Slim Jim
Well-known member
You're just jealous we won't let you on the team, instead you had to hang around Paulo's place, and now look what you did, you got his wife pregnant, some friend lmao
Buying House without a realtor?
- Thread starter mimico_polak
- Start date
Slim Jim
Well-known member
Lmfao, but look at Jay,no one can make one like him.
Lol, that's low man. Real low
Is this realistic? I'm softly looking basically at the same area and I am not coming up with anything decent. I'm looking at turn key though and not fixer uppers. All the decent semi detached seemed to be over 500k
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Definitely realistic as we see many places in our range. There's a range of 350 (junk) - 400 (decent) - 450 (good with a little bit of work) that we run into. Yesterday we checked out a place we really liked for less than 450 (SEMI) which is probably set up for a bidding war but I'm not going to bite. I may put in an offer but will discuss more with wife further.
I'm not looking for turnkey because frankly the majority of the 'renos' we've seen are slop jobs where I'd need to go and fix their messes so I prefer one that's untouched yet livable, and then slowly update it to our own standard / taste.
Wise move. The place next to me went on the market as "Waiting for your touch" and was picked up by a renovator who did the ceramic / granite / laminate routine, adding about $200,000 to what he paid. The new owner has had to spend tens of thousands on fixing sloppy work.
I've gone to a few of those 'recently renovated' and I like looking through closets and all the different nooks and crannies in homes because I've always found the cheapest laminate I could find, paint cans with still wet paint on it, messed up drywall repairs, and 220V outlets converted to 120V PLUGS....still running 220V because they moved the laundry to another room...it was easier to change the outlet then the rest of the circuit...
mbroyda
Well-known member
Just like with anything else, thee are no miracles when it comes to real estate, especially in the GTA, if you want a nice place it will cost you, or you can buy a ****** place and fix it up, and it will still cost you.
Having said that there are still gems out there, but they are not for everyone, I picked up a bungalow last Christmas on a 30 x 130 lot in the Dovercourt area that had nothing done to it since 1960s for $580k, it had plaster, knob and tube etc, 3 months later the realtor that sold it came by for a visit and couldn't recognize the place, the initial cost was low, and our renovation budget was also low, but me and my wife spent every free minute we had working on that house for 3 months, to me it was worth it, to someone else maybe not...
so you either pay for it up front, or pay for it with your time, or pay for it by living in a renovation for an x amount of years
Having said that there are still gems out there, but they are not for everyone, I picked up a bungalow last Christmas on a 30 x 130 lot in the Dovercourt area that had nothing done to it since 1960s for $580k, it had plaster, knob and tube etc, 3 months later the realtor that sold it came by for a visit and couldn't recognize the place, the initial cost was low, and our renovation budget was also low, but me and my wife spent every free minute we had working on that house for 3 months, to me it was worth it, to someone else maybe not...
so you either pay for it up front, or pay for it with your time, or pay for it by living in a renovation for an x amount of years
A lot of home buyers are like children at a bake shop. They will pass up a gourmet cookie for a piece of crap because the crap has red icing. Similarly there are a lot of really good homes that get passed over because they don't have granite counter tops and marble tiles.
A good home inspector is a must nowadays. We put a deposit on a place and during the home inspection found a ton of minor things that we could deal with...but then we went into the attic and when we saw the level of mould there....we walked away immediately because the owner / condo corp refused to touch the roof. Condo board told us 'It's on the inside of the roof...our responsibility is on the outside....so just plug the vents and you'll be fine!'
We walked away from that one fairly quick.
FLSTC
Well-known member
Good article on the Buyers Representation Agreement here: http://www.greaterfool.ca/2015/10/08/the-trap-3/
Agreed. Actually had a realtor that buys and sells homes tell me that I should never buy a recent reno as follows:
"People are stupid and in this market they go crazy. They go for the nice furnishings, floors, kitchen and bathroom. So I take the cheapest materials, do a quick in/out and then flip it. Best market is under the 600k market because it's got the most people that get into it."
After that we no longer kept our relationship as he tried to push me properties that HE renovated AFTER he told me that!
Smart approach. That's the route we took with our cottage. It was cheap and very dated but the bones were good and everything worked(ish). My dad and I pick one room a year to fix. Kitchen one year, bathroom the next, etc.
I am not sure but you might be a little unrealistic on your expectation for the area, there might be houses in that price range but not what you are looking for.
It seems like your budget is at the low end, For example, 13 houses sold on that area last week, The bottom 2 were 450 and 475, everything else was above 500.
Good news is that most are sold at the listed price or below but none on your price range. It might be possible but it will take you a while to find and a bit of luck.
I wouldn't blame your Real state agent for trying to push you a little above your price range since a bunch of options open up once you hit the 500 mark. I think you put her to a tough task.
Regardless man, I know how difficult it is and I wish you the best of luck.
It seems like your budget is at the low end, For example, 13 houses sold on that area last week, The bottom 2 were 450 and 475, everything else was above 500.
Good news is that most are sold at the listed price or below but none on your price range. It might be possible but it will take you a while to find and a bit of luck.
I wouldn't blame your Real state agent for trying to push you a little above your price range since a bunch of options open up once you hit the 500 mark. I think you put her to a tough task.
Regardless man, I know how difficult it is and I wish you the best of luck.
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Thanks!
I know it's tough, but we're in absolutely zero rush and if we happen to find a place in our range and everything goes through, bonus....if not, well then we keep at it. I'm not willing to go and blow my budget out JUST to have a house. I've got a place to live and as I previously posted, worse comes to worse we build UP on our existing property. But would prefer a house separately from this place.
My other cousin, who also bought with my realtor cousin took 18 months to find a home...so I'd say for 3 months into the process we're doing alright. 1 house won and cancelled, 2 outbid, and we'll see next week about this one we saw last night and going to see tonight.
The MAIN reason we are looking for a house is because 700sqft is getting rather small and as we are planning to have kids we will need the space regardless.
HA!! You will NEVER have enough room when the kids come. I went from 1400 to 1800 to 2400 (none of that sq ftg included basement which I finished in all of them for more room) and still have no room for what I want.
Go big NOW while you have the chance.
^you sound like you're living my life. I got 714 sq tho
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LoL 14sqft is a big difference! I love our area and where we are now, but I do recognize we'll need some more space. Mind you living without a bunch of 'stuff' is nice too....very easy to get around.
