Buying a house in 2021

What a circus…

If you’ve thought of buying a house, below is a set of experiences, insights, and possibly rants that are not meant to be directed at anyone in particular. You should not buy a home without these in your back pocket.

Buying in a sellers market sucks

It does. I have transacted 20+ times in this market and that sums up the feelings. When you try to buy a house, you are not just buying a house. You are buying a home for you, your kids, and your imagined life with those people. So it takes emotion to love a home to put an offer in. That emotion is the first insight.

You WILL fall in love, and that is a house you should buy. When / If you don’t win it, you have to navigate those feelings with your kids. These are lessons in challenge and love that I have applied to my 3 kids. They are sad, hurt, and disappointed. So am I. That doesn’t change the need for us to parent and guide our family through the loss.

Houses typically list on certain days … tackle on these days

Did you know real estate agents prefer to post listings on 2 days of the week. That is right .. and if you focus on these days you’ll be finding listings like I do where they are posted only for 2–8 hours at a time. Giving me and my family first pick. Now it is still a bidding war, but at least we can book tours before the days fill back up.

So … Tuesday and Thursdays are your buttercup. Jump on Zillow these days. Friday would be my next favorite day based on reviewing 1,000s of houses and putting offers in 20+.

What day on the weekend should you tour the house — Saturday or Sunday.

Saturday, no question. If you wait till Sunday 50% of the houses you want will be bought under you. Visit it ASAP, but if on the weekend — SATURDAY. Put an offer in Saturday if you love it. Don’t wait. Good luck!

(I’ll keep updating as this adventure happens… love you all and good luck)

What happens when the appraisal is lower compared to your offer?

When you put an offer on a house that is YOUR view of the value of the house. The lender (if you need one) will appraise the value of your house as this is the collateral in the loan. You need the value of the appraisal to match or exceed your purchase price, because any difference the bank isn’t covering. Meaning YOU pay the difference. So if you buy a home for $10 and the appraisal comes in at $8, you need to bring $2 extra dollars to the closing. (of course these are fictional numbers .. but you get the idea).

So push the sellers to come down in price, and if you are willing to walk, walk. Else you’ll have to find a middle ground together.

What would you do? My house is in this situation (I only write about actual real events), and we are in the middle of that negotiation.