Starting the serious search

No_Such_Reality_IHB

No_Such_Reality_IHB

New member
We, my wife & I, are starting to seriously look. Not hard look, but seriously look. While I'm concerned about continued depreciation in the market place, I'm also seeing homes that are starting to hit reasonable price points in view of the current financing available outside of Irvine.



So the question is, am I completely nuts? My market segment isn't top end and it isn't bottom end, it's in the middle and in something that is beginning to be harder to find, SFR on a larger than postage stamp lot. Financing rates are pathetically low. The only issue is prices aren't and capital does need to be repaid/replenished.



We're also considering a couple different areas. An additional concern is getting agents to share the wealth. I'd like to work with different agents that specialize in different areas. Let's face facts, an agent that does South County can't really cover Irvine. An Irvine specialist doesn't get the Eastside and South Coast,etc. They simple don't know how quickly the neighborhoods change and the nuances, AFAICT. Disagree if you will. So I'm thinking of trying my luck with a specialist from one area and limiting them to that area. Thoughts?



I'm thinking search now, buy this fall unless the right deal shows up. An additional concern is the hunt itself creates buy pressure.
 
[quote author="No_Such_Reality" date=1238983238]We, my wife & I, are starting to seriously look. Not hard look, but seriously look. While I'm concerned about continued depreciation in the market place, I'm also seeing homes that are starting to hit reasonable price points in view of the current financing available outside of Irvine.



So the question is, am I completely nuts? My market segment isn't top end and it isn't bottom end, it's in the middle and in something that is beginning to be harder to find, SFR on a larger than postage stamp lot. Financing rates are pathetically low. The only issue is prices aren't and capital does need to be repaid/replenished.



We're also considering a couple different areas. An additional concern is getting agents to share the wealth. I'd like to work with different agents that specialize in different areas. Let's face facts, an agent that does South County can't really cover Irvine. An Irvine specialist doesn't get the Eastside and South Coast,etc. They simple don't know how quickly the neighborhoods change and the nuances, AFAICT. Disagree if you will. So I'm thinking of trying my luck with a specialist from one area and limiting them to that area. Thoughts?



I'm thinking search now, buy this fall unless the right deal shows up. An additional concern is the hunt itself creates buy pressure.</blockquote>
I dont think you are nuts at all. I'm working with a few folks as we speak looking at cities outside of Irvine as that's where the values seem to be (plus the larger lots as you mentioned). There are some great communities that have homes selling for around $250/sf. Although I'm not an expert on every city out there, my buyers are familiar with them and use me in more of a consulting role. There are a lot of research tools at your disposal on the internet, including IHB. It sounds like you guys do a lot of the legwork in terms of research and because of that you should be able to ask your agents to kick in some of their take to you. Remember, just because an agent calls themselves an expert doesn't make them one. I would say that it is better to work with one agent and save yourself the headache of having to deal with several pushy agents trying to close a deal. I'm curious, which cities/areas are you guys currently looking at (you can PM me this info)?
 
[quote author="No_Such_Reality" date=1238983238]We, my wife & I, are starting to seriously look. Not hard look, but seriously look. While I'm concerned about continued depreciation in the market place, I'm also seeing homes that are starting to hit reasonable price points in view of the current financing available outside of Irvine.



<strong>So the question is, am I completely nuts?</strong> My market segment isn't top end and it isn't bottom end, it's in the middle and in something that is beginning to be harder to find, SFR on a larger than postage stamp lot. Financing rates are pathetically low. The only issue is prices aren't and capital does need to be repaid/replenished.



We're also considering a couple different areas. An additional concern is getting agents to share the wealth. I'd like to work with different agents that specialize in different areas. Let's face facts, an agent that does South County can't really cover Irvine. An Irvine specialist doesn't get the Eastside and South Coast,etc. They simple don't know how quickly the neighborhoods change and the nuances, AFAICT. Disagree if you will. So I'm thinking of trying my luck with a specialist from one area and limiting them to that area. Thoughts?



I'm thinking search now, buy this fall unless the right deal shows up. An additional concern is the hunt itself creates buy pressure.</blockquote>


I asked this very same question of Graphrix regarding if I felt we might be approaching bottom. His resounding answer was yes, I am completely nuts.
 
[quote author="awgee" date=1238998538]99% of available homes for sale are listed on the internet. Why do you need an agent to look?</blockquote>


I too am "looking". I keep a simmering eye on the areas I like through Redfin and I have found many times that I know more about the local real estate market than many "professional" who work the area. When I see something interesting I do have a buddy who is an agent and I have him check it out. Other than that, my search is just a hobby. I think we will be more serious latter this year.
 
[quote author="morekaos" date=1239052549][quote author="awgee" date=1238998538]99% of available homes for sale are listed on the internet. Why do you need an agent to look?</blockquote>


I too am "looking". I keep a simmering eye on the areas I like through Redfin and I have found many times that I know more about the local real estate market than many "professional" who work the area.

</blockquote>


This is the way my wife and I feel, but we have never voiced it as it sounds arrogant and close minded, but honestly many of the agents are such unknowledgeable amateurs.









[quote author="morekaos" date=1239052549]

When I see something interesting I do have a buddy who is an agent and I have him check it out. Other than that, my search is just a hobby. I think we will be more serious latter this year.</blockquote>


We are serious about learning everything we can prior to buying, but we will not buy for another couple of years so we just wait for the open house.
 
I find it helpful to use this waiting period as the time to narrow down the area you would like to buy in, to find the floor plans and make your choice, and I like using the aerial maps and street views to figure out which street in the neighborhood would be ideal. Then you can keep a close eye on the surrounding properties and when you are ready, you can pounce.
 
[quote author="SoCal78" date=1239063470]I find it helpful to use this waiting period as the time to narrow down the area you would like to buy in, to find the floor plans and make your choice, and I like using the aerial maps and street views to figure out which street in the neighborhood would be ideal. Then you can keep a close eye on the surrounding properties and when you are ready, you can pounce.</blockquote>


How would a realtor respond if he knew you are using his time and ressources without any intention of buying? I'm just asking because I considered doing early previews to know more about neighborhoods and such, but felt I was using/wasting the realtors time.
 
[quote author="Roo" date=1239070608][quote author="SoCal78" date=1239063470]I find it helpful to use this waiting period as the time to narrow down the area you would like to buy in, to find the floor plans and make your choice, and I like using the aerial maps and street views to figure out which street in the neighborhood would be ideal. Then you can keep a close eye on the surrounding properties and when you are ready, you can pounce.</blockquote>


How would a realtor respond if he knew you are using his time and ressources without any intention of buying? I'm just asking because I considered doing early previews to know more about neighborhoods and such, but felt I was using/wasting the realtors time.</blockquote>


My comment was not meant to imply I am using a realtor and /or wasting their time. I do all those things on my own. I research the neighborhoods. I go online to find floor plans (many in N & W Irvine can be found on Deuce's site and you can Google others)... you can use sites like insidetract.com to find out who the builder is...sites like Redfin offer satellite images and street views taken by Google. Also you can visit open houses that pop up in your target areas. When the listing agent asks me if they can show me around other properties, I decline. I just look at the open house I'm in on a self-guided tour (I don't consider that wasting the agent's time) and do a drive-by of the area at different times of the day, etc. I look up schools, tax documents, demographics, local shopping, everything myself. That's pretty much it. There is no buyer's agent involved in any of this. See what I'm saying?
 
[quote author="Roo" date=1239070608][quote author="SoCal78" date=1239063470]I find it helpful to use this waiting period as the time to narrow down the area you would like to buy in, to find the floor plans and make your choice, and I like using the aerial maps and street views to figure out which street in the neighborhood would be ideal. Then you can keep a close eye on the surrounding properties and when you are ready, you can pounce.</blockquote>


How would a realtor respond if he knew you are using his time and ressources without any intention of buying? I'm just asking because I considered doing early previews to know more about neighborhoods and such, but felt I was using/wasting the realtors time.</blockquote>
I think it all comes down to the agent. Of course most realtors would get a little bent at the idea that they wasted their time with someone who isn't going to be using their service, but there are some agents out there will not mind. I've told several people to wait and let prices come to them...what good is it to make some commission and knowing that you've pushed someone into a bad financial decision. That's called bad karma in my book. As with any business transaction, real estate transactions should be a win-win for every party that is involved. But then again, whatever I make as a realtor doesn't pay my bills (it just goes to pay down my SC student loans). haha
 
^ Just to clarify again - I am saying I do this on my own... not wasting an agent's time. Please see my last comment.
 
[quote author="SoCal78" date=1239075579]^ Just to clarify again - I am saying I do this on my own... not wasting an agent's time. Please see my last comment.</blockquote>


I didn't want to offend you, it wasn't directed at you at all.
 
[quote author="Roo" date=1239079111][quote author="SoCal78" date=1239075579]^ Just to clarify again - I am saying I do this on my own... not wasting an agent's time. Please see my last comment.</blockquote>


I didn't want to offend you, it wasn't directed at you at all.</blockquote>


Thanks. No worries, I wasn't offended. But yes I did think it was directed at me since you quoted me. It's okay, though. Not everybody knows about all the resources available to buyers today so it's worth discussing.
 
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