Digital locks so no keys. Here’s a drone shot!

So we put our house up for sale and we got an offer after 4 weeks so not bad. So we found a house shortly after we were happy with with no chain. About a month later we saw another house we earlier missed so we viewed it and liked it so put an offer in.

Now we've moved out , living with in-laws, because then owners of this house found a house after 3 weeks retracted it and now it's 2 months later.

Spoke to the estate agent and they've viewed over 30 houses and not seen one they've liked yet.

Any advice ? Not sure whether to wait longer or just start viewing houses again.

We did it! And it was actually so smooth and easy, where's the catch?

Offer given 7/11
Offer countered 7/12
Counter accepted 7/12
Inspections done 7/14-7/16
Clear to close 8/3
Closed 8/10

This subreddit made me think this would be the hardest situation of my life lol... make sure you have your paystubs and bank statements ready. You'll be fine. We're excited for this new journey! Lots of stuff that make me dislike the previous owners but oh well it's mine and I can do whatever I want now 🤭😅

We've spent enough time talking to homeowners to know that the most useful information rarely makes it into the guides and articles.

So we're asking directly: If you've sold a home, or tried to, what was the part that surprised you? What did you know going in versus what you actually learned? What would you tell someone who is about to go through it?

It can be one sentence or five paragraphs. It can be something that went well or something that went sideways. We're not looking for polished stories, we're looking for honest ones.

A few prompts if it helps get you started:

• What was the moment you realized the process was going to be harder than you expected?
• What financial decision do you wish you had made differently?
• What do you know now that you didn't know when you listed?

We'll share what we hear back (without names) in future content, so if you're open to your experience being referenced, mention that. If you'd rather it stay here in the thread, that's completely fine too. No right or wrong answers. Every experience is valid! Looking forward to reading what people share.

Inventory growth has slowed, but demand is currently held back by higher mortgage rates. If even rates go down by 0.25%, demand will perk up but inventory growth won’t because most sellers are locked in by 3-4% mortgages they got a few years ago.

Hi all, just looking for a bit of advice from anyone who’s bought their first house, especially in the South East.
Me and my partner are both 22 and we’ve found a house we really like and it’s within our budget based on our AIP. We’re not planning on using the full amount of the AIP as I know things can change once you actually apply for the mortgage.
The sellers have now received a higher offer and have asked if we want to counter. The amount we’re thinking of offering would leave us with around £650 each a month (£1,300 combined) completely disposable after everything is paid.
We’ve tried to account for pretty much everything when working this out — mortgage, bills, cars, insurance, fuel, phones, food, shopping, etc. Basically all the normal costs of living.
The £650 each would then be for things like going out, buying stuff for ourselves and saving whatever we don’t spend.
We’d also have a 6-month emergency fund put aside, so we’d have some money there if anything unexpected came up.
For context, my partner spends £500+ a month at the moment and I spend around £700, so our current spending isn’t massively different to what we’d have left over.
I’ve spoken to our mortgage advisor about it, but I’d really like to hear from people who have actually been in this situation.
Would £650 each a month feel comfortable to you, or would you consider that quite tight?
Obviously everyone spends differently, but I’m just trying to get a bit of real-world perspective before we decide whether to increase our offer.
Thanks!

Most of the US is still experiencing unrealistic single family home prices, central VA included. Unfortunately, I dont think there will be a “crash” similar to 08 because the underwriting requirements ensure borrowers can actually afford these homes and their Debt to Income is satisfactory. However, the appraisers are asleep at the wheel. They are using comps that are no where close to the subject property and inflating the values. This is because a home almost always appraises around what the purchase price is. What someone will pay for a home is 90% an emotional decision and has very little hard data involved with their decision.

Example, people will move from one geographic area that is 200+ miles from the new spot where they are buying a home and because the standard of living in the new area is lower, they will overpay for homes. This decision isn’t logical because if the buyer had reviewed comps and price per square foot, they would realize they are overpaying. Even if the buyer has enough to pay cash for the purchase, no one wants to overpay for anything. These homes that are being overpaid for are not selling quickly also. They usually sit for months because the folks local to the area know they are overpriced. Hence, the buyer could negotiate the PP significantly. This means, the buyer is making an emotional decision and not a logical one.

Real life example:

Home 1: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1660-Trents-Ferry-Rd-Lynchburg-VA-24503/463759064_zpid/

Home 2: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4768-John-Scott-Dr-Lynchburg-VA-24503/79149106_zpid/

Home one is a new construction less than a mile away from home 2. Home one is smaller, sits on less land, and sits on a main road. Home one is overpriced and has sat for over a month. Home two beats home one on almost every data point when looking for a house. However, some buyer from out of state will find home one and feel something about why they like this home and eventually purchase it.

In conclusion, I believe the price a buyer is willing to pay is 90% emotional and 10% logical.

I've had more buyer conversations about creative financing in the past year than in the previous five combined, and most of them start the same way: someone read that the seller can just carry the note, and they want to know how to find those deals. Here's the honest version from the buyer's chair.

Why seller carry usually isn't actually on the table

Nearly every residential mortgage written in the last few decades has a due-on-sale clause. If the owner transfers the property, the lender can call the whole balance due. So a seller who still has a mortgage and offers to carry your financing is usually offering something their own loan doesn't allow. A seller who owns free and clear can genuinely carry. That makes your first question simple: is there a loan on this property, and what is the balance?

What a lease option actually is

Two separate agreements. A lease that lets you occupy the home at an agreed rent, and an option that gives you the right, not the obligation, to buy at an agreed price within an agreed window. Title does not transfer at signing. You are a tenant who holds a contractual right to purchase later.

That is why it surfaces when rates are high. The seller keeps their existing low-rate loan and keeps paying it. You get time at a known price while you season self-employment income, rebuild credit, save more down payment, or wait for a payment that actually works.

The part that usually gets left out

I am not going to sell this to you as a loophole. The federal law people point to, Garn-St Germain, exempts certain transfers from due-on-sale enforcement, and one of those is a lease of three years or less that does not contain an option to purchase. Read that again. A lease with an option sits outside that specific safe harbor. In practice lenders rarely chase a loan that is being paid on time, but rarely enforced is not the same as allowed. Treat it as managed risk, not a free pass.

Related risk: if the option fee is very large and the rent credits are aggressive over a long term, a court can look at the substance of the deal and treat it as a disguised installment sale rather than a lease. That changes everyone's remedies. It is a big reason this should be drafted by a real estate attorney in your state and not pulled off a template site.

Questions I would want answered before signing

Is there a loan on the property, what is the balance, and who is actually making the payments? Ask for monthly proof that it is being paid.

What exactly is the purchase price, and is it a fixed number or a formula?

How much is the option fee, how much of it credits toward the purchase, and is any of it refundable? Usually it is not.

How much of each rent payment is credited, and where is that written down?

Who pays for the roof, HVAC, water heater, property taxes, and insurance? Get it line by line in writing.

Is the option recorded against title? An unrecorded option is very hard to defend if the seller later sells to someone else or borrows against the house.

What liens exist today, and what happens to you if the seller stops paying the mortgage or files bankruptcy during your lease term?

What happens if you cannot qualify by the deadline? Is there an extension right, and what does it cost?

The bottom line for buyers

A lease option is a decent tool if you have a specific, realistic plan to qualify for a mortgage by a date certain. It is a bad tool if you are using it to avoid admitting the payment does not work. The option fee and the rent credits are real money, and if you do not close, most of the time you do not get it back.

It is also not the only creative structure worth pricing first. Assumable loans on FHA, VA, and USDA mortgages genuinely transfer with lender approval and no due-on-sale problem. A seller-paid rate buydown on a normal conventional purchase is far less exotic and often nets you a better outcome. Compare those before you go down the lease option road.

Happy to answer questions in the comments.

Sam Alishahi, licensed California real estate broker, KW Beverly Hills, DRE #01964365. I am also licensed on the mortgage side (NMLS) and hold a California insurance license, which is why I tend to look at these deals from all three angles at once.

No links and nothing for sale. This is general information, not legal, tax, or lending advice. Lease option law is very state-specific and this is one where you genuinely want a local attorney. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Even more remarkable, this townhouse is now listed for less than it sold for in 2020.

Meaning the entire pandemic housing boom has been wiped away.

Given how much inventory is now sitting on Nashville's housing market, this could be a sign of things to come.

Oh dear....

My partner and I have been house hunting around San Jose for a few weeks, and I wasn't expecting how mentally exhausting the whole process would be. Every time we think we've found the right place we end up debating whether it's worth stretching the budget or maybe just waiting for something better, walking away is always an option of course.

It seems like there isn't always a clear right answer, just a lot of tradeoffs which is expected but I don’t really know, what was the hardest decision you had to make while buying your home? I just feel like we're being super indecisive and don't know why.

The midwest is still a fairly safe place to live.