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I made an offer, they made a counter offer within 2 days and I accepted their counteroffer within 24 hours.

It was all the other stuff - the contingencies, inspections, move out dates, the stuff they had to fix (put in smoke detectors, pump the septic tank, etc.) and so on, that took time.

I made the offer in July, closed in September and couldn't move in until October. That was in a much cooler market (2012) than right now.
 
If you respond with a counter-offer that means that you don't accept their offer and it restarts the clock. If you put in a contingency that you need time to consult with a lawyer/consultant/etc. and that this must happen on a business day, and that any future offers must take this into account, then they can adjust their offerings in the future or not - but at that point if they insist on being obstinate about time limits, you can just reject their offer and move on to the next buyer - selling/buying a house is enough of a hassle without dealing with people who want to play hardball.
The wife and I are formulating a counter offer to present now. Mostly to gain some time as suggested.
As far as suing after the sale they are probably going to get an inspection and I plan on honestly disclosing any problems like LP siding. If their agent is halfway honest she should have pointed that out to them already. My agent did when I bought the house.
 
I didn't see anything about suing.

The inspections and so on are customary and highly recommended for buyers, although when the market gets hot, some buyers will waive the inspections/etc.

The seller is supposed to disclose all know problems with dwellings and the property.

Mine didn't - but I didn't make a stink about it.

They did not disclose the issue with mice, or the fact that the PO would discard trash in the woods, or the leak in the roof of the shop and a few other things. All of which they had to know.
 
I know a agent can look up and point out things you will never think about.
I know agents that have been sued by clients for ridiculous things. People are stupid.
Most home inspectors know jack squat about homes and codes. They just have to pass a weak test, boom you a home inspector. It's just something to appease the bank and hope they catch something big.

And let's be honest most real estate agents are bored house wives looking for extra cash.
The market has been flooded with half arse sales people trying to get rich quick for years.

As any other contract or sale. Do you research know the problems you may come across and if possible talk to an expert so you know what to expect and where you can get screwed.
 
I think washington is different then.
All you need is a certain number of class time, and pass a test. Slightly more.

But let's be honest how many dishonest and downright criminal home contractors are out there?

I'm not saying all are bad or unknowledgable.
But just like any other business or professional.

When I had a home inspection on my house the inspector missed some pretty obvious things.
Like a bathroom exhaust vent detached from the ducting. Venting into my attic.

I was looking into it for a while, but the industry didn't seem worth it.
 
A couple years ago I bought a house on a Zillow auction, it was easiest real estate thing I've ever done. I paid the auction price plus about $1200 and ended up with a free and clear title. The whole deal was done over the internet with E signatures and never even saw a realtor. Compared to refinancing a house a few years before that it was amazingly easy.
 
little update. Had a realtor paralegal?, step niece of mine look at the contract and all seemed good. She suggested we ask the realtor to drop the commission so we got her to agree to 2.5% and now we will know tomorrow if the deal continues with our counter.
 
Home inspectors have to be State certified building contractors first.
Not that big of a deal

I think washington is different then.
All you need is a certain number of class time, and pass a test. Slightly more.

But let's be honest how many dishonest and downright criminal home contractors are out there?

I'm not saying all are bad or unknowledgable.
But just like any other business or professional.

When I had a home inspection on my house the inspector missed some pretty obvious things.
Like a bathroom exhaust vent detached from the ducting. Venting into my attic.

I was looking into it for a while, but the industry didn't seem worth it.
Same thing as Nick is saying. I don't believe becoming a contractor is that big of deal.
There are lots of contractors that aren't that bright but can get bonding.
Oldnewbie,once you talk to the RA you should know if you trust them or not.
If you feel you need a shower after meeting the agent,then don't trust them:D
But really you should be able to figure out if they know what's what pretty fast.
 
Not that big of a deal


Same thing as Nick is saying. I don't believe becoming a contractor is that big of deal.
There are lots of contractors that aren't that bright but can get bonding.
Oldnewbie,once you talk to the RA you should know if you trust them or not.
If you feel you need a shower after meeting the agent,then don't trust them:D
But really you should be able to figure out if they know what's what pretty fast.


I was a licenced and bonded contractor for years in the State of Washington.

It is very time consuming and difficult to get a contractors license

Basicly you have to get insurance, a bond (usually from the same agent) and send the state a check

It takes 30 minutes at least.

As an interesting side note the bond is worthless and the insurance is almost worthless. Its all about the appearance of professionalism and the state getting their money. Having a contractor's license means absolutely nothing in the real world (other than that you are insurable)

I let my license laps, I still have exactly the same insurance which is the only thing you are required to do to get the license, the only reason why I let it laps was because of a screw up in the bond paperwork which would have made me have to renew in person.... I figured screw it. In 10 years there has probably been no more than two or three people who cared that I had a license (Installing architectural ironwork )
 
Either way it's a sellers market. I wish I was in a position to sell.
We're looking at doing so in a year or two, but well see
I could sell now if I wanted to - my neighbor says he has a friend who would buy.

The market is heating up around Portland so fast it looks like another bubble in the making.

I am crossing my fingers that in five years when I retire, my place will have at least the value Zillow says it does now. If it does, then I will make out well, be able to move outside the area where prices are skyrocketing, and buy some better land and build a house on it for the equity I have in this property. At that point I would be sitting pretty as I have no other debt besides my mortgage, and I am used to living frugally.
 
That's my problem, we have some good equity in our house.
But our jobs are shaky right now and the hard part is finding another house. We would love to have a place outside of town, but I know we won't have the money for that. With two young kids we can't go too far out.

Man looking at all those condos and apartments going up down town they better finish those and get them sold/rented before the market drops again.

There are 16 story hippy traps going up left and right.
 
Unlike the last bubble, it seems prices for homes are based on real demand and low supply, unlike the 'flipper' bubble that burst. I don't see it bursting until the employers take the employees that need the housing away.

If you've got the equity to buy and build elsewhere now, might consider selling this year or next and renting a cheaper place until retirement. At least have a monster yard sale while you're thinking about it.
 
My son and I have done 6 real estate deals in the last 3 years without a realtor on our side and we pay no BS realtor commissions. We have a standard process we use and our own inspector, but since my son is a GC and I was one for 27 years we are pretty well set there.

A home inspector being a licensed contractor is really no guarantee of anything. I was a licensed contractor in Oregon, California, Washington, Idaho and Montana. CA and OR require testing and some level of competence proof, WA, ID, and MT were basically fill out a form and give them money.

Realtors are riding high right now, everybody is getting into the game. The market is horribly overpriced and overvalued right now and inventory is low. We have looked at 2 properties this week, two houses early 1960's 3 bedroom ranchs. Original everything and priced at 280K. Insane. These houses were selling at 209 two years ago. They will require a minimum of 35K to 50K each to make them sellable in this market. That makes them at 330, well above the hood averages. We are passing on these deals, since we can go get a lower end house in a cash only deal with some pretty creative financing, having the seller hold a note for 6 months with 30% down, then doing a balloon in 6 months with a newly remodeled house, and we were renting them, if the market holds we will sell it, but we make 60% on the rentals anyway.

This is a bubble, a lot more stable than the last one, but the lower end of the market is drying up real fast.
 
The paperwork is pretty easy, honestly. There's a standard contract. We're going through it right now - after last year's disappointment loosing out on our home thanks to an incompetent mortgage guy - fortune shined upon us, I have an aunt who wants to sell her home here in Forest Grove. She's making us a swinging deal on the thing, no realtors involved at all - just a mortgage broker on our part and the title/escrow company. There's 6% saved between us for not paying someone not needed in the process.

We weren't even planning on trying to buy this year, as it's been a rough year, but we couldn't pass up this deal, and since the place we're renting was going to go up in price this year, the mortgage is only about $200 a month more than the rent would be come renewal time on our lease. Ditching the cable TV a while back has saved us half of that already, and selling our second vehicle off saved us the other half.

From a buyer's standpoint - if/when we buy another place in the future, we'll be looking to do it without an agent again if at all possible. One of the things that drove me batty was the agent NOT listening to us, and pushing us toward properties that were out of our budget, or simply not what we were looking for. She was only out to maximize her commission and not getting us what we wanted. Their commissions (or rather, their agency's commissions) are far outsized compared to the actual effort they put into the process, at least when acting as a buyer's agent. I guess if I were selling and had a property that didn't really sell itself, finding a motivated broker who drew in buyers would be worth it. But in this market, if it's for sale, it's almost a lock to get a buyer. Last year was retarded with bidding wars on every property, and some really sharty places going for stupid sums of money. I think we put it about 10 full price offers on homes only to be outbid by tens of thousands in some cases.
o_O

Good luck with the sale - I hope it's all smooth sailing (or smooth selling) and you're closing soon.
 

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