Should we buy his house?

Question

Ok we just moved to Bolingbrook, IL from San Diego, CA 10 days ago. The man we are renting from told us last week that he is selling his house and after showing it to two couples who are offering him really low for the townhouse, he wants to sell it to us if he is gonna sell it for less than he is asking for. He wanted 150k for it. its a 3 bedroom( the bedrooms are REALLY small) 1 1/2 bath. The realtor who showed the place told him to ask for less because it needs lots of repairs. He doesnt want to go too low and asked my husband and i if we are interested in it. Its in a lower income part of town that is constantly patrolled by the police. Our neighboors are ok. One of the neighboors said that my direct neighboor deals drugs on the corner. Since we have been here we havent seen anything our of the ordinary. The townhouse does need lots of repairs. The capet all over the house is terribly stained, the bathrooms need to be deep cleaned and the bathtub needs to be replaced.

The owner made the basement into two bedrooms but one of them isnt complete and he says that he isnt going to finish it. That the new owner needs to do it. There are some holes in the walls and ceilings but he said he would repair those. My question is what should we offer him for this place? I mean we have to make the repairs ourselves but thats ok with us. We dont have good credit due to mismananging our credit when we were younger, and im affraid that we might be missing out on our only chance to buy a home if we pass this up. But we have no clue what to offer him for the place. Oh i forgot to mention that he said that since he is going through a divorce he doesnt want to give his wife half of the money from selling it, he will pay our closing costs, down payment and can make sure we get financing from a bank (he knows a few people in real estate that could help). How do i know what to look for when buying property? And should he be responsible for some of the repairs?

Answer 1

Sounds like you should do more homework. Go to www.realtor.com to see what the houses in your areas are selling for. You can also find this out by calling other townhomes in your area for sale and looking at them. Also, find out how much the association fees are.

If you like the neighborhood, then I say go for it. You will pay about $1,000 a month for an owner occupied 100% down home that you live in. Add the association fee and an extra $120 a month for property taxes, and you will know if you can afford it. Frankly, now is a great time to buy, and the owner is probably desperate to sell it. Offer him $125K and see what he comes back with.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Don't walk in blind.

1. Talk to a mortgage broker and see exactly how bad you credit is. Often it isn't as bad as you think and certain loan programs like FHA are not credit score sensitive.

2. Talk to a Realtor. Because you are new to the area you may not be aware of other options that may exist for you in nicer parts of town. Also ask them what a townhouse in your neighborhood is worth (assuming all the repairs to your were completed)

3. If you are leaning towards buying the townhouse you are living in then you must do a proper home inspection such to find out all of the defects with the property (you may only be aware of a fraction of them)

The sellers responsibility for the repairs is interdependent on the price you are willing to pay for it. If the Realtor says it is worth $140,000 and it would take $25,000 to hire someone to fix everything I suggest you offer no more than $115,000 (I suggest you still shoot for as big a bargain as you can get) and take it as is.

Answer 3

From what you tell us, I would say NO. But if you really want it the get an inspection by a licensed home inspector. Have a Realtor do a market analysis. They will do it for free. If the agent already told you its too high believe them. Slow down, there will be PLENTY of deals. Keep you credit good. Find a home is a good neighborhood. Your kids need a safe place to play. The owner sounds like he is difficult to deal with. Buy something else.

Answer 4

We'll be renters for many years. We are living in Chicago, even though, and are not sure if we will wish to preserve residing within the town in 10+ years, so we may not purchase till we determine that out. Not to say it is foolish to shop for some thing in a essential town. So pricey, and the estate taxes are insanely top. I consider that couples who push to have their marriage ceremony and purchase a apartment instantly are loopy. Buying a apartment is a HUGE hasstle. Uusally there are plenty of maintenance and reworking that is going with it, and unforeseen renovations as good. The final factor I'd wish is to must fear approximately that even as making plans a marriage ceremony.

Answer 5

even though 150,000 is a heck of alot cheaper compared to the outrageuos prices in San Diego, I would consider waiting till next year mainly because you might be able to pick up a better deal next year just b4 summer when alot of adjustable rate loans are going to adjust resulting in higher house payments for those unfortunate homeowners who got risky financing. Besides that do you really want to live in an area where there is constant police patrolling-that in itself is a red flag not to mention your next door drug dealer. This housing market is expected to get even worse than it already is, so I would wait till next year or at least till december which is one of the slowest months in home sales giving you more bargaining power. Good Luck

Answer 6

You havent mentioned one good quality.....if you cant come up with a list of good reasons then I would pass.