Comments on: House hunting and man hunting?

By: randomesq

randomesq — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:30:10 +0000

I don’t know how I missed this.

I am wishing you good things and respect your decision to keep the relationship things private.

Some lucky bastard will catch your eye!

By: singleworkingmommy

singleworkingmommy — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:07:43 +0000

I’m sorry to hear about Kris, as well.

Down here you can go through the auditor’s website to look at house prices, sales in the area, etc. I used it a lot in my search. I also used a realtor. It was just easier… and I really *really* liked my lady (she was a one-time single mom–of five boys! including a set of twins!)

By: mommypie

mommypie — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:18:38 +0000

I’m so sorry about Kris. It obviously wasn’t meant to be, just like the house. But like your image above, change IS good. And exciting!

I do hope you decide to date though. Purely for my own enjoyment. I have to live vicariously through SOMEONE!

By: Cato

Cato — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:15:16 +0000

Zillow is useful, BUT, there is general agreement that it OVERSTATES prices significantly. Use with real caution.

By: ana.biosis

ana.biosis — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:47:51 +0000

have you ever heard of websites like http://www.zillow.com ? They may help you find the prices in the areas you are looking for.

Also… run a google search on foreclosures in the area… and there are often sites that can do mad searches for you…example, here in houston, it is http://www.har.com and it lists homes from every real estate agency, so you can look at them all, inside and out.

Good luck on the house.

As for boyfriend, I am sorry,but kudos to both of you for being able to see what is right for all 3 of you involved!

By: Cato

Cato — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:10:33 +0000

Sounds like not getting the house was for the best: 2 bedrooms seems like plenty for you, but that’s a very hard size to sell, and in most markets 2 bedroom houses (not apartments/condos) sell at a significant discount. And, the market is certainly not headed up if a 3 bedroom in the neighborhood sold for less. Think of this as an education.

If you’re going to house hunt without a real estate agent, you need to learn about the prices in the area – not just asking prices, but what things actually sell for. That information in many places is published in local newspapers (usually the little ‘local’ papers) once a week or so. That information reflects what closed, not the deals made, so there is a significant lag between the time deals are made and the time they close.

If you can get your hands on (through your lawyer?) the local multiple listing service, you can see the whole market like a real estate agent, so you can get a feel for what people are asking, how quickly things are selling and at what prices. Hint, anything that’s a good deal usually sells within 30 days or even within a week. Anything that’s been on the market more than 60 days is either listed at a bad time, over priced, or has other problems (zoning? structural?, water? etc.).

IF you don’t want to be taken advantage of, you have to be informed. The two ways to do that are to hire someone (i.e. the real estate agent who gets 2-3% of the price) or do the work yourself.

You can do it!! Hang in there.

Sorry to hear about the BF, but we are almost all ships passing in life, and our courses often diverge.

By: liz

liz — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:31:38 +0000

Sorry to hear about the house…

Sorry to hear about Kris.

But you’re mom is probably right about the house (aren’t they always?!? So frustrating…) and the market.

By: QTMama

QTMama — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:31:35 +0000

*hugs*

Keep your chin up sweets.