Well I decided to call the first real estate agent (see previous post). I thought that was fair really - he DID give me the address first. I have organised a time to see the house again and another one which is close to the first house. The second one is bright blue, and is about $22k dearer on the listing price. Interesting information I found out though - there was an offer on the house we are interested in, but it was rejected. It is only $325k, so I am wondering what they offered? Now I am getting all nervous about offering $315k. But hey, we are prepared to pay just a little less than the listing price, in light of the age of the kitchen and bathroom (they're a bit outdated - still usable though). I think that is a fair first offer. What does everyone else think? Should I be offering more? (I mean this in relative terms to whatever property prices are in your area)
I would post pictures from the real estate site but I can't figure out how, even though I've done it before. Having a bit of a blonde day.
Also looked at a property near our current rental place. I am so confused as to what we should be considering.
These are the two options we've narrowed down:
Option 1 consists of houses in (and around) a town where we both went to high school. I'll call this town N. It has a bit of a reputation for having rednecks and deadbeats living in it, and it is a town that has been established for decades. Some people turn their noses up at the mention of it. The thing is that there are LOTS of rich people living in the town also, as well as lots of families, young and old. It's a generally relaxed town with a bit of an alternative/farmer streak. It has a produce market, a lot of opshops (our favourites, too) and pretty much everything. Property prices have always been steady in this town. There are several primary and high schools situated around it as well. The house that we like (N has many houses like this to offer) is 4brm, 1bath, 1toilet, large lounge, smaller dining, high set with a built in room downstairs plus laundry, room for two cars underneath as well as four spaces in the drive. It's on a 1107m2 block. This house was built in the 70s, then moved and modernised about 10 years ago to its current location. It has hardwood floors, two decks etc. We can expect to reasonably see the value increase to about $370k-$400k in five years. There has been talk of the main street in town N being revamped, but it's 'in the works'. The revamp would involve millions of dollars, so it has the potential to up our house value. Town N is about 20-25 minutes drive from my work, and about 15 minutes drive from BF's base work. This would mean more petrol per week.
Option 2
is where our parents live, I'll call it suburb P. It is central to the main CBD (as is town N, but suburb P is closer). Houses typically are around $400-$600k in this area. Good Houses. As in, the house we are buying in Town N, would be considered a Very Good House if it was done up a little more (which we are capable of doing). Suburb P is also 5 minutes from the beach. These factors make the land valuable, therefore the houses we would be looking at in our price range would be a bit crap, smaller, and in need of work. They are also smaller lots, typically 550m2 blocks. So basically half of what we would get if we bought in Town N. Suburb P is known for young, single mothers, surfers, some retirees, older families, and lots of rentals. Suburb P, though, is where BF's work is based. He could WALK to his dads house (where they leave from in the morning). It is also about 10 minutes drive from my work. Another thing is, with work, the property we could buy and fix up a bit more, would most likely be worth $400-$425k in five years time, or more. Suburb P is near an airport which is being expanded, (but doesnt get the noise) and has also had some major roadworks done in and around the suburb. These factors also make it possible to up the value of the property.
So there it is.
Our choices.
Town N has the real possibility of not only being a really great investment, but maybe actually being the town we decide to stay and raise kids in. So we have this thought of 'oh... if prices don't go up in 5 years and we can't re-sell... will it really matter? what if we just stay there? we like the house, we like the town...?'
Suburb P is nice because it's close to the beach. It's a suburb, so it's only got a local supermarket, some shops, a couple of restaurants etc. It's closer to work, it's closer to our parents (isn't always a good thing though!). It also has the possibility of being a good investment. But I can't guarantee that we will be happy to stay in the house we purchase there, for longer than five years. Maybe seven. But then there's the possibility that we could buy a better house there, in five years, because we chose to stick it out for the first five. We would much rather live in Suburb P, in a house from Town N, in the future, with children. Always the way, isn't it!?
But then again, with Town N, we just don't know if it will be the next town that is going to skyrocket. Places all over our area have a habit of doing that. If it did that, then our options would multiply in five years time.
Gosh. So confusing. I'm so tired already!
more house ramblings
January 12th, 2009 at 08:05 am
January 12th, 2009 at 03:43 pm 1231774994
I seems like you have more bonuses in town N than P, plus it is a place you would consider raising kids in, it is a bigger place, and it will have a greater value in 5 years.
January 12th, 2009 at 05:32 pm 1231781555
In fact, if $315K is really what you are willing to pay, think about going a couple thousand less on your first offer so you have some room for negotiation. Or, you can just say "This is our first and final offer. Take it or leave it." Of course, in that case, you must be prepared that they might "leave it."
Good luck.
Glad I'm not the only one with nothing but houses on my brain.
January 12th, 2009 at 05:50 pm 1231782656
January 12th, 2009 at 10:10 pm 1231798230
I am still leaning toward Town N, for a lot of Koppurs reasons. However, BF and I probably only visit Town N once every month. But if we lived in Town N, we would still visit Suburb P quite a bit anyway - so the beach is starting to look like not a big problem as we will still have a chance to use it.
Town N has a huge shopping complex which is good, and the main streets have a relaxed old style feel. Suburb P is close to the main CBD, which has a massive shopping complex - but we don't like it and usually avoid it as much we can. So we are thinking it would be good to not have to expose ourselves to that anymore.
SCFR: I was thinking last night that, if we do make an offer, we might make the first one $310k. We are actually pretty happy to pay $325k - (don't tell anyone that!). Our budget was $350k - which means that if we bought it for $325 we would have money straight away to do a lot of things we would like to do. Anything under the listing price is a bonus for us, which is going to work out well seeing as they are already agreeing to drop it. We just need to find out how much we can get them to drop.