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If the seller's disclosure says "foundation wall repaired by previous owner" is the house still worth looking at?
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Feb 6, 2021 17:08
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Yes provided you bring a civil/structural engineer with you. And also post what you find to this thread 
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Feb 6, 2021 17:09
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Inner Light posted:My agent gently inquired with the listing agent about putting in a bid for below list price and got laughed off the phone. Yes
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Feb 6, 2021 18:15
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Inner Light posted:My agent gently inquired with the listing agent about putting in a bid for below list price and got laughed off the phone. Our agent advised us to lowball on our offer (immediately after a substantial price drop at that) and we got the house, which had been languishing on the market for six months with no offers because it was priced too high (fixer upper priced like a turnkey). Was the correct call because house appraised under final list price but over our offer. So yeah, depends on the market and sometimes the particular house. Case in point: the house across the street from ours had sold the previous spring for like $40k over asking because prospective buyers got into a bidding war. That house, however, had been nicely restored and has multiple bathrooms. I would imagine that in spicy hot markets (which ours was not), the state and condition of individual houses matters a lot less because buyers wouldn’t have the luxury of being so choosy as to bid up one house but ignore another on the same street due to all the other buyers breathing down their necks and chomping at the bit and waiving inspections to get ANY house in the vicinity.
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Feb 6, 2021 18:45
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Queen Victorian posted:Our agent advised us to lowball on our offer (immediately after a substantial price drop at that) and we got the house, which had been languishing on the market for six months with no offers because it was priced too high (fixer upper priced like a turnkey). Was the correct call because house appraised under final list price but over our offer. Glad it worked out for you, I have enjoyed your house stories very much. Our condo seller (the developer since it is new construction, in a not-super-popular area so I could afford it) called for 'highest and best' tonight unfortunately. I submitted $1k over list which is as much as I can stomach for my monthly payment. We shall see.
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Feb 7, 2021 00:53
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Why do American houses all have this layout where the staircase to the second floor is immediately in front of the front door? My wife hates it because you would expect to open the front door and be greeted with something open and expansive, but every house including new ones is set up where you enter and there's nothing in front of your eyes other than a staircase and you have to round a corner to get any visual appreciation of size.
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Feb 7, 2021 02:04
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Throatwarbler posted:Why do American houses all have this layout where the staircase to the second floor is immediately in front of the front door? My wife hates it because you would expect to open the front door and be greeted with something open and expansive, but every house including new ones is set up where you enter and there's nothing in front of your eyes other than a staircase and you have to round a corner to get any visual appreciation of size. What era/style house are you talking about? In the 70s or so, split-level houses became popular. In these houses, the entry, which is between the two levels, is just two staircases in your face, one up and one down. I’m not a fan. Example:  In older houses, especially those with foursquare layouts, you often see big gently caress-off foyers with fancy stairs right in your face in order to impress guests. Here’s my foyer (before we moved in and filled it with dumb crap):  The stairs are the first thing you see when you enter and they are definitely for show. This house is definitely a bourgeois middle management house but it does a good job of punching above its weight. Foyers fell out of style over the years (it’s a lot of square footage for hanging your coat), and got replaced with little entry halls or no dedicated entry area at all, just a door that opens into the living room. I guess also a decreasing cultural need to impress guests with your fancy bourgeois stairs too.
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Feb 7, 2021 02:37
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Throatwarbler posted:Why do American houses all have this layout where the staircase to the second floor is immediately in front of the front door? How else are the kiddos going to reenact Home Alone??
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Feb 7, 2021 02:57
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There is also the two-story foyer, with chandelier or some other gaudy bit of lighting hanging over the entrance, with a second story window. That's pretty popular, but it means there's no other architectural use of that space except for, you guess it, a big ol' staircase in your face. I mean, look at this:  That's in like every one of my suburban friends homes, at least ones built since the 80s. In older homes, there was value in having a big foyer because you can have people admitted but not in a truly "private" space, so you can have a delivery person or a messenger stand around in that limnal space while true guests are allowed further into the drawing room. Or something.
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Feb 7, 2021 02:59
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You can get crap up stairs in a smaller house if the door lines up perfectly with the stairs. Also you can home alone a sled into the steet that way.
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Feb 7, 2021 03:12
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2 hours after 'final and best' from the seller, and no word yet. I am taking this long to mean bad news. Back to the search!
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Feb 7, 2021 03:40
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kw0134 posted:
This is a big part of it. I'm drawing heavily on half-remembered poo poo from classes I took a decade ago, but the tl;dr is that it wasn't just deliverymen, it was EVERYONE. Your middle class / upper middle class family was expected to be receiving guests for all manner of things, from business to socializing. Ideally you were supposed to have basically three sections of the house, with some being larger or smaller depending on how much money you had: 1) the working part. The kitchen, laundry, the maid's quarters if you had a live-in one, etc. Tucked off somewhere where no one had to deal with the fact that their food got cooked and the maid slept somewhere. 2) the "public" part. The sitting room, the foyer, maybe even a lounge or a formal dining room if you're rich enough and with a big enough house. This is where you entertain guests. When Mr. Darcy comes over someone takes his coat in the foyer, escorts him back to the sitting room, then you come in and drink with him and maybe play some cards and introduce him to your good friend who is also over for 18/19th century socializing. If you're legit rich this is impressive mansion poo poo, if you're just a white collar clerk dude who is middle class as gently caress but aspires to be upper middle class then it's probably just a room off the entryway. You know all those formal sitting rooms in grandmas suburban ranch houses with the couches covered in plastic that no one below the pope or president gets to sit on? 20th Century cargo cult version of that. 3) the truly private part. The bedrooms, basically. The places where people sleep and gently caress. The areas where you can walk around without pants on without having to worry about finding some guest being entertained with a stirring game of whist. My understanding is that a lot of the distinction between the private and public parts was delineated vertically. You have the central stairwell which looks impressive in the foyer, but it's also the hard boundary of where it's acceptable for a visiting guest to be and the parts of the house that are actually, truly, private and only for family. Edit: of course all of this poo poo then gets translated through 200+ years of people doing poo poo to look richer than they are and other people adopting styles because they think it looks elegant based on weird cultural poo poo. Obviously the McMansion with a gently caress off huge stair right by the front door wasn't designed with a public/private distinction in mind, but either consciously or unconsciously they're cribbing off of design language that was developed back when that was actually a cultural norm.
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Feb 7, 2021 05:08
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Throatwarbler posted:Why do American houses all have this layout where the staircase to the second floor is immediately in front of the front door? My wife hates it because you would expect to open the front door and be greeted with something open and expansive, but every house including new ones is set up where you enter and there's nothing in front of your eyes other than a staircase and you have to round a corner to get any visual appreciation of size.
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Feb 7, 2021 15:26
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I don't know that I agree with that. All of my guests and whenever I am a guest, cars park in the driveway and people go in the front door.
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Feb 7, 2021 15:45
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Cyrano4747 posted:This is a big part of it. I'm drawing heavily on half-remembered poo poo from classes I took a decade ago, but the tl;dr is that it wasn't just deliverymen, it was EVERYONE. Your middle class / upper middle class family was expected to be receiving guests for all manner of things, from business to socializing. Ideally you were supposed to have basically three sections of the house, with some being larger or smaller depending on how much money you had: silvergoose posted:I don't know that I agree with that. All of my guests and whenever I am a guest, cars park in the driveway and people go in the front door.
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Feb 7, 2021 15:55
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silvergoose posted:I don't know that I agree with that. All of my guests and whenever I am a guest, cars park in the driveway and people go in the front door. Yeah, this heavily depends on your house layout, parking, etc. We have an attached garage so WE go through that door, but guests don't park there so they go through the front where the parking is for them.
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Feb 7, 2021 15:57
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Offer number 6: 13k above list with an escalation up to 27k above list. Friend is president of the HOA, which could be a good or terrible thing. Please let this process be done soon.
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Feb 7, 2021 16:19
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It also depends on where you live. In a city residents and guests alike are much less likely to be arriving by car, and there's less likely to be off street parking at all, etc. Most houses I visited or lived in in urban Pittsburgh were built in the 1890-1920 era and they invariably had an open staircase right in front of you at the front door, which was also unquestionably the main entrance as there was no off-street parking and anyway no cars when the house was built. Most of them were rowhouses that didn't leave much other choice. The couple of houses I can remember that tried to place a staircase elsewhere had awful layouts.
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Feb 7, 2021 16:52
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Cyrano4747 posted:This is a big part of it. I'm drawing heavily on half-remembered poo poo from classes I took a decade ago, but the tl;dr is that it wasn't just deliverymen, it was EVERYONE. I love posts like this.
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Feb 7, 2021 18:02
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vs Dinosaurs posted:I love posts like this. I’m pretty sure that describes every expert topic poster on all of SA.
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Feb 7, 2021 18:06
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Staircases are in the entry so that the exterior window placements aren't affected. Also, entry ways and staircases have complementary forms of Inefficient Use of Space so it's a good fit to mash em together
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Feb 7, 2021 18:37
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEfsaXDX0UQ
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Feb 7, 2021 19:09
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I laughed at how true this was for me. We bought last August and I still go on Zillow from time to time...
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Feb 7, 2021 19:21
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Dik Hz posted:I think some of it is that nobody ever uses front doors in America. 99% of guests and 100% of family come in through the garage because everyone drives everywhere. So the front entryway just becomes the small room with the staircase. In my grandparents’ house in the south, I think I used their front door like... once. Otherwise, the house was primarily accessed via attached garage or backdoor into den/casual living room. If you were family or a very close friend, you’d park in the driveway (which was off a side street, not the main boulevard) and come up to the backdoor. If you were a delivery person or otherwise not super close, you’d park on the street and use the front door. The house still had a proper foyer though. And formal living room that was almost never used. alnilam posted:It also depends on where you live. In a city residents and guests alike are much less likely to be arriving by car, and there's less likely to be off street parking at all, etc. I can attest to this. Lots of Pittsburgh neighborhoods were planned and built well before ubiquitous car ownership, so pretty much everyone would arrive by foot and be met by the front door. The backdoor was a utility entrance for the residents. And then once cars became more common, you had detached garages hidden behind the house and accessed by long driveway or alleyway. Most of the late 30s/early 40s houses we looked at in South Hills had front-facing single car attached garages, but the facades of these houses were really well balanced and still had the human front entrance as the centerpiece, and while the foyers were pretty cramped (these were small houses), they were still present and distinct. You don’t really get houses with giant garage door maws and heavily deemphasized front entrances until postwar tract developments. Some older Pittsburgh houses I’ve been in (1890s) have the narrow foyer and straight staircase, particularly rowhouses. Then once the foursquare layout became more popular (~1905-1925), you see the big square foyers with switchback staircases (like our house - we have a good 8-9ft between the front door and the staircase, plus extra space for archaic foyer furniture like a huge hall tree and telephone desk). As for the original question about American houses with staircases right at the front door, I’m still thinking these must be more contemporary. In my experience, houses with diminished entryways tend to be newer and in neighborhoods that are car-centric. GoGoGadgetChris posted:Staircases are in the entry so that the exterior window placements aren't affected. My staircase has its own bump-out and giant arched window (which is supposed to be fancy stained glass) in the landing.  I’d argue that in some cases the placement of the stairs dictates the placement of the windows. Also even my butler stairs have a cute little window  
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Feb 7, 2021 20:11
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Man, if anyone gets past the front door of my house now, they are either related to me, someone I've ruined my political prospects with, or they're dating a person I ruined my political prospects with. The idea of inviting my boss's boss over for dinner in an attempt to impress him is horrifying and insulting. And I'm never having a child so Mr. Darcy is right out.
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Feb 7, 2021 20:33
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I'm warming up my house hunting gears again. I looked last summer and liked some stuff but didn't pull the trigger. I'm renting and have never owned a house. I'm starting to look again and am going to go start looking in a week or two, but until then I'm spending way too much time looking on Zillow and Redfin at staged photos, distorted fisheye lens shots, crappy flips, etc as I build a mental inventory of market inventory and trends. I'm looking at a house (among many) that I want to go look at, but it's been sitting for a while, and looks like it was first listed back in 2019. The problems that stand out to me are that it's priced a bit high, it's an older colonial that's not open concept (  , more for me), the decor isn't trendy, and I think it could use a little love as it looks pretty lived in (floors, etc), but nothing deal-breaking stands out to me. I like the location and it ticks the boxes for our requirements that we have thus far, though I am always expecting any house with potential to be ruined as soon as I walk in and choke on the cat piss and must or the inspection turns up a money pit health hazard disaster. Can we post links here? It'd be cool to have some of these places run through the goon wringer. biceps crimes fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Feb 7, 2021 |
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Feb 7, 2021 22:32
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Absolutely post links/pics and colonials are very much my jam. As you've probably read in this thread, in addition to the cat piss smells you also have nearly zero idea how a place flows from the pics on a listing. Also, when you're looking at these listing looks for what pictures are missing. That's where the real ugliness lies.
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Feb 7, 2021 23:11
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Motronic posted:Absolutely post links/pics and colonials are very much my jam. https://www.redfin.com/TX/San-Antonio/143-Katherine-Ct-78209/home/48832216 https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=EH3JhN3XdCr&brand=0
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Feb 7, 2021 23:23
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gay_crimes posted:https://www.redfin.com/TX/San-Antonio/143-Katherine-Ct-78209/home/48832216 I really wonder what is up with this house. The SA market is strong, and a house sitting on the market this long in Alamo Heights is a red flag to me. There has to be something wrong with it. It's been on the market since Nov, 2019 and dropped price only 25K since. I'd ask a realtor what the deal with that house is. I'm guessing something expensive to remediate like foundation or asbestos. I'm assuming if you're looking in Alamo Heights you really want to be down in that area, and work close by. San Antonio's growing way way out, but as you know Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, still stay expensive and in demand skipdogg fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Feb 7, 2021 |
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Feb 7, 2021 23:44
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skipdogg posted:I really wonder what is up with this house. The SA market is strong, and a house sitting on the market this long in Alamo Heights is a red flag to me. There has to be something wrong with it. It's been on the market since Nov, 2019. Yeah, it stood out to me when I was revisiting my lists from my last summer because it was the only one that wasn't sold. It's a bit too high for my price range but I'm still curious
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Feb 7, 2021 23:46
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gay_crimes posted:Yeah, it stood out to me when I was revisiting my lists from my last summer because it was the only one that wasn't sold. It's a bit too high for my price range but I'm still curious Everything about it is nauseatingly trendy and will be dated in no time at all, but that's not the real issue. Remember when I said to look for the photos that aren't there? Missing a few bathrooms and mechanical/utility spaces as well as sides of the house. In one or more of those places there are deal killers.
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Feb 8, 2021 01:37
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Motronic posted:Everything about it is nauseatingly trendy and will be dated in no time at all quote:Remember when I said to look for the photos that aren't there? Missing a few bathrooms and mechanical/utility spaces as well as sides of the house. In one or more of those places there are deal killers. biceps crimes fucked around with this message at 02:03 on Feb 8, 2021 |
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Feb 8, 2021 02:00
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gay_crimes posted:A lot of listings I see don’t include these photos. I suppose it’s part of the game but it’s pretty frustrating to need and go and find this stuff in-person. The joy of house hunting I suppose Part of this is definitely market specific so what matters most is looking at what is missing in this listing vs all the others in your market. Maybe mechanicals aren't a thing there. Basement/mechanicals are absolutely a thing here. If there aren't any pics expect it to be a hell hole.
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Feb 8, 2021 02:04
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skipdogg posted:I really wonder what is up with this house. The SA market is strong, and a house sitting on the market this long in Alamo Heights is a red flag to me. There has to be something wrong with it. It's been on the market since Nov, 2019 and dropped price only 25K since. Don't many areas Texas have serious issues with expansive soils? I have to imagine a century house in TX might have some foundation (usually slab on grade?) issues. My guess is that it feels 'old' when seen in person without HDR cranked to 11.
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Feb 8, 2021 04:11
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I'm thinking I need to up my budget, unfortunately. I got outbid on the one place I was looking at, and it wasn't in a part of the city I badly wanted anyway. $350K just won't get me a 2BR/2BA that isn't an ugly duckling in some way or another, either lacking dedicated parking, being a garden unit, all windows facing brick walls, etc. I can increase it to 375K or a bit higher since for many units I'm seeing total monthly payments that are still < 28% of my gross monthly income. It's gonna hurt to increase the budget, but I think I can still make it work.
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Feb 8, 2021 04:24
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Motronic posted:Part of this is definitely market specific so what matters most is looking at what is missing in this listing vs all the others in your market. Maybe mechanicals aren't a thing there. Basement/mechanicals are absolutely a thing here. If there aren't any pics expect it to be a hell hole. Basements aren't much of a thing in the area with the shallower frostline, limestone, etc. The number one thing raised among home owners in the area I've talked to is: B-Nasty posted:Don't many areas Texas have serious issues with expansive soils? I have to imagine a century house in TX might have some foundation (usually slab on grade?) issues. B-Nasty posted:My guess is that it feels 'old' when seen in person without HDR cranked to 11. biceps crimes fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Feb 8, 2021 |
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Feb 8, 2021 04:52
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Let's say an agent is acting as both the buyer's and seller's agent. The agent gets multiple offers- several at asking price, one $10k above asking, and the last one $100k above asking. Is the agent under any legal obligation to inform the last buyer that the offer doesn't have to be that high to be accepted?
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Feb 8, 2021 06:57
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socketwrencher posted:Let's say an agent is acting as both the buyer's and seller's agent. The agent gets multiple offers- several at asking price, one $10k above asking, and the last one $100k above asking. It depends entirely on your state. But the point ought to be moot because you should never, ever allow a dual agency agreement from your realtor.
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Feb 8, 2021 09:07
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socketwrencher posted:Let's say an agent is acting as both the buyer's and seller's agent. The agent gets multiple offers- several at asking price, one $10k above asking, and the last one $100k above asking. The listing agent still owes a duty to the seller over the buyer in most states in a dual agency situation. The listing agent can only disclose what information the seller approves about other offers
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Feb 8, 2021 11:31
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gay_crimes posted:I open the doors and windows to see if they stay when I leave them open, if they bonk the carpet or need to be forced into the frame. Also bring a construction level with a laser in some of the rooms to see how uneven they are. Also look around the corners of windows and doors for recently patched hairline cracks, fresh brick mortar, that type of thing. It can be an issue for houses in the area, regardless of how recently they were built. These checks are necessary but not sufficient and I'm looking to hire a competent inspector to help me out.
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Feb 8, 2021 15:21
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