What does it really take to buy a home in the Seattle area? There are the skyrocketing prices, of course.
But nowadays, to compete in this feverish market, buyers have to deal with so much more: Pay for damage the seller doesn’t disclose. Decide whether to buy a house just a couple days after it hits the market. Have a six-figure cash nest egg saved up for a down payment and nonrefundable earnest money.
Will you let the old owners continue living in your new house for months after you buy it? Can you compete with a pool of buyers where 1 in 4 people are paying with all cash? Are you ready for heartbreak if you get outbid on your dream home even when stretching to make your highest possible offer?
Our reporting found the average buyer will tour dozens of houses, lose to higher bids about three to five times, and pursue a house for six months to a year before finally getting a home. Many buyers likened the process to a full-time job.
“It was just all-consuming,” said Michael McDermott, who bought a house with his wife in North Seattle last year. “You have to always be on guard and always be ready. It’s such a rabid market that it can get out of control really fast.”
We talked to dozens of people who know the market best — buyers, sellers, brokers and lenders from around the Puget Sound region — to put together a complete homebuying survival guide. (...)
Saving Up
Getting a Loan
Picking a Lender
Picking Your Broker
Start Searching
Act Quickly
Edges are No Longer a Bargain
Look for 'Stinkers'
Off-Market Sales
Homes That Need Work
Duplicate Houses (...)
Begin Bidding
Here, we get to the most frenzied part of the homebuying process today.
Historically, there was one big decision you had to make when putting in an offer on a home: how much you’re willing to pay. In today’s competitive market — where nine in 10 homes in Seattle provoke bidding wars — buyers must also add sweeteners that add tremendous risk and sometimes higher costs to their bid. Each one is relatively standard now in competitive markets, and becoming more common in outlying areas.
Appraisal contingency: Your mortgage doesn’t automatically cover your purchase price — it only covers what a neutral third party, known as an appraiser, decides it’s worth. In the past, it was rare for appraisals to come in with a value far below the purchase price, but recently, buyers have started to feverishly bid up homes past what the market fundamentals dictate.
This is a concern for sellers — if buyers wind up with a mortgage loan that’s lower than what they planned, they might back out of the deal or ask to lower the price. So, to win over uneasy sellers, most successful buyers now must “waive” the appraisal contingency as part of their initial bid — guaranteeing they will pay their bid price, no matter what the appraisal will be. So if a buyer agrees to buy a house for $750,000 but the appraiser says it’s only worth $700,000, the buyer is on the hook for paying the remaining $50,000 in cash.
Practically speaking, this means buyers can’t max out their down payment with all the cash they have saved up, because they might need some more if the appraisal comes in low.
Inspection contingency: Most buyers will get a pre-inspection before bidding on a house; this is a $200 to $300 walk-through with a licensed professional who will assess the home’s basic condition — and that is all you’ll have time to do since homes sell quickly. In the 30 or so days between when a seller agrees to accept your offer and the deal closes, you can have a much more thorough inspection that would reveal the full extent of problems in a house. This is particularly important for older homes.
In the past, a detailed inspection that showed the roof needed $10,000 in undisclosed work might have yielded a renegotiation to lower the sale price; now, however, to be competitive most buyers must “waive” the inspection contingency, meaning they’ll pay the full price no matter what the inspection turns up. This is can be a huge source of anxiety for buyers who may not fully know what they’re getting themselves into.
Matt van Winkle, a RE/MAX broker in Seattle, has heard stories of buyers having to pay as much as $100,000 in repairs that they didn’t find out about until after they were on the hook for the sale. Local courts have generally sided with the sellers in these cases.
“You see it all the time, where you know it’s just something waiting to happen,” van Winkle said. “There are buyers that are just being foolish, and they do win sometimes because they either don’t know what they’re doing or they’re willing to be as aggressive as necessary to get a property.”
Two items that come up a lot: The side sewer (which often needs replacement in older local homes) — crews can send a camera through the line, called a scope, to check it for about $250; and the oil tank, another common item in older homes that must have a “decommission certificate” showing it’s been buried or removed.
“Just about anything you find during inspection isn’t going to alter the sale price, which is remarkable for me,” said Singh, the Wedgwood homebuyer. The seller of his new home made a $200,000 profit over what they had paid nine months prior. “But in this market, that’s how it is. Including rats being in the property. OK, you pay a million bucks for a rat-filled house.”
Financing contingency: Typically you can back out of a home purchase if your mortgage loan falls through. But it’s standard for buyers to “waive” the financing contingency, guaranteeing they will buy the home regardless.
Title contingency: Washington law mandates that sellers must provide a title to the home, listing some vital stats on the property. If there’s a surprise in the title — like unpaid property taxes or a driveway that’s actually shared with a neighbor — a buyer can back out or renegotiate the price. Sellers do not want to deal with this uncertainty, though. Most buyers now must “waive” the title contingency, meaning they can get a title full of surprises and have no recourse. A dive into public records databases can reveal some of the things that the title would unearth, however.
“I can never advise” waiving all those contingencies, Jaime Stenwick, a RE/MAX broker in Seattle, said. “But I have to tell them their offer is probably not going to be accepted if they don’t.”
Rentbacks: You may be under the mistaken impression that once you buy a home, you can now live in it. But these days sellers are often under the gun to turn around and buy a home in the same crazy market, so they may want a few months to continue living in their home while they search for their next house. It’s common for buyers to agree to delay their move into their new home by granting 60-day or 90-day rentbacks to the sellers.
Nonrefundable earnest money: Buyers have long typically forked over a small amount, like 1 percent of the purchase price, in cash once the deal is initially agreed upon. Now buyers are offering upwards of 5 percent in earnest money. That amounts to about $40,000 on the typical Seattle house. And more buyers are giving this money away as a nonrefundable payment — another new twist — so if the deal falls through, your money is gone.
Other tips on bidding
The letter: Just about everyone now sends sellers a letter about how much they love the house — complete with cute pictures of their kids — so when you write one you’re only separating yourself from developers and investors to prove you’re a real person. The hard truth, though, is that a lot of these letters wind up in the trash. Some listing agents refuse to show them to their clients for fear that emotion will get in the way of the highest offer. Of course, some sellers do care, and want their house to go to a good family, especially for the neighbors they’re leaving behind.
Ask to be No. 2: Savvy buyers can ask to be placed second in line in case the winner’s offer falls through, or they back out of the purchase.
That way, said Laurie Way, a Coldwell Banker Bain broker in Seattle who has used that strategy, “They don’t start taking offers all over again — you just slide right in.”
by Mike Rosenberg, Seattle Times | Read more:
Image: Emily M. Eng
But nowadays, to compete in this feverish market, buyers have to deal with so much more: Pay for damage the seller doesn’t disclose. Decide whether to buy a house just a couple days after it hits the market. Have a six-figure cash nest egg saved up for a down payment and nonrefundable earnest money.
Will you let the old owners continue living in your new house for months after you buy it? Can you compete with a pool of buyers where 1 in 4 people are paying with all cash? Are you ready for heartbreak if you get outbid on your dream home even when stretching to make your highest possible offer?Our reporting found the average buyer will tour dozens of houses, lose to higher bids about three to five times, and pursue a house for six months to a year before finally getting a home. Many buyers likened the process to a full-time job.
“It was just all-consuming,” said Michael McDermott, who bought a house with his wife in North Seattle last year. “You have to always be on guard and always be ready. It’s such a rabid market that it can get out of control really fast.”
We talked to dozens of people who know the market best — buyers, sellers, brokers and lenders from around the Puget Sound region — to put together a complete homebuying survival guide. (...)
Getting a Loan
Picking a Lender
Picking Your Broker
Start Searching
Act Quickly
Edges are No Longer a Bargain
Look for 'Stinkers'
Off-Market Sales
Homes That Need Work
Duplicate Houses (...)
Begin Bidding
Here, we get to the most frenzied part of the homebuying process today.
Historically, there was one big decision you had to make when putting in an offer on a home: how much you’re willing to pay. In today’s competitive market — where nine in 10 homes in Seattle provoke bidding wars — buyers must also add sweeteners that add tremendous risk and sometimes higher costs to their bid. Each one is relatively standard now in competitive markets, and becoming more common in outlying areas.
Appraisal contingency: Your mortgage doesn’t automatically cover your purchase price — it only covers what a neutral third party, known as an appraiser, decides it’s worth. In the past, it was rare for appraisals to come in with a value far below the purchase price, but recently, buyers have started to feverishly bid up homes past what the market fundamentals dictate.
This is a concern for sellers — if buyers wind up with a mortgage loan that’s lower than what they planned, they might back out of the deal or ask to lower the price. So, to win over uneasy sellers, most successful buyers now must “waive” the appraisal contingency as part of their initial bid — guaranteeing they will pay their bid price, no matter what the appraisal will be. So if a buyer agrees to buy a house for $750,000 but the appraiser says it’s only worth $700,000, the buyer is on the hook for paying the remaining $50,000 in cash.
Practically speaking, this means buyers can’t max out their down payment with all the cash they have saved up, because they might need some more if the appraisal comes in low.
Inspection contingency: Most buyers will get a pre-inspection before bidding on a house; this is a $200 to $300 walk-through with a licensed professional who will assess the home’s basic condition — and that is all you’ll have time to do since homes sell quickly. In the 30 or so days between when a seller agrees to accept your offer and the deal closes, you can have a much more thorough inspection that would reveal the full extent of problems in a house. This is particularly important for older homes.
In the past, a detailed inspection that showed the roof needed $10,000 in undisclosed work might have yielded a renegotiation to lower the sale price; now, however, to be competitive most buyers must “waive” the inspection contingency, meaning they’ll pay the full price no matter what the inspection turns up. This is can be a huge source of anxiety for buyers who may not fully know what they’re getting themselves into.
Matt van Winkle, a RE/MAX broker in Seattle, has heard stories of buyers having to pay as much as $100,000 in repairs that they didn’t find out about until after they were on the hook for the sale. Local courts have generally sided with the sellers in these cases.
“You see it all the time, where you know it’s just something waiting to happen,” van Winkle said. “There are buyers that are just being foolish, and they do win sometimes because they either don’t know what they’re doing or they’re willing to be as aggressive as necessary to get a property.”
Two items that come up a lot: The side sewer (which often needs replacement in older local homes) — crews can send a camera through the line, called a scope, to check it for about $250; and the oil tank, another common item in older homes that must have a “decommission certificate” showing it’s been buried or removed.
“Just about anything you find during inspection isn’t going to alter the sale price, which is remarkable for me,” said Singh, the Wedgwood homebuyer. The seller of his new home made a $200,000 profit over what they had paid nine months prior. “But in this market, that’s how it is. Including rats being in the property. OK, you pay a million bucks for a rat-filled house.”
Financing contingency: Typically you can back out of a home purchase if your mortgage loan falls through. But it’s standard for buyers to “waive” the financing contingency, guaranteeing they will buy the home regardless.
Title contingency: Washington law mandates that sellers must provide a title to the home, listing some vital stats on the property. If there’s a surprise in the title — like unpaid property taxes or a driveway that’s actually shared with a neighbor — a buyer can back out or renegotiate the price. Sellers do not want to deal with this uncertainty, though. Most buyers now must “waive” the title contingency, meaning they can get a title full of surprises and have no recourse. A dive into public records databases can reveal some of the things that the title would unearth, however.
“I can never advise” waiving all those contingencies, Jaime Stenwick, a RE/MAX broker in Seattle, said. “But I have to tell them their offer is probably not going to be accepted if they don’t.”
Rentbacks: You may be under the mistaken impression that once you buy a home, you can now live in it. But these days sellers are often under the gun to turn around and buy a home in the same crazy market, so they may want a few months to continue living in their home while they search for their next house. It’s common for buyers to agree to delay their move into their new home by granting 60-day or 90-day rentbacks to the sellers.
Nonrefundable earnest money: Buyers have long typically forked over a small amount, like 1 percent of the purchase price, in cash once the deal is initially agreed upon. Now buyers are offering upwards of 5 percent in earnest money. That amounts to about $40,000 on the typical Seattle house. And more buyers are giving this money away as a nonrefundable payment — another new twist — so if the deal falls through, your money is gone.
Other tips on bidding
The letter: Just about everyone now sends sellers a letter about how much they love the house — complete with cute pictures of their kids — so when you write one you’re only separating yourself from developers and investors to prove you’re a real person. The hard truth, though, is that a lot of these letters wind up in the trash. Some listing agents refuse to show them to their clients for fear that emotion will get in the way of the highest offer. Of course, some sellers do care, and want their house to go to a good family, especially for the neighbors they’re leaving behind.
Ask to be No. 2: Savvy buyers can ask to be placed second in line in case the winner’s offer falls through, or they back out of the purchase.
That way, said Laurie Way, a Coldwell Banker Bain broker in Seattle who has used that strategy, “They don’t start taking offers all over again — you just slide right in.”
by Mike Rosenberg, Seattle Times | Read more:
