Impressions from House Hunting

As most of you know, we're currently looking at buying a new house. We've been at it for a couple months now, so I thought I'd share some impressions I've had so far with you:

• Some agents are desperate to make a sale. You can see it on their faces, hear it in their voices, and (almost) smell it on them. Seems to be lots of very nervous/panicky real estate agents out there.

• Then there's the "why are they even agents" group. I've had several agents that I've called -- some a few times -- and they never even call back. What's that about? You'd think that in this market they'd all be calling back in 15 seconds or less.

• There are lots of choices for us as buyers -- existing homes, foreclosures, building a new house and several options on even how to build. Lots and lots of choices. But we're in no hurry, so we're sorting/working through all those bit by bit. (BTW, anyone know a GREAT resource/tip for finding out foreclosure information?)

• There aren't as many choices for us as sellers. We've seen some houses in our neighborhood and nearby sell for unbelievably low prices. Either the sellers are trying to unload their houses for personal reasons (pending foreclosure, divorce, job relocation) or they've discovered the house is built on a toxic waste dump. Or maybe the market is just that bad. If so, all I can say is "yikes!"

• It takes a TON of time and effort to find the right place. It's worth it, of course, but boy does it suck time out of a week.

Comments

[Harrison]

I'm on way to search a new house for my family too. I'm not in hurry since I plan to buy a new house next 1-2 years. But I think it is good for me to start researching and learning the buying process earlier. So I hope to read more tips from you soon, FMF ;)

[Blaine Moore]

It took us almost 2 years to find our first house. Thankfully, we had a buyer's agent that was really good and that stuck with us for the entire time (a little over a year from when we started using him to show us houses.)

[Lord]

If there really are bargains, you might consider investing in rentals. If you can do it without a lot down but with positive cash flow and don't mind some management, it could prove lucrative.

[girl150]

Not exactly foreclosures, but here's where you can find lists of HUD homes for sale: http://www.hud.gov/homes/index.cfm.