Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Finally got one

Well we finally got one. We just got the keys and haven't moved in yet. Despite the market conditions we didn't get a steal, paid over asking, and in fact the home didn't appraise so we had to bring some extra money to close as well as convince the sellers to come down a little. On the other hand the home needs only a paint job and a chimney sweep, is big enough for our family of four, is close to things that are important (school, shopping, park, friends, backyard), far from things we don't like (noise, crime) and is as good a fit for our needs as we could hope for. Most of our new neighbors have lived in the neighborhood for ten years or more so we have a nice stable piece of San Francisco to call home.
With two little ones in desparate need of a yard we weren't in a position to wait anymore and frankly we were just out of patience. Our criteria was what can we afford right now that we can bear to live in for the next ten years. And on that front we are satisfied. The big lesson I have walked away with here (which will make the realtors happy) is that what you pay for a house has no correlation to it's actual value. As some of you probably know we have spent literally years bidding on foreclosures, fixers, probates, stale fish, etc trying to get a bargain and have come up empty handed every time (I haven't blogged about the last couple misadventures but there have been a few and one in particular just about broke our heart). But the times we were denied did give us more time and eventually our savings caught up to the point that we could actually compete and in the end we wound up buying in a normal deal with normal sellers putting our well-over-asking offer in the day it listed and even then apparently not having the highest offer, but winning because we offered a damn fast close.
The asking price, the comps, everything you think you know about a property is meaningless when it comes to the final price. It all boils down to whether you are in a class that has a lot of other buyers. As a family looking for a family home in a city that isn't exactly loaded with quality inventory for families, we eventually learned we were going to have to either pay more than we would like, or not have anything at all. If you are in the market for a condo, or something on the top end of the market I think it's a different experience, but reasonably priced homes appropiate for a family with young children are tough nuts to crack.
Anyways I'm happy to start worrying about lawn care now. Home depot has new meaning to me and I can't wait to make my first visit there with serious intent.

On a side note, those who have enjoyed my Rent vs. Buy spreadsheet will be pleased to learn that I have nearly completed converting it into an iPhone app. I'll make an announcement when it's available on the Apple store.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

CONGRATULATIONS!

Sophie

slowpoison said...

Congratulations on your new home. And thanks for the awesome Rent vs. Buy Calculator.

A minor fix in the spreadsheet. Column B77 should say "C84%" instead of "C79%". Probably a remanent from the last version.

I'm curious to learn about the lessons you learned from the deals that fell through. Especially your last post on July 17, 2008 left me clamoring for more. :)