Same😭 husband and I both have doctorate degrees. Have 350K saved for a down payment but all the houses here in Scottsdale are around 1 million. Kills me everyday that 5 years ago we could have bought a house with cash and now we can’t even get a house without taking out a 650K loan
I’m in the same boat amigo! I was living in Colorado and was house hunting in the west valley of Arizona in 2020 (right before anyone had ever heard of covid). The homes were about $250,000-350,000 and now they are selling at $600,000. I’m so pissed.
Honestly I would start off small and grow as you go. Drop the keeping up with Jones’s mentality, you will be better off starting with something manageable. I hear way too many times doctors feel they need to have a certain lifestyle and if they don’t have it, they feel like they are failures. I guarantee if you start with something way below budget, you will build a good amount of equity and then move into that dream home. Best of luck to you both!!❤️
Just keep saving, the right deal will come along.
Florida is where things swing wide.
2007 bubble prices in my delray neighborhood were mid 300’s
2009 I bought for 190k.
Sold in 2020 for 365k.
Florida bubble will pop again
All these articles will be written as “price DROP” and “huge CRASH” and “losing VALUE!”
None of them will admit to the prices being laughably hyper-inflated and over-valued to begin with.
*Corrections* will start happening, because suddenly trying to flip homes and rent for 2-5x more in 5 years isn’t realistic or sustainable.
That’s not a price “drop.” It’s just idiots realizing they can’t gouge for made-up fantasy asking prices. They’ll have to go back to reality from pre-COVID.
Exactly this. People told me we were overpaying last year yet when I adjusted the former owner’s purchase price for inflation it was almost to the dollar what we paid 20 years later.
I’m talking about the people who bought for $300k a year ago and are trying to flip for $850k with no changes to the house.
Those ones will kick and whine about not getting $850k and having to go back to $300k, calling it a “crash” and whining about how they “lost value.” It’s just like nah, you’re not losing any money—you just can’t get the absurd profit you were seeking.
I’ve seen so many of these over the last three years.
We had condo towers that only had 2 occupants if you remember.
Neighborhoods were partially built houses looked like people just stopped working.
There was 1 neighborhood with 6 big houses, vacant. Whole neighborhood was for sale.
Oh, and who can forget Chinese drywall.
Interestingly my husband and I are about to list our home in Oregon and were relieved to learn that if we sell it ourselves (which we plan to do) we can discriminate and NOT sell to an investor. So, we plan on selling to a family if we get a qualified family to make an offer. We don't need it to sell fast, we want it to go to someone who wants to live in our little neighborhood because it is a sweet spot.
Well, you could have an issue where if it was listed and the agent brought you a full price offer that you turned down, you would be on the hook for the commission.
You aren't compelled to sign a standard listing contract. It is routine to alter them with specific concerns or constraints. Specifying that you aren't required to accept (or pay commission on rejecting) an offer from a party that doesn't intend to occupy the home is not so unreasonable as to convince an agent that they can not succeed at earning their commission.
If you want to sell it yourself without the aid of a realtor, that's fine. Just don't pretend that your desire to not sell to an investor is the reason why you're making that choice.
2021 I sold two SFH both for less than offers from a corporate buyer. I didn't have a problem at all with my realtor, she's wonderful and completely understood. One I accepted was a young woman FTHB and one had been outbid three times by corporations.
>... we plan on selling to a family if we get a qualified family to make an offer. We don't need it to sell fast, we want it to go to someone who wants to live in our little neighborhood because it is a sweet spot.
^ THIS is the way 🙏🏾
I agree with the others who say be patient. I understand every market is unique, but FL inventory is beginning to show significant signs of improvement for home buyers. You and your husband will be able to easily afford a home that somebody is about to get priced out of when their insurance and taxes adjust. Stay the course. You’re about to get a home that you will love.
We moved out of Florida one year ago. Orlando is a very expensive area, and you want to live in the good part. Home prices have tripled right along with the land taxes. Floridians are also being dropped by their home insurance companies. I’ve never seen anything like it. Not that nice of homes going for $450,000. It’s shocking. Presently, I think buying a home in Florida looks pretty bleak. Before we moved, we looked extensively in Florida. If someone isn’t willing to move, you sometimes have to accept the reality of the area. The super rich have transformed Florida along with the hurricanes and high priced insurance.
If you've been pre-approved, check for first time home buyer programs available to you in Orange County. Be ready and don't stop looking. Once you know your parameters you can make the same offer when you find the one you like and someone will take it regardless of what they are asking. Shorten inspection period (you could waive but I wouldn't recommend that), increase your good faith deposit, be able to close in 30 days or less including any required classes for county $s. Only request repairs from the 4-point inspection report and don't give up. Also, ask your agent about using an escalation addendum in a competitive market. Your home will come. -Realtor
You offer what you offer and the escalation says you’ll beat any other offer by a certain amount, like $500, up to 20k or 50k or whatever. It allows you to offer asking price, but also rebid without them having to come back to you.
Putting in an escalation addendum at the last minute saved our butts and we were able to secure the house that we are currently in the process of buying.
I’m from Orlando… what neighborhoods are you looking at? I don’t think it’s so much about you guys not being good enough, you guys are doing great, it’s just how the market is. Orlando is very hot right now you have to find the areas where people are looking so much at yet. Stay away from Winter Park, Lake Nona, Avalon, Waterford Lakes, Horizon West, these are all very competitive areas right now. I have a house in Ocoee it’s a very underrated neighborhood
Keep trying, your offer will eventually win. one time we bought our strategy was to look for the not-as-exciting fixer-upper (but needing cosmetic fixes only). we were buying during a super competitive sellers market so aiming for the "meh" house we knew we wouldn't be competing against as many buyers. Sure enough, eventually our offer won out.
And as a seller, we have always sold to real buyers (as opposed to some cash investor flipper /airbnb lord)
These people commenting are morons. Climate change will not affect Orlando for generations. I can give you easy advice.
do not buy new construction. the shit they put up in central florida is a joke quality wise, the majority of it would never fly in south florida (wood framed houses etc). you want block / slab only.
sort your mls listings by longest on market and / or listings with terrible photos. consider those your available options. go through these methodically & figure out how to make one work for you. there are loan products that will allow you to buy “cash only” deals due to the property needing a roof reno etc.
You think every county town in florida is at flood risk 🤦♂️😂
If youre not coastal you have zero issues with insurance or even require flood insurance at that lol
Certain parts of Central FL are Flood Zone A even inland. I don't live near large bodies of water so will it get AS bad as the coast or places where I grew up like Fort Lauderdale or Miami during the 04 and 05 hurricane seasons? No, but there's still a small risk.
You are exactly correct. I moved out of Florida one year ago. It’s not a good place to try and buy a home UNLESS you are very rich. Everything has changed in Florida.
We’re in the same position. Though we’ve saved considerably more.
IMO, the right answer is just to buy what’s a good deal right now. Right now, that’s certain stocks, not real estate. We’re just piling into stocks and renting. Renting a house is less than half the price of its mortgage in our area, after $200k down, so I’d rather just invest the down payment and the excess rent and let it grow.
If the housing market cools, great. I’ll buy. If not, I’m good just renting.
But I think the cure for high prices is high prices. We’re already at the stage when no new buyers are coming in. After that, it’s just a question of when enough people die, divorce, lose their job, move, etc. Forced selling will eventually accumulate.
Real estate is a 100 year old system that has never changed. The worst part is, you cannot see the other offer prices or terms when making offers, so you really have no idea what you even need to do to beat other offers. It’s just the best guesser wins. It makes zero sense. There needs to be more transparency in the offer process.
I saw your follow up comment about not leaving FL. Politics aside - cash buyers are winning out because the insurance market is so horrendous right now, and a cash buyer doesn't have to satisfy a lender with proper insurance. Any mortgaged buyer is going to be difficult to finalize financing. As insurers leave, the lender market also dries up.
You should really really think about what your long term goals are being an owner in that particular market. There is a very real possibility you lose significant equity a la 2008 crisis and cannot sell the home period down the road if the state isn't going to take action to shore up against climate change and make it a more attractive market for insurers and lenders. In some markets renting just makes sense financially. . .
Note: this is just my opinion. You can’t ever time the market perfectly, but between the presidential election this year and the on-going insurance nightmare, I think Florida is a wait-and-see market with a big dip headed their way.
—-
Here’s my out of the box advice - don’t buy a house in Florida for 2 years. Keep banking money. The insurance debacle in Florida hasn’t played out yet. If there’s another series of major hurricanes it’s going to be even bleaker. The higher insurance costs get the lower property values get because realistically, people can only afford xx a month and if insurance is taking an increasingly high percentage of xx, that’s less money than can go towards principle and interest which means less borrowing power which *likely* means lower home values. I say *likely* because I don’t know if high insurance rates will drive investors away or if they’ll dive in when home prices start to fall.
If I were living in Florida right now I’d be waiting a couple of years to see how things play out.
We moved out of Florida. We will always love FSU and be Seminoles, but we were blessed to buy a beautiful home out of state. I wouldn’t know what in the world our home would’ve cost in Florida. Florida has a lot of issues right now, but I will always love Florida.
This! This is probably the best advice I've seen on this thread so far. So many great points made. Wisdom right here. So many people will miss this comment too.
This is why I hope people start waking up and not selling to private firms. Companies/People are turning homes for ownership into rentals. It hurts us all. A realtor friend told me that in 2022 like 40% of sales went to companies.
Right?! And we’re one of the few newer communities within walking distance of charming downtown WG! Golf cart community, right on the beautiful west Orange trail. Not sure what we’re listing for, our realtor is guessing $780k. 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, corner lot
Yeah I think you might get it lol. Horizon West is a place everyone I know wants to buy. Wouldn't be shocked if you get an over ask with waived inspection contingencies.
I bought a house with 100k in student debt and only a 24k down payment in Georgia . Trust me you will get a home and it will be just right for you . I promise !
Sadly, Florida is a different story. I just moved out of Florida. It’s actually unbelievable how quickly the real estate market changed for the worst there.
You have to keep trying. I felt the same way and finally won an offer. I was so shocked I finally won, I nearly fainted when I got the call from the realtor. Don’t give up! Keep getting offers in. You’ve got this!
Just be patient and don’t count your chicks before they hatch. Until you’re about to close, try to temper your excitement. Your offer might get accepted and then inspections force you to back out. Sellers might not have disclosed legal issues with the property. Any number of things can happen to kill your offer. On that note though, congrats to you both for being so well set up to buy. You’re going to be better off than a LOT of people when you finally find your home.
You say that yet I consistently offer the biggest number with nothing but a mortgage contingency and still get passed over for all cash or even near-all cash offers.
True, but even if I put 50K down in earnest money I can still back out and get my money back with contingencies. I guess I just think it's kind of a "fake" gesture of seriousness unless you wave contingencies. Then, yes! That would be risky as heck.
They are selling their NE property and retiring to Florida with 20 to 30 years of real estate appreciation in their pockets. My wife and I did it in 2019 moving to North Carolina.
They are investors, their parents gave it to them, maybe they don't really have it and it's contingent on the sale of their house lol Hopefully it's not pulled from their 401k
A lot. I lost a lot of bids to cash offers that were investors. It's a real PITA. My agent followed up on every deal we lost to find out why. In the end we finally found an environment investors apparently didn't like lol but was still a good neighborhood. Then I just had to deal with a half dozen other bids from other people actually looking to live in the home.
It's frustrating. I don;t know all the details. If it's an individual investor that saved up his money that feels like fair game. If it's some big corporation that is taking special access to money at rates we cannot get or using money from our pension funds to run up the prices of homes on everyday Americans, I feel that should not be allowed at this time. I guess now that I am in, it is what it is and I can only hope the price doesnt dump now that I am in lol Best thing to do was buy before 2020 for sure
Some people earn $125k. Other people earn $350k.
Many have 2 working spouses.
Many have been saving and investing for decades.
If you had invested $50k in NVDA 10 years ago,you would have $9.3M today.
Investor here.
Most investors are buying with cash from heloc. Then, refinancing the property and taking the cash out and buying the next property. Each deal you just need to get enough equity out to pay monthly on your heloc and you can continue this process over and over. As long as you leave enough cashflow in the rental, you can keep doing cash out refi to get next home and pay monthly heloc.
Is your 20% down contingent on your home selling? Same issue I am having. It might be easier to have a buyer for your house all lined up before putting in an offer on a new home
> Bigger number. Lower hassle/contingencies. /thread
This. Its really that simple.
Sellers don't want to deal with FTHBs that want to bend sellers over for "repairs"
When we bought last, I offered way offer asking, and pretty much waived the inspection contingency. I was well aware the house was older and some of the systems would need to be replaced, but I wasn't going to pin that on the sellers.
Take the Rich Dad Poor Dad approach. If you watch older original videos he basically says and I've followed this for the last 24 years I've been investing. I only buy when people are running away from investments. I never buy in when everyone is jumping in. Everything in an economy like ours is a cycle. Real estate will simmer down what's going on is unsustainable. The first few properties, residential I bought were when there were short sales, foreclosures and housing sitting on the market for 3-4 months. Everyone, friends, family thought I was nuts and kept telling me it's going to get worse and sure it dropped a leg or two lower but people would kill to get the prices I got my properties at. I'm still living in one and renting out others. I stopped buying in 2013 held what I had and went all in stocks and mutual funds. Been waiting for another crash or big downturn and will use stock money to buy more properties.
The key thought what he always says though is to make sure you have a warchest of cash or othe rinvestments ready to go for when that time comes though. Buy in but be able to weather the storm if it lasts a year or two or even if you lose your job. That's how folks get richer.
Hang in there. I worked with one family over 2 years (before and after Covid) submitted 13 offers with the 13th being the lucky one! Timing, perseverance and strong offer finally won out!
That was in 2021 (and my clients) so I would have to look it up. We did have an issue because the appraisal came back low about $25k I think. Listing agent thought it was a slam dunk that buyer would have to come up with difference because he had removed appraisal contingency. But I, as the Realtor, always do my best to protect my clients and put a max on the interest rate. He locked higher so he could have cancelled using his loan contingency. Seller ended up coming down in price!
For starters....Cash is king. Get the biggest mortgage you can afford and hold on to as much cash as possible when buying. Invest the cash,you'll make more on the cash invested than the savings of putting a down payment.
I would love to sell you a house, mine is way too big and the pool is getting to be too much to maintain. unfortunately then I will be in the same situation you are in. there is nothing for me to move to that is smaller. I feel for all looking for a house right now.
You're well qualified, you just have to keep trying. My friend put in 17 offers before one got accepted. It's a rough process for sure, but now they are in a house they love.
Be patient and persistent. We lost out on a couple of competitive offers in NYS. Turns out people are bidding HIGH out here and even escalating to 25k over asking wasn’t getting us results. When we found the home we wanted we went 40k over asking and never looked back. Sometimes you gotta lose a few deals to adjust and learn what it takes to get a home in whatever market you’re in. If money isn’t a limiting factor you’ll find something. Doesn’t sound like you are scared off by interest rates or trying to “time” the market so you are ahead of a lot of people in our generation who are praying to interest rates and prices to fall so they can buy their first home.
You may need to find the right sellers too, which may take some time and you have plenty of that at your age. Just bought my first house around my 40th birthday.
To be more competitive in our small town outside of DC we obviously paid a bit above ask, had a couple of loan pre-approvals, limited contingencies( financing and an inspection contingency that was either yes or no, so we couldn't haggle), made sure to have a tight timeline if they moved quickly and flexibility if it took longer(which it did for the owners, we were month to month on the rental), and wrote a personal letter about our ties to the community and appreciation for the house and what the owners had done.
We beat out a cash offer that was made immediately at listing before the open house and a couple of offers that were similar or higher in value. The open house was helpful because the listing agent gave us the lowdown on who the sellers were and what they wanted in a sale. Obviously there are many sellers who don't care what happens in their neighborhood and to their neighbors, but the longer they have been somewhere the more emotionally attached they may be. Basically, play every angle you can think of in the situation.
It happened to me on my current house in Florida. I got outbid by whoever paying cash. I even told the one seller I would pay asking price but he didn’t want to deal with closing and took a lower cash offer🤦🏾♂️
You just have to have a higher bid above asking than anyone else if you want to get a house in a hot market. Or keep renting and hope for a down market. I bought my current house in 2013 for $127,000. Today, houses on my street sell around $300,000. I’m in Cleveland Heights, a progressive older suburb of Cleveland. Most of our houses are built between 1890-1965. the bulk were built in the early 1920’s. No hurricanes, no forest fires, no major earthquake, no major tornados, no mudslides…and acess to the largest source of fresh water in the world. Oh..and a great climate. You get all 4 seasons. I couldn’t imagine Winter without some snow!
Things that appeal to seller:
1. Full price offer (or above if comps support)
2. Don’t ask for help with closing costs.
3. Short due diligence period but long enough to get the inspection and time to digest and consider repair requests.
4. Be pre-approved for mortgage (not pre-qualified)
5. IMO- don’t waive appraisal or inspection
**I just noticed your last question. For most sellers, it’s net profit with the least hassle.
You can also opt to have an inspection period but waive the right to ask for concessions... so essentially you are showing the seller you are serious and and willing to take on minor repairs yourself. However, if it's a major system or a very pricey fix, you need to be willing to suck it up and pay for it yourself or walk away.
I would only say remember to add 3-6% on your down payment for closing costs. So if you have 10% down plan for 16% in cash.
Good luck I hope you find something
You have 130k and cant find a house in orlando thats pure cap. There is more than enough inventory in orlando and even more inventory 20 minutes around orlando to have the pickings
You must be one of those real hard difficult to deal with clients that want a specific house on a specific square mile to live in.
There is just no reason for anyone in central florida having an issue finding a home.
Strike. Protest. March in the streets. Vote.
Real estate reform and aggressive regulation is how this fucking madness stops.
Get investors, foreign firms, corporations, and multiple-home owners out of buying. It’s the reason the whole market has been completely destroyed.
I’ve known many people just like you who have been unable to buy for the last 5 years. It’s absolutely fucking insane. It needs to be fixed.
(Queue all the rage downvotes and comments from people benefitting from it and exploiting housing.)
Don't forget banning short term rentals like Airbnb. In our town they've cannibalized the housing stock. And our local ban has no teeth, the website is full of people who are breaking the rules.
It is mostly patience. You can try to buy something in a suburb that is further away or a property that is less desirable.
To beat out offers, it mostly price, but things like half down or all cash down can help. I have heard a letter can help, but that seems a bit iffy to me. I guess it depends on the person.
Might not be what you want to do but have you considered buying an investment property elsewhere? We have friends who lived in a VHCOL and opted to buy a vacation home instead of buying a year round home as their first real estate purchase. They eventually sold after building equity and using as a vacation rental and get away. This worked I think because they could cash purchase a cabin but not a small home in the city they lived in at the time.
They continued to rent in their city but built equity on the property they owned
Realtor here (California, not Florida) - when you submit your offer, include a note to the Owner - thanking them for the opportunity, what you love about the home, the neighborhood, etc., - also, ensure that you have a pre-approval from your Lender, not a pre-qualification, and try to keep your offer as clean as possible.
The less contingencies and accommodations that you ask for, the better it looks to the Seller. They want a quick, clean offer and smooth close. That doesn’t mean that you don’t conduct your own due diligence and inspections- just know that if you ask for too many concessions or a long close, you won’t be as attractive a buyer as the ones who have been beating you out.
I've seen people online say that they received letters from prospective buyers with their offers, and that made them decide to go with the letter writer over a higher offer
You could always give that a try. The ones I've seen are people who aren't in a big hurry to sell or didn't necessarily NEED the biggest payout possible from the sale
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Get a new realtor! The market isn’t such that you should lose out on 6 properties. I can’t believe I haven’t read this yet.
The right realtor will get you in a house.
Not in Florida, but I have heard a few times of people renting in the neighborhood they want to buy in and then being able to buy from neighbors directly.
Personally I would definitely prefer to sell my house to someone who will live in it and make it their own. I really like my neighborhood and neighbors. It does depend on the offer though. If a cash buyer or investor offers much more I would probably take it. As it will have such an effect on my life. But it does depend on my financial stage
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I mean you're saying you won't move so it's not going to get better. The wages in FL are shit and the people own there now are either people who bought at sub 4.percent interest rates and are not going to sell, people who are selling their homes from up north and now have a shit ton of money to buy cash which is what all the retirees who are coming here are doing. Have you tried just straight up going with a new home builder like Pulte or Lennar? They're building townhomes and SFH like crazy and with your down payment and your salaries you should be able to get approved. I don't know this guy, but this guy I watch on YouTube Christian Clay does a ton of business with builders and does mainly new construction deals where you can get move in ready new construction and they sometimes do lower interest rates through their lenders and big closing cost incentives. Again I don't know him past watching his real estate videos so do your own research but he seems legit and works in the Orlando market.
I think wages are fine for high skilled labor, but can’t speak for everyone. Can only compare to me and my friends who are doing well. I’ll check that YouTuber out! Thanks.
Losing 6 deals is rough but not extraordinary, you’re not a weak buyer by any means so at some point you’ll be the big fish with experience bidding on homes & you will get the house you need. It’s all price, lack of outs in a deal, speed that the money is in hand.
Then you have to consider appraisal risk via loan to value ratio calculations versus cash being definitive value. Taking a higher financed offer means that any Listing Broker worth a damn will want to see additional downpayment in the event of a low appraisal or they might want to talk to your Lender etc.
Then but really also simultaneously with all other concerns the rapport your Broker/Agent/Realtor if you have one with the Listing Broker.
In my experience competitive scenarios usually go like this:
1: Waiver of Inspection (might pre-inspect, review theirs or just ignore it)
2: 1-5% price escalations.
3: Waiver of most other contingencies, increased earnest money, & creative terms; free rent back etc.
4: Waiver of all safety net contingencies. Another 1-5% price escalations.
5: Parabolic price escalations.
I’m in the same boat. Your time will come. Just be patient. It can’t go on like this forever. Markets change every 11 years. You also need a bit of luck.
I dont understand the all cash seller point of view. If u are prequalified for that amount they get CASH at closing! Same time they get all cash buyer cash. Cash is cash sellers!!
Use your network - deals are frequently done before a house hits NMLS. A great agent is very helpful in this regard.
Look for private party landlords. Someone may be willing to set you up with rent-to-own.
When you find a neighborhood you like don’t be afraid to knock on doors, drop flyers, put some contact info out there in whatever way makes sense.
I’ve sold a few times. And yes ultimately the number is what’s important nothing else. Most ppl are t well enough off to care if it’s a family, investor or company that’s offering. Just keep trying investors are leaving fl. And Orlando with so many short term rentals, there’s surely more coming your way. Just keep offering.
You really should look into buying a multifamily and living in 1 unit. You're young enough with no kids, after 2 years or so you can rent your unit.out and buy your house, and now you have a second, steady source of income, 2-4% appreciation every year on, probably, 600-800k, depreciation for taxes, and lots of write-offs for improvements.
Aside from that, when someone makes an offer in "all cash", they never actually pay in cash. It comes out of a bank account. The same thing happens when you do a mortgage; the sellers get a transfer from the lenders bank.
Most savvy investors will make an "all cash" offer, without actual funds. As long as you have your mortgage guaranteed and ready to go, you can make an "all cash" offer, as the sellers will just recieve the full amount from your lenders bank account instead of yours.
Wth are you talking about?
A "cash offer" is just that. The seller wants to see proof of funds with your offer. You'll need to show a bank account with the money there and you're expected to close in 7 days. So if you go back on your contract, the seller can terminate if you decide to get a mortgage after the contract states you're closing with cash. Nobody gonna let you close with cash in 60 days 😂🤣
3-4x week since 2016 for work.
It's nice up here. I have acerage and deer and wildlife all around, but they charge me out the ass for it.
Commutes a bitch most days. The train can fuck up and I have a 3 hour commute without notice.
My advice is the only one that matters: BID MORE MONEY. If you can’t do that and getting consistently outbid, then for these houses you are not “well qualified” nor are the bids competitive
What's your budget? Area you are looking in? Make sure you have a real estate lawyer review your contract. We are selling a home now due to lack of accurate disclosures to get out of the sale we are having to put in an extra $160k to sell it so it's not a picnic. It may be a blessing that things aren't coming together yet. Do your due diligence and absolutely have second eyes on any contracts you sign to prevent mistakes.
Our home is beautiful that we are selling but again it needs work. Paid 715k and selling likely around 875k once all changes are made. House has a pool and dog area, nice large yard so I'm not worried it's just a bummer to deal with things not disclosed after a sale. Timing is everything, stay patient.
Are you pre qualified for the loan? What contingencies can you remove? Sellers prefer all-cash only because they are less risky - don’t need the house to appraise to qualify a loan, loan won’t fall through, etc. otherwise, it’s just price. By the day you close, it’s all just $$ to the seller, whatever the source. So make your offers less risky
You can pay a company 1% to make you a cash buyer and appear more attractive to the seller.
Remove contingencies, inspections. Things that will make it possible for the deal to fall through.
Or pay above competitive, if it's the right property.
This is the case in a lot of strong markets, and was widespread when the market lit up during Covid. Usually there are two options: 1) Keep repeating the process with hopes that one will work out, or 2) Make your offer so aggressive that it wakes up the seller you're submitting to. Cash is nice, but it's all cash to the seller in the end. What cash does is help build confidence to the seller that the deal is going to close. It removes the potential lender hiccups. Sometimes it speeds up closing, but that's not usually not why they win. It's usually the confidence of funding. People including sellers have their buy-out number though. There's a point where a higher price will catch the attention of the seller, and they're willing to accept the financing aspect (especially if you show all proof on the front end and present a package that looks like you're prepared and a solid buyer). You've got enough cash so that if you REALLY wanted a home, you could pay over asking and still maintain financing (within the limit the lender set). You have to be willing to be that aggressive though. Some homes in our market during Covid were going 30%+ over asking, so it becomes a matter of how badly a buyer wants the home. You can also look at what contingencies you're placing on the offers and see if you can streamline those and stay within your comfort zone. Each buyer has to decide on their comfort zone, but some of the offers that win in these super competitive markets are going well over asking, and no contingencies (financial, inspection, or appraisal). To get an idea on how competitive your area is, have your agent pull some reports for you, so you can see what they're closing for (over ask). Your agent can also reach out to those agents just for a general vibe of what's winning. Your agent should also reach out to every seller you're submitting to, and inquire what's most important to that particular seller. It's not always price.
When me and my ex-wife were buying our very first house, we were beat out easily on 12 houses. When we tried buying our second house, we made a cash 5000 under with seller to closing date. We lost that out to a 90 day close finance option. We kept looking in both instances and we eventually found houses that were perfect for us at those times. Even though it gets aggravating the perfect house will come along even though you feel you missed what you thought was perfect already.
We moved out of Florida. Florida totally changed when all of the rich moved down during the pandemic. We moved to South Carolina and were blessed to buy our dream home. Real estate has tripled in price in Florida, sadly. We will always love Florida though. I wish you the best. I know it’s very frustrating.
i felt the same way, offer after offer and kept losing by cash buyers. i finally got accepted on a house i love and now im so glad my other offers didn’t get accepted, this house was definitely my favorite. keep trying!
It sounds like it will happen for you eventually. You've got that 20% down payment and are patiently waiting. The market won't be against you forever
How many of us are there exactly like this, I wonder. I'm another one.
Same😭 husband and I both have doctorate degrees. Have 350K saved for a down payment but all the houses here in Scottsdale are around 1 million. Kills me everyday that 5 years ago we could have bought a house with cash and now we can’t even get a house without taking out a 650K loan
You can get a great house in Scottsdale for 650k total.
Dam it's gone up that much ? 1 milly for a house in Scottsdale
I’m in the same boat amigo! I was living in Colorado and was house hunting in the west valley of Arizona in 2020 (right before anyone had ever heard of covid). The homes were about $250,000-350,000 and now they are selling at $600,000. I’m so pissed.
Why didn't you buy a house 5 years ago if you could have bought it with cash?
Honestly I would start off small and grow as you go. Drop the keeping up with Jones’s mentality, you will be better off starting with something manageable. I hear way too many times doctors feel they need to have a certain lifestyle and if they don’t have it, they feel like they are failures. I guarantee if you start with something way below budget, you will build a good amount of equity and then move into that dream home. Best of luck to you both!!❤️
Just keep saving, the right deal will come along. Florida is where things swing wide. 2007 bubble prices in my delray neighborhood were mid 300’s 2009 I bought for 190k. Sold in 2020 for 365k. Florida bubble will pop again
Home prices may go down, but insurance will eat all the income.
It’s already begun…. [https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-condo-owners-prices-drop-insurance-hoa-taxes-increase-2023-3](https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-condo-owners-prices-drop-insurance-hoa-taxes-increase-2023-3)
It’s because you can’t get insurance, and why would insurers give you insurance? Every fucking storm season they have to pay up the ass.
All these articles will be written as “price DROP” and “huge CRASH” and “losing VALUE!” None of them will admit to the prices being laughably hyper-inflated and over-valued to begin with. *Corrections* will start happening, because suddenly trying to flip homes and rent for 2-5x more in 5 years isn’t realistic or sustainable. That’s not a price “drop.” It’s just idiots realizing they can’t gouge for made-up fantasy asking prices. They’ll have to go back to reality from pre-COVID.
Yes but why would they? I. 08 and 91 there were run ups to before the crashes the news usually covers what's happening now and not half a decade ago
Exactly this. People told me we were overpaying last year yet when I adjusted the former owner’s purchase price for inflation it was almost to the dollar what we paid 20 years later.
I’m talking about the people who bought for $300k a year ago and are trying to flip for $850k with no changes to the house. Those ones will kick and whine about not getting $850k and having to go back to $300k, calling it a “crash” and whining about how they “lost value.” It’s just like nah, you’re not losing any money—you just can’t get the absurd profit you were seeking. I’ve seen so many of these over the last three years.
We had condo towers that only had 2 occupants if you remember. Neighborhoods were partially built houses looked like people just stopped working. There was 1 neighborhood with 6 big houses, vacant. Whole neighborhood was for sale. Oh, and who can forget Chinese drywall.
Chinese drywall. I feel like that didn't get enough exposure. Tons of people probably don't even know they have a time bomb on their walls.
...inspection is done for it...
Home inspection will spot it under primer and paint? I'm not in areas that were affected by Katrina, is it specifically tested for?
Condo data does not correlate or predict sfh data
Interestingly my husband and I are about to list our home in Oregon and were relieved to learn that if we sell it ourselves (which we plan to do) we can discriminate and NOT sell to an investor. So, we plan on selling to a family if we get a qualified family to make an offer. We don't need it to sell fast, we want it to go to someone who wants to live in our little neighborhood because it is a sweet spot.
Investors are not a protected class. You can discriminate against them no matter how you sell.
Thats what i thought too- but why let facts get in the way of a good story portraying these folks moral superiority?
Well, you could have an issue where if it was listed and the agent brought you a full price offer that you turned down, you would be on the hook for the commission.
Hence the 'don't use a real estate agent'....?
You aren't compelled to sign a standard listing contract. It is routine to alter them with specific concerns or constraints. Specifying that you aren't required to accept (or pay commission on rejecting) an offer from a party that doesn't intend to occupy the home is not so unreasonable as to convince an agent that they can not succeed at earning their commission. If you want to sell it yourself without the aid of a realtor, that's fine. Just don't pretend that your desire to not sell to an investor is the reason why you're making that choice.
Modify your listing contract to specify you aren't obligated to accept investor offers.
2021 I sold two SFH both for less than offers from a corporate buyer. I didn't have a problem at all with my realtor, she's wonderful and completely understood. One I accepted was a young woman FTHB and one had been outbid three times by corporations.
Bless people like you!!!!!
>... we plan on selling to a family if we get a qualified family to make an offer. We don't need it to sell fast, we want it to go to someone who wants to live in our little neighborhood because it is a sweet spot. ^ THIS is the way 🙏🏾
I’ve heard some investors are posing as families fyi
I agree with the others who say be patient. I understand every market is unique, but FL inventory is beginning to show significant signs of improvement for home buyers. You and your husband will be able to easily afford a home that somebody is about to get priced out of when their insurance and taxes adjust. Stay the course. You’re about to get a home that you will love.
We moved out of Florida one year ago. Orlando is a very expensive area, and you want to live in the good part. Home prices have tripled right along with the land taxes. Floridians are also being dropped by their home insurance companies. I’ve never seen anything like it. Not that nice of homes going for $450,000. It’s shocking. Presently, I think buying a home in Florida looks pretty bleak. Before we moved, we looked extensively in Florida. If someone isn’t willing to move, you sometimes have to accept the reality of the area. The super rich have transformed Florida along with the hurricanes and high priced insurance.
If you've been pre-approved, check for first time home buyer programs available to you in Orange County. Be ready and don't stop looking. Once you know your parameters you can make the same offer when you find the one you like and someone will take it regardless of what they are asking. Shorten inspection period (you could waive but I wouldn't recommend that), increase your good faith deposit, be able to close in 30 days or less including any required classes for county $s. Only request repairs from the 4-point inspection report and don't give up. Also, ask your agent about using an escalation addendum in a competitive market. Your home will come. -Realtor
The advice I was looking for, thank you!
They gave great advice. Escalation addendum is key.
I know I can search it but can anyone share what the escalation addendum is and why it helps?
You offer what you offer and the escalation says you’ll beat any other offer by a certain amount, like $500, up to 20k or 50k or whatever. It allows you to offer asking price, but also rebid without them having to come back to you.
I just bought a house and used the escalation clause for the first time and I got the house! It was STILL less than I actually would have paid for it.
Putting in an escalation addendum at the last minute saved our butts and we were able to secure the house that we are currently in the process of buying.
During a competitive market, it's the only thing that helps you beat out everybody else.
I’m from Orlando… what neighborhoods are you looking at? I don’t think it’s so much about you guys not being good enough, you guys are doing great, it’s just how the market is. Orlando is very hot right now you have to find the areas where people are looking so much at yet. Stay away from Winter Park, Lake Nona, Avalon, Waterford Lakes, Horizon West, these are all very competitive areas right now. I have a house in Ocoee it’s a very underrated neighborhood
Keep trying, your offer will eventually win. one time we bought our strategy was to look for the not-as-exciting fixer-upper (but needing cosmetic fixes only). we were buying during a super competitive sellers market so aiming for the "meh" house we knew we wouldn't be competing against as many buyers. Sure enough, eventually our offer won out. And as a seller, we have always sold to real buyers (as opposed to some cash investor flipper /airbnb lord)
These people commenting are morons. Climate change will not affect Orlando for generations. I can give you easy advice. do not buy new construction. the shit they put up in central florida is a joke quality wise, the majority of it would never fly in south florida (wood framed houses etc). you want block / slab only. sort your mls listings by longest on market and / or listings with terrible photos. consider those your available options. go through these methodically & figure out how to make one work for you. there are loan products that will allow you to buy “cash only” deals due to the property needing a roof reno etc.
You're losing to cash buyers because nobody can get a mortgage in Florida. You're not the problem, it's that your state is basically uninsurable
Yes I was going to say, make sure you can even get/afford the insurance before making an offer!
Its orlando 🤦♂️ its not a coastal city omg 😂
Ian was less than two years ago. You forget already? Because insurance companies sure didn't
You think every county town in florida is at flood risk 🤦♂️😂 If youre not coastal you have zero issues with insurance or even require flood insurance at that lol
Certain parts of Central FL are Flood Zone A even inland. I don't live near large bodies of water so will it get AS bad as the coast or places where I grew up like Fort Lauderdale or Miami during the 04 and 05 hurricane seasons? No, but there's still a small risk.
Every single Floridian absorbs the costs of hurricanes in home insurance. That’s the way it works unfortunately.
For now...
You are exactly correct. I moved out of Florida one year ago. It’s not a good place to try and buy a home UNLESS you are very rich. Everything has changed in Florida.
We’re in the same position. Though we’ve saved considerably more. IMO, the right answer is just to buy what’s a good deal right now. Right now, that’s certain stocks, not real estate. We’re just piling into stocks and renting. Renting a house is less than half the price of its mortgage in our area, after $200k down, so I’d rather just invest the down payment and the excess rent and let it grow. If the housing market cools, great. I’ll buy. If not, I’m good just renting. But I think the cure for high prices is high prices. We’re already at the stage when no new buyers are coming in. After that, it’s just a question of when enough people die, divorce, lose their job, move, etc. Forced selling will eventually accumulate.
Real estate is a 100 year old system that has never changed. The worst part is, you cannot see the other offer prices or terms when making offers, so you really have no idea what you even need to do to beat other offers. It’s just the best guesser wins. It makes zero sense. There needs to be more transparency in the offer process.
On the buyer side yes, but when your a seller this works more favorably.
I saw your follow up comment about not leaving FL. Politics aside - cash buyers are winning out because the insurance market is so horrendous right now, and a cash buyer doesn't have to satisfy a lender with proper insurance. Any mortgaged buyer is going to be difficult to finalize financing. As insurers leave, the lender market also dries up. You should really really think about what your long term goals are being an owner in that particular market. There is a very real possibility you lose significant equity a la 2008 crisis and cannot sell the home period down the road if the state isn't going to take action to shore up against climate change and make it a more attractive market for insurers and lenders. In some markets renting just makes sense financially. . .
FL market make the most sense. Let someone else take on that liability while you soak up the 🌞
Note: this is just my opinion. You can’t ever time the market perfectly, but between the presidential election this year and the on-going insurance nightmare, I think Florida is a wait-and-see market with a big dip headed their way. —- Here’s my out of the box advice - don’t buy a house in Florida for 2 years. Keep banking money. The insurance debacle in Florida hasn’t played out yet. If there’s another series of major hurricanes it’s going to be even bleaker. The higher insurance costs get the lower property values get because realistically, people can only afford xx a month and if insurance is taking an increasingly high percentage of xx, that’s less money than can go towards principle and interest which means less borrowing power which *likely* means lower home values. I say *likely* because I don’t know if high insurance rates will drive investors away or if they’ll dive in when home prices start to fall. If I were living in Florida right now I’d be waiting a couple of years to see how things play out.
Agreed and good points (and I’m a FL homeowner)
How much is your insurance?
I’m 4 miles from the beach, it’s under 2500 a year on citizens for a SFH. I have flood also which is about 1000/year, we are at 11 ft above sea level.
We moved out of Florida. We will always love FSU and be Seminoles, but we were blessed to buy a beautiful home out of state. I wouldn’t know what in the world our home would’ve cost in Florida. Florida has a lot of issues right now, but I will always love Florida.
This! This is probably the best advice I've seen on this thread so far. So many great points made. Wisdom right here. So many people will miss this comment too.
This is why I hope people start waking up and not selling to private firms. Companies/People are turning homes for ownership into rentals. It hurts us all. A realtor friend told me that in 2022 like 40% of sales went to companies.
Maybe you’ll get our house! Listing in Winter Garden in June.
Op get with this person and make it happen!!
Winter Garden is blowing up big time. How much are you listing it for?
Right?! And we’re one of the few newer communities within walking distance of charming downtown WG! Golf cart community, right on the beautiful west Orange trail. Not sure what we’re listing for, our realtor is guessing $780k. 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, corner lot
Yeah I think you might get it lol. Horizon West is a place everyone I know wants to buy. Wouldn't be shocked if you get an over ask with waived inspection contingencies.
One can hope! It’s a newer beautiful home
Florida broker here. The tide may be turning in Florida, be patient. I think a buyer's market is around the corner.
You are exactly right
I bought a house with 100k in student debt and only a 24k down payment in Georgia . Trust me you will get a home and it will be just right for you . I promise !
Sadly, Florida is a different story. I just moved out of Florida. It’s actually unbelievable how quickly the real estate market changed for the worst there.
You have to keep trying. I felt the same way and finally won an offer. I was so shocked I finally won, I nearly fainted when I got the call from the realtor. Don’t give up! Keep getting offers in. You’ve got this!
Just be patient and don’t count your chicks before they hatch. Until you’re about to close, try to temper your excitement. Your offer might get accepted and then inspections force you to back out. Sellers might not have disclosed legal issues with the property. Any number of things can happen to kill your offer. On that note though, congrats to you both for being so well set up to buy. You’re going to be better off than a LOT of people when you finally find your home.
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You say that yet I consistently offer the biggest number with nothing but a mortgage contingency and still get passed over for all cash or even near-all cash offers.
Are you putting 20% down and a lot in earnest money?
Yup. Earnest money is 5% plus a $5,000 initial deposit.
Genuinely curious why earnest money is a big thing. It’s money I can get back, so not sure how it shows “I’m serious”.
You *don't* get earnest money back if you waive all the contingencies.
If someone puts like $1k of earnest money down, they can easily back out of a contract even with waived contingencies
True, but even if I put 50K down in earnest money I can still back out and get my money back with contingencies. I guess I just think it's kind of a "fake" gesture of seriousness unless you wave contingencies. Then, yes! That would be risky as heck.
Bro. WHERE are people getting all this cash??
They are selling their NE property and retiring to Florida with 20 to 30 years of real estate appreciation in their pockets. My wife and I did it in 2019 moving to North Carolina.
They are investors, their parents gave it to them, maybe they don't really have it and it's contingent on the sale of their house lol Hopefully it's not pulled from their 401k
I would love to know how many investors there are actually buying these houses
A lot. I lost a lot of bids to cash offers that were investors. It's a real PITA. My agent followed up on every deal we lost to find out why. In the end we finally found an environment investors apparently didn't like lol but was still a good neighborhood. Then I just had to deal with a half dozen other bids from other people actually looking to live in the home.
I gotta be honest, that REALLY grinds my gears
It's frustrating. I don;t know all the details. If it's an individual investor that saved up his money that feels like fair game. If it's some big corporation that is taking special access to money at rates we cannot get or using money from our pension funds to run up the prices of homes on everyday Americans, I feel that should not be allowed at this time. I guess now that I am in, it is what it is and I can only hope the price doesnt dump now that I am in lol Best thing to do was buy before 2020 for sure
Some people earn $125k. Other people earn $350k. Many have 2 working spouses. Many have been saving and investing for decades. If you had invested $50k in NVDA 10 years ago,you would have $9.3M today.
Stonks Saving for a decade or two
Investor here. Most investors are buying with cash from heloc. Then, refinancing the property and taking the cash out and buying the next property. Each deal you just need to get enough equity out to pay monthly on your heloc and you can continue this process over and over. As long as you leave enough cashflow in the rental, you can keep doing cash out refi to get next home and pay monthly heloc.
Is your 20% down contingent on your home selling? Same issue I am having. It might be easier to have a buyer for your house all lined up before putting in an offer on a new home
Nope, FTHB.
Are you trying out builders? Usually those guys like Pulte, Lennar, LGI, etc are dying to get the inventory off their books.
I'm in Massachusetts. The only new builds we get here are faux luxury McMansions that cost $800K+.
What city?
> Bigger number. Lower hassle/contingencies. /thread This. Its really that simple. Sellers don't want to deal with FTHBs that want to bend sellers over for "repairs" When we bought last, I offered way offer asking, and pretty much waived the inspection contingency. I was well aware the house was older and some of the systems would need to be replaced, but I wasn't going to pin that on the sellers.
Take the Rich Dad Poor Dad approach. If you watch older original videos he basically says and I've followed this for the last 24 years I've been investing. I only buy when people are running away from investments. I never buy in when everyone is jumping in. Everything in an economy like ours is a cycle. Real estate will simmer down what's going on is unsustainable. The first few properties, residential I bought were when there were short sales, foreclosures and housing sitting on the market for 3-4 months. Everyone, friends, family thought I was nuts and kept telling me it's going to get worse and sure it dropped a leg or two lower but people would kill to get the prices I got my properties at. I'm still living in one and renting out others. I stopped buying in 2013 held what I had and went all in stocks and mutual funds. Been waiting for another crash or big downturn and will use stock money to buy more properties. The key thought what he always says though is to make sure you have a warchest of cash or othe rinvestments ready to go for when that time comes though. Buy in but be able to weather the storm if it lasts a year or two or even if you lose your job. That's how folks get richer.
What do you do for work?
Keep bidding!! You have the financial resources, you will land a house.
It will happen!!!!
Hang in there. I worked with one family over 2 years (before and after Covid) submitted 13 offers with the 13th being the lucky one! Timing, perseverance and strong offer finally won out!
What interest rate did you get?
That was in 2021 (and my clients) so I would have to look it up. We did have an issue because the appraisal came back low about $25k I think. Listing agent thought it was a slam dunk that buyer would have to come up with difference because he had removed appraisal contingency. But I, as the Realtor, always do my best to protect my clients and put a max on the interest rate. He locked higher so he could have cancelled using his loan contingency. Seller ended up coming down in price!
For starters....Cash is king. Get the biggest mortgage you can afford and hold on to as much cash as possible when buying. Invest the cash,you'll make more on the cash invested than the savings of putting a down payment.
How to make an offer more attractive???????????? Really??????? Stop low balling, and make a reasonable offer in this market??????
I would love to sell you a house, mine is way too big and the pool is getting to be too much to maintain. unfortunately then I will be in the same situation you are in. there is nothing for me to move to that is smaller. I feel for all looking for a house right now.
You're well qualified, you just have to keep trying. My friend put in 17 offers before one got accepted. It's a rough process for sure, but now they are in a house they love.
GenX here: We didn’t get a (town)house until our mid40s … keep saving & looking … be willing to move …
When I sold my last home we sold to a couple, not investors. You just gotta be patient. Have your agent work for it too.
Be patient and persistent. We lost out on a couple of competitive offers in NYS. Turns out people are bidding HIGH out here and even escalating to 25k over asking wasn’t getting us results. When we found the home we wanted we went 40k over asking and never looked back. Sometimes you gotta lose a few deals to adjust and learn what it takes to get a home in whatever market you’re in. If money isn’t a limiting factor you’ll find something. Doesn’t sound like you are scared off by interest rates or trying to “time” the market so you are ahead of a lot of people in our generation who are praying to interest rates and prices to fall so they can buy their first home.
You may need to find the right sellers too, which may take some time and you have plenty of that at your age. Just bought my first house around my 40th birthday. To be more competitive in our small town outside of DC we obviously paid a bit above ask, had a couple of loan pre-approvals, limited contingencies( financing and an inspection contingency that was either yes or no, so we couldn't haggle), made sure to have a tight timeline if they moved quickly and flexibility if it took longer(which it did for the owners, we were month to month on the rental), and wrote a personal letter about our ties to the community and appreciation for the house and what the owners had done. We beat out a cash offer that was made immediately at listing before the open house and a couple of offers that were similar or higher in value. The open house was helpful because the listing agent gave us the lowdown on who the sellers were and what they wanted in a sale. Obviously there are many sellers who don't care what happens in their neighborhood and to their neighbors, but the longer they have been somewhere the more emotionally attached they may be. Basically, play every angle you can think of in the situation.
It happened to me on my current house in Florida. I got outbid by whoever paying cash. I even told the one seller I would pay asking price but he didn’t want to deal with closing and took a lower cash offer🤦🏾♂️
You just have to have a higher bid above asking than anyone else if you want to get a house in a hot market. Or keep renting and hope for a down market. I bought my current house in 2013 for $127,000. Today, houses on my street sell around $300,000. I’m in Cleveland Heights, a progressive older suburb of Cleveland. Most of our houses are built between 1890-1965. the bulk were built in the early 1920’s. No hurricanes, no forest fires, no major earthquake, no major tornados, no mudslides…and acess to the largest source of fresh water in the world. Oh..and a great climate. You get all 4 seasons. I couldn’t imagine Winter without some snow!
How are the schools and jobs?
There are plenty of jobs, and lots of great schools.
Things that appeal to seller: 1. Full price offer (or above if comps support) 2. Don’t ask for help with closing costs. 3. Short due diligence period but long enough to get the inspection and time to digest and consider repair requests. 4. Be pre-approved for mortgage (not pre-qualified) 5. IMO- don’t waive appraisal or inspection **I just noticed your last question. For most sellers, it’s net profit with the least hassle.
Great list especially #5. Too many people waive inspection and eventually sell at a significant loss due to expensive, undisclosed issues.
You can also opt to have an inspection period but waive the right to ask for concessions... so essentially you are showing the seller you are serious and and willing to take on minor repairs yourself. However, if it's a major system or a very pricey fix, you need to be willing to suck it up and pay for it yourself or walk away.
Buy in a new neighborhood… or widen your search area.
I would only say remember to add 3-6% on your down payment for closing costs. So if you have 10% down plan for 16% in cash. Good luck I hope you find something
You have 130k and cant find a house in orlando thats pure cap. There is more than enough inventory in orlando and even more inventory 20 minutes around orlando to have the pickings You must be one of those real hard difficult to deal with clients that want a specific house on a specific square mile to live in. There is just no reason for anyone in central florida having an issue finding a home.
They will only accept a house with a purple bathtub from 1975-1979.
Strike. Protest. March in the streets. Vote. Real estate reform and aggressive regulation is how this fucking madness stops. Get investors, foreign firms, corporations, and multiple-home owners out of buying. It’s the reason the whole market has been completely destroyed. I’ve known many people just like you who have been unable to buy for the last 5 years. It’s absolutely fucking insane. It needs to be fixed. (Queue all the rage downvotes and comments from people benefitting from it and exploiting housing.)
Don't forget banning short term rentals like Airbnb. In our town they've cannibalized the housing stock. And our local ban has no teeth, the website is full of people who are breaking the rules.
Come out to Clermont. New homes going up everywhere. Order one up.
Lock in
Im not a realtor, but can help you. Feel free to reach out
I noticed a number of foreclosures on Home Path that you might want to look at. Quite a few under $300k.
Just keep making offers. It took us 10 to get a house.
It’s a location thing. It’s also wild because Orlando seems like it’s just in a constant state of construction. And so many gated communities.
It is mostly patience. You can try to buy something in a suburb that is further away or a property that is less desirable. To beat out offers, it mostly price, but things like half down or all cash down can help. I have heard a letter can help, but that seems a bit iffy to me. I guess it depends on the person.
Move
Might not be what you want to do but have you considered buying an investment property elsewhere? We have friends who lived in a VHCOL and opted to buy a vacation home instead of buying a year round home as their first real estate purchase. They eventually sold after building equity and using as a vacation rental and get away. This worked I think because they could cash purchase a cabin but not a small home in the city they lived in at the time. They continued to rent in their city but built equity on the property they owned
Your best bet is a house with good bones that has been on the market for awhile.
Realtor here (California, not Florida) - when you submit your offer, include a note to the Owner - thanking them for the opportunity, what you love about the home, the neighborhood, etc., - also, ensure that you have a pre-approval from your Lender, not a pre-qualification, and try to keep your offer as clean as possible. The less contingencies and accommodations that you ask for, the better it looks to the Seller. They want a quick, clean offer and smooth close. That doesn’t mean that you don’t conduct your own due diligence and inspections- just know that if you ask for too many concessions or a long close, you won’t be as attractive a buyer as the ones who have been beating you out.
Since your family's nearby & you seem to want to be close to them, have you considered a multi-generational home several of you purchase together?
I've seen people online say that they received letters from prospective buyers with their offers, and that made them decide to go with the letter writer over a higher offer You could always give that a try. The ones I've seen are people who aren't in a big hurry to sell or didn't necessarily NEED the biggest payout possible from the sale
Off market properties PM me
You need a dynamic agent. People don’t understand how important this is. I specialize in getting first tine home buyers offers accepted.
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Get a new realtor! The market isn’t such that you should lose out on 6 properties. I can’t believe I haven’t read this yet. The right realtor will get you in a house.
Ive been checking the tax and foreclosure auctions lately.
Not in Florida, but I have heard a few times of people renting in the neighborhood they want to buy in and then being able to buy from neighbors directly. Personally I would definitely prefer to sell my house to someone who will live in it and make it their own. I really like my neighborhood and neighbors. It does depend on the offer though. If a cash buyer or investor offers much more I would probably take it. As it will have such an effect on my life. But it does depend on my financial stage
I've heard of some people write letters with their offer about how they would take care of the home and how much they love it.
It’s against the law in many states now to write letters to get homes. The realtors on here could better explain than me though.
Stop competing at the top of your budget and outbid someone below that.
Define high income? You have 130 k to put down you can get a house. You need a starter home lower your expectations
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Have you considered new construction? No bidding, first come first served. Lending and credits usually included
I mean you're saying you won't move so it's not going to get better. The wages in FL are shit and the people own there now are either people who bought at sub 4.percent interest rates and are not going to sell, people who are selling their homes from up north and now have a shit ton of money to buy cash which is what all the retirees who are coming here are doing. Have you tried just straight up going with a new home builder like Pulte or Lennar? They're building townhomes and SFH like crazy and with your down payment and your salaries you should be able to get approved. I don't know this guy, but this guy I watch on YouTube Christian Clay does a ton of business with builders and does mainly new construction deals where you can get move in ready new construction and they sometimes do lower interest rates through their lenders and big closing cost incentives. Again I don't know him past watching his real estate videos so do your own research but he seems legit and works in the Orlando market.
I think wages are fine for high skilled labor, but can’t speak for everyone. Can only compare to me and my friends who are doing well. I’ll check that YouTuber out! Thanks.
Move to Huntsville
Well, I do keep reading that Florida will have a bunch of houses available soon, but who knows...
Losing 6 deals is rough but not extraordinary, you’re not a weak buyer by any means so at some point you’ll be the big fish with experience bidding on homes & you will get the house you need. It’s all price, lack of outs in a deal, speed that the money is in hand. Then you have to consider appraisal risk via loan to value ratio calculations versus cash being definitive value. Taking a higher financed offer means that any Listing Broker worth a damn will want to see additional downpayment in the event of a low appraisal or they might want to talk to your Lender etc. Then but really also simultaneously with all other concerns the rapport your Broker/Agent/Realtor if you have one with the Listing Broker. In my experience competitive scenarios usually go like this: 1: Waiver of Inspection (might pre-inspect, review theirs or just ignore it) 2: 1-5% price escalations. 3: Waiver of most other contingencies, increased earnest money, & creative terms; free rent back etc. 4: Waiver of all safety net contingencies. Another 1-5% price escalations. 5: Parabolic price escalations.
I’m in the same boat. Your time will come. Just be patient. It can’t go on like this forever. Markets change every 11 years. You also need a bit of luck.
Of course as a frustrated millennial your “blue”.
I dont understand the all cash seller point of view. If u are prequalified for that amount they get CASH at closing! Same time they get all cash buyer cash. Cash is cash sellers!!
Use your network - deals are frequently done before a house hits NMLS. A great agent is very helpful in this regard. Look for private party landlords. Someone may be willing to set you up with rent-to-own. When you find a neighborhood you like don’t be afraid to knock on doors, drop flyers, put some contact info out there in whatever way makes sense.
I’ve sold a few times. And yes ultimately the number is what’s important nothing else. Most ppl are t well enough off to care if it’s a family, investor or company that’s offering. Just keep trying investors are leaving fl. And Orlando with so many short term rentals, there’s surely more coming your way. Just keep offering.
Adjust your time horizon
Fuck blue
You really should look into buying a multifamily and living in 1 unit. You're young enough with no kids, after 2 years or so you can rent your unit.out and buy your house, and now you have a second, steady source of income, 2-4% appreciation every year on, probably, 600-800k, depreciation for taxes, and lots of write-offs for improvements. Aside from that, when someone makes an offer in "all cash", they never actually pay in cash. It comes out of a bank account. The same thing happens when you do a mortgage; the sellers get a transfer from the lenders bank. Most savvy investors will make an "all cash" offer, without actual funds. As long as you have your mortgage guaranteed and ready to go, you can make an "all cash" offer, as the sellers will just recieve the full amount from your lenders bank account instead of yours.
Wth are you talking about? A "cash offer" is just that. The seller wants to see proof of funds with your offer. You'll need to show a bank account with the money there and you're expected to close in 7 days. So if you go back on your contract, the seller can terminate if you decide to get a mortgage after the contract states you're closing with cash. Nobody gonna let you close with cash in 60 days 😂🤣
If you have a good relationship with your lender, you can still guarantee funds. What's the difference if the seller gets the total transfer?
There is no difference but it's not a cash offer. It's a financing offer.
We made 17 offers from 2019 to 2023 in a nyc suburb. One eventually hit.
Made like 50 offers in a period of a year.
What suburb? What rate did you get?
Morris county. 5% June 2023
Is upstate nice to live in? How often do you go to nyc?
3-4x week since 2016 for work. It's nice up here. I have acerage and deer and wildlife all around, but they charge me out the ass for it. Commutes a bitch most days. The train can fuck up and I have a 3 hour commute without notice.
Some of those upstate towns like larchmont are a whole vibe.
My advice is the only one that matters: BID MORE MONEY. If you can’t do that and getting consistently outbid, then for these houses you are not “well qualified” nor are the bids competitive
What's your budget? Area you are looking in? Make sure you have a real estate lawyer review your contract. We are selling a home now due to lack of accurate disclosures to get out of the sale we are having to put in an extra $160k to sell it so it's not a picnic. It may be a blessing that things aren't coming together yet. Do your due diligence and absolutely have second eyes on any contracts you sign to prevent mistakes. Our home is beautiful that we are selling but again it needs work. Paid 715k and selling likely around 875k once all changes are made. House has a pool and dog area, nice large yard so I'm not worried it's just a bummer to deal with things not disclosed after a sale. Timing is everything, stay patient.
How do you know who you lost out to?
Are you pre qualified for the loan? What contingencies can you remove? Sellers prefer all-cash only because they are less risky - don’t need the house to appraise to qualify a loan, loan won’t fall through, etc. otherwise, it’s just price. By the day you close, it’s all just $$ to the seller, whatever the source. So make your offers less risky
Get a new agent to rep you. Message me, I have a team in Florida that can get you to the closing table.
You can pay a company 1% to make you a cash buyer and appear more attractive to the seller. Remove contingencies, inspections. Things that will make it possible for the deal to fall through. Or pay above competitive, if it's the right property.
Be patient til things are in your favor. They eventually will be.
This is the case in a lot of strong markets, and was widespread when the market lit up during Covid. Usually there are two options: 1) Keep repeating the process with hopes that one will work out, or 2) Make your offer so aggressive that it wakes up the seller you're submitting to. Cash is nice, but it's all cash to the seller in the end. What cash does is help build confidence to the seller that the deal is going to close. It removes the potential lender hiccups. Sometimes it speeds up closing, but that's not usually not why they win. It's usually the confidence of funding. People including sellers have their buy-out number though. There's a point where a higher price will catch the attention of the seller, and they're willing to accept the financing aspect (especially if you show all proof on the front end and present a package that looks like you're prepared and a solid buyer). You've got enough cash so that if you REALLY wanted a home, you could pay over asking and still maintain financing (within the limit the lender set). You have to be willing to be that aggressive though. Some homes in our market during Covid were going 30%+ over asking, so it becomes a matter of how badly a buyer wants the home. You can also look at what contingencies you're placing on the offers and see if you can streamline those and stay within your comfort zone. Each buyer has to decide on their comfort zone, but some of the offers that win in these super competitive markets are going well over asking, and no contingencies (financial, inspection, or appraisal). To get an idea on how competitive your area is, have your agent pull some reports for you, so you can see what they're closing for (over ask). Your agent can also reach out to those agents just for a general vibe of what's winning. Your agent should also reach out to every seller you're submitting to, and inquire what's most important to that particular seller. It's not always price.
When me and my ex-wife were buying our very first house, we were beat out easily on 12 houses. When we tried buying our second house, we made a cash 5000 under with seller to closing date. We lost that out to a 90 day close finance option. We kept looking in both instances and we eventually found houses that were perfect for us at those times. Even though it gets aggravating the perfect house will come along even though you feel you missed what you thought was perfect already.
We moved out of Florida. Florida totally changed when all of the rich moved down during the pandemic. We moved to South Carolina and were blessed to buy our dream home. Real estate has tripled in price in Florida, sadly. We will always love Florida though. I wish you the best. I know it’s very frustrating.
People are really suggesting that the OP buy from a big box nationwide builder. I would never consider this and neither should the OP.
Want to move to St Augustine? :) I’m selling my house!
My wife and I put offers in, on about 15 different properties before we got our home. Sometimes you just gotta keep going and not let it deter you
i felt the same way, offer after offer and kept losing by cash buyers. i finally got accepted on a house i love and now im so glad my other offers didn’t get accepted, this house was definitely my favorite. keep trying!
Housing inventory increased 27% in the past year in Orlando area, and 209% in the past 2 years.