Dust Yourself Off...

Sunday afternoon and the Husband is available, so I make my list of open houses, plot our route (Wha? Me, obsessive??) The first stop is a bust - no open house sign, just a terse note stuck on the door informing agents to call first, because this home IS OCCUPIED. Okey-doke, we'll try you later.

We swing over to a couple of houses off Fairmount. The first is a very cute MacGregor bungalow, just over 800 sq ft.; they've done a lovely job of updating (and staging). The place is immaculate, and a peek at the pest report shows $13,000. They've added a little utility room in the back, and the small backyard is as pristine as the inside. What puzzles us is the large object sitting next to the back of the house. It looks for all the world like a unit for central air conditioning - and although we grew up with AC, we've never seen a house on this side of the hills with a unit. How often can they possibly use it?? We ask the agent, he hasn't a clue. Asking price: $495K.

I think there's another house one block over, so we find the for sale sign and follow it, walk in; I immediately whisper to the husband that we are in the wrong house - the gorgeous built-ins on either side of the fireplace are a clear sign that this house will cost more than $500K. But I could weep at all the shelf space. The kitchen is brand new, the closets deep and wonderful. The agent tells us that the pest report is $20K, but $15 of that is to replace the back deck, which since the yard is level, she would replace with a flagstone patio. I am afraid to look at the flyer in my hand to see the list price: $565K. Farewell, beautiful built-ins.

The third stop is near the EC Plaza BART; it looks old and tired from the outside. Inside they have refinished the wood floors and painted the main rooms, and the flyer coyly describes "retro" details. Retro means that the banquette that was built in the kitchen is still there, sparkly-flecked plastic covers and all. And the dishwasher is retro too, circa 1968, with several decades of dust inside. The husband is puzzled by two shower rods, running parallel about 10 inches apart in the main bathroom; perhaps a very skinny person was showering? The addition in the back was done on the cheap, though with permits; place and press tile, painted plywood cabinets, and the additional bathroom is dark as a tomb. The backyard is almost entirely paved, and when we round the corner, we see a giant lump of concrete that turns out to be a defunct water feature. They've added an enclosed side porch out the kitchen door, and plunked the washer and dryer there. And the location means that both the kitchen and main bathroom windows look out onto the porch and its plexiglass windows. The Husband is sure F. will think this a teardown, but wants her to check it out. He bonks his head on the too-low garage door frame, spends the rest of the afternoon whimpering about the indignity and injury bald men must endure. Asking price: $495K.

Our other stops are just drive-bys; one is near EC Del Norte, another older place; can't see the indoors, but we walk around and peek into the huge backyard - and spot another huge, defunct water feature. Somebody made a killing selling those in El Cerrito a few decades ago. I'll check this house out with F. later in the week.

We decide to explore broadening our horizons, and head to Richmond to check out a listing I saw - we find a little neighborhood called Clinton Hill, and the ex-cop Husband is surprisingly charmed. We get out of the car and walk around the block, and are pleased by the houses and their well-kept yards. And the Husband is intrigued by this listing, as the house looks big, and has one of his most favorite features...a double garage. Another one to put on my list for F.

We come home and spend some time on the City of Richmond website, checking out their crime map and stats. The Husband decides that if we are seriously interested, he'll go down to the police station and have a chat about neighborhoods.

Making Tweaks

Some of the earliest houses we bid on back in August are closing now, so we can see the details of what offers beat ours. The one that needed serious cleaning after horrific tenants - we'd bid $380K with $15K back in closing costs; the house closed at $377K, nothing back, and inspection waived. There was a huge tree growing under the patio that had buckled the concrete, headed for the foundation, and they waived inspection?

I review with F., making sure I'm clear on the difference between waiving inspection (which means you take the house with all its faults, big or little) and "as is," (meaning you can still inspect, but you give up your right to negotiate if something big is wrong - and most importantly, if something big is wrong, you can withdraw your offer). I don't think we'll ever be desperate enough to waive inspection, though we will start considering adding "as is" to our offers, since we're seeing that on most of our competitors' offers.

The Husband owned a house years ago in Missouri, and this is not the way the world worked there. I'm finding it difficult to stir up enthusiasm to look at any houses this week. Cynicism reigns supreme.

Hello, Disappointment.

I had a bad feeling when I opened the Real Estate section of the Sunday paper and saw that they were holding an open house for the place that was considering our counteroffer - texted F., and she called within a half hour, just heard from the selling agent. The sellers went with the other offer, because they countered back higher (instead of what the sellers asked for) and increased their deposit. Would have been nice if they'd given us a chance to counter again.

Not surprised, really, this is beginning to be a habit - just have the icky feeling that we were totally played.

And F. shared her conversation with the agent from the other cute house we bid on last week - this realty company has many of the listings in El Cerrito and Richmond Annex. The agent told F. that they prefer mortgage brokers in the immediate area that they know and work with - and offers with those mortgage brokers are looked on more favorably. Again, that icky feeling.

Beginning to really, really hate this whole process.

Suspense Is A Killer

Saturday morning, and I am sitting on pins and needles - and it's not remotely comfortable. We followed our strategy, made an offer on the second Richmond Annex house - it was listed at $412K, we offered $440K with $15K back on closing costs, and the offer set to expire at 6:00PM on Thursday. The selling agent called F. almost immediately, said there was multiple family members who needed to approve the offer, and he would try to reach them by our deadline. Back and forth on phone calls, but no offer approval by the end of Thursday - and no idea if there would be one.

So we made an offer on the cuter Annex house (offers due by 11:00AM on Friday - 11:00AM, really??). List price $449K, we offered $480K with nothing back.

By Friday night we had more answers - no chance on the cuter house - the selling agent said she had received three offers over $500K (gulp). And the other agent finally called back with a counteroffer - $460K, $15K back and a shortened ten day inspection period (instead of the usual 17 days). Much phone traffic between the Husband, F. and myself - and we decided to go ahead. Then found out there was a second offer on the house that the agent was also trying to counter. Sigh. So no idea yet if they've accepted our offer.

I will now try to get the landscaping I've planned for the front yard out of my head, and will resist the urge to research Richmond's street tree policy.

Once More, Into The Breach

Seems like the market is expanding - I'm now getting five or six emails from the MLS database every day with new listings. Most look like problematic properties; lots of work needs to be done, or the neighborhood is sketchy, but reassuring to see more available.

Last night took the Husband and F. to see the Richmond Annex house that I had liked so much on Sunday - they both liked it very much. The Husband was especially fond of the yard, but pointed out that closet space and storage in general was on the thin side, and we'd end up using the garage purely as storage (which the current owners do now, having smartly added shelving and hanging racks). I tried to forget all the times I had mocked others have having so much junk that their garages overflowed. But the Husband is game to make an offer on this one, though to be competitive will stretch us to the limit.

We also checked out another, brand-new listing in the Annex. The block is not as charming as the other, the house about the same size as the other, though distributed differently. Big closets, newly refinished floors, and to the Husband's delight, a brand-new kitchen and bathroom. The backyard is huge, with two apple trees, a pear tree, and a peach tree - the apple tree is covered in fruit. We see all kinds of potential in this place - and the backyard gives us the option to expand. What it needs is not urgent. And best of all, it's much, much less expensive than the other one. Asking price: $412K.

We are getting more strategic. We decide to make an offer on the second house, with an expiration date of Thursday at 5PM. If the owner rejects our offer, we can still throw our hat in the ring for the first house, which has offers due on Friday.

Hang onto your hats, here we go again...

And We Begin the Third Month...

The Husband is working a matinee again, so I'm solo on another scouting mission. After checking online and in the Sunday Chronicle, it appears there are only two houses on my list. I rush out the door at halftime of the WNBA finals (go, Indiana!) and head up the hill a bit in El Cerrito for the first.

The flyer calls it a "spacious starter home," and at 1500 sq ft., it is spacious. Built in 1962, and I don't believe a single improvement has occurred since then. I climb the steep steps to the front door, and walk in - there is the distinct odor of old, dirty socks once I step inside - but maybe that's just the old brown shag carpet. The view is lovely, but a linoleum-floored dining room is not. It's a few steps up to the three bedrooms and two baths; I think one room must have housed Frank Sinatra, or some member of the Rat Pack, because it smells distinctly of millions of cigarettes, and a lot of scotch (with a spicy overtone of fresh paint). The backyard is a cinderblock retaining wall in front of a hill that would have to be scaled with climbing gear. I flip through the pest report, and it's a laughable $5k. Please. I saw the asbestos wrapped pipes in the garage, the buckling tile in the bathroom. And as I turn the page, a nice disclosure that this house is in a landslide zone. Perfect. I bid the overfriendly agent farewell. Asking price: $450K.

Over to the Richmond Annex for the second house. I fall in love as soon as I get through the front gate, and see that this house is built on two lots, so there is plenty of lawn, and it's beautifully landscaped, including this grassy front, perfect for frolicking pooches. The owners have done some nice work inside - they haven't completely renovated the bathroom or the kitchen, but done enough to make them look modern. The rooms are good-sized, the flow works, and the backyard is big. My mind instantly puts our furniture in the living room, and it looks great! Pest report is clean, sewer lateral was done this year - definitely move-in ready. I start calculating how much over the asking price we'll have to bid on a place as nice as this, and how I will convince the Husband. Asking price: $449K.

I email F. as soon as I get home, can she come see this place with the Husband on Monday or Tuesday? Offers are due October 9th. I need to calm down and not obsess. Suggestions are welcome.

He Who Hesitates...

F. emails on the fixer-upper first thing on Wednesday morning. They have already accepted an offer. What??!!! But the selling agent tells her they would welcome back-up offers. In the meantime, F. has tracked down the pest report and owner disclosures from the last time the house sold, in 2005. The owner says outright that in heavy rain there is water under the house, checks yes on the boxes asking about water, movement, and mentions noisy neighbors (?). Many of the items in the pest report have been visibly dealt with in the interim since 2005. I am ready to walk away, but the Husband asks if we can put in a backup offer. I know it's his love of square footage talking, but I crumble. It's only a backup offer, what are the chances?