas stove, new counters, new prep sink, new recessed lighting (old lighting was there but we moved cans and added some new ones). This remodel cost us more like $40k. We splurged on a nice Bluestar range and hood. We kept our old dishwasher and fridge. This remodel started April 2013 with a demo. We had a professional come in to sand and refinish the hardwood flooring. We didnt start installing new cabinets until late July 2013. So from May-June was just working in the kitchen that was down to the studs. We had 2 kids at this point too. I was cooking on a hot plate, microwave and toaster oven from mid April - late August. Awful! We didnt get counters installed until late September. So that makes it about 6 months and there are still tiny little details that need completing. I think your budget is tight for the big items (appliances, cabinets, counters) but you have to remember all of the little things that you will need to run out and buy at the local hardware store or home depot. Those will add hundreds or thousands to your bill. Plus items like faucets, drains, sinks, lighting. Those really add up. And there is no way you will get that all done in 1 week? That is just crazy. I would say you need more like 2 months and thats if you work like crazy. For this latest remodel we hired people to resand and refinish the floors, paid $700 for a guy to come do some drywalling for us, and then paid for the Quartz Countertop installation - Cambria that cost us close to $7k. My kitchen measures something like 16" x 11". Good luck though! I look forward to seeing your progress. I bought alot of things off of ebay (Blanco sinks, Grohe faucets) and that saved me at least $1000.

1. What’s most important in this market is that the agent is able to jump fast on a property you are interested in and work fast when you pull the trigger. As a for instance, my wife and I just bought a house. The listing came up at 10am on a Friday. We called our agent and were in the house for a showing at 1:00pm. She had an offer typed up, which we sent over by 5pm, and the seller accepted it by 9 am the next morning. This is how fast things happen these days. If you want to buy a house in this market, you need to know exactly what you want, and know what you’re looking at. Around here (I’m in CT), you have 30 to 60 minutes in the house to have a look at things and make a decision. It’s not like a normal market where you may go to 2 or 3 showings of the house before making an offer. Houses are going under contract in 2 to 3 days right now, often selling over asking price. 2. Rely on him to send you any houses that he gets leads on before they are listed. Outside of that, you will get up to date info by keeping the Realtor and Zillow apps on your phone and refreshing for new listings a few times a day at minimum. 3. Yes, he should be aware of what you want. 4. How large is the area you’re looking in? If you’re upfront about where you’re looking to buy and he’s fine with showings in that area, I wouldn’t worry about his drive. However, in this market I would lean towards only calling him for houses you are serious about. It’s not really a market to kick the tires on houses that aren’t perfect for you. Do a drive by of any house that you're considering before calling the agent. Get good at looking via google maps for the lay of the land. Some houses look perfect in the listing, until you see there's a highway in the back yard, or high voltage transmission lines. And it can be tough to get a feel for the neighborhood or the grading of the land online. Drive out there first, and immediately. 5. Only you can decide how much you’re comfortable spending. Not the bank. Not your agent. Just you. Approval amount has little bearing on what you’re able to spend. We were approved for nearly twice the amount we were comfortable spending. Bear in mind that mill rate and interest rate make a difference. With the low interest rates now, people can afford more house. When rates went down, we wound up buying a place that was $100K over our max when rates were in the 4s. And the taxes in some towns are considerably more than others. You have to look at the whole picture and decide what you’re comfortable with. Rates, taxes, and how needy a home is can swing affordability in HUGE amounts one way or another.

Hi everyone!! Not sure how many of you are still following this post that commented, but wanted to let you all know that I have officially paid off all of my student loan debt!!! Woo-hoo!!! I took advantage of the 0% interest and became really aggressive with getting down the balance. I’m in limbo with buying a home because of this terrible market for buyers, so I’ve decided to continue to hold off until the market starts to settle and just continue to put money in savings. Also, I’ve been in Atlanta for more than 10years and I’m not sure if this is where I want to purchase a home. I’m going to take some time to sort that out. My dream has always been to experience living some where in Southern California but sigh — cost of living. Anyways, just wanted to let you all know I crossed that major milestone!!!