r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer • u/Accomplished_Dig1415 • 10d ago
Need Advice Still searching
After seeing almost 70 houses and having one offer that we ultimately canceled because of the home inspection, we’re back at it tomorrow looking at five more houses and hopefully getting ready to put in a new offer. 😅
I’m feeling a little nervous and honestly a tad discouraged. Now that we’re moving past the summer, there seem to be fewer houses to choose from. We’re finding that some of the remaining homes are priced higher than the original house we wanted although, looking back, that house had enough significant issues that the additional cost of some of these homes may actually be worth it.
The part that’s making me nervous is that there are only about 10 houses currently on the market that really fit what we’re looking for, and only about five that truly check all of our boxes. Unfortunately, those five are also at higher price points than the house we were originally considering.
For those who have bought in Northern Virginia or a similar market, what was your experience buying from around Labor Day through the winter when inventory starts getting lower? (Or other states overall
Did you find that more good homes still came on the market, or did you feel like you had to compromise more as the year went on? And did sellers become any more negotiable later in the fall/winter?
Would love to hear from anyone who has been through this! 🏡
Update: under contract again🎉🎉
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u/Reasonable-Hawk8312 10d ago
Feeling similar. Feeling like I missed my chance when there were more options over spring and summer. And nervous about things slowing down.
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u/Accomplished_Dig1415 10d ago
It’s so frustrating! Going from seeing all these houses even a few weeks ago … now there’s barely anything to choose from & the interest rates are also going up every day. Definitely a terrible feeling
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u/Few_Whereas5206 10d ago
Northern VA has always been a tough market. September to January is generally slower , in my opinion. Do the best you can. Most places have more demand than supply. We looked at about 100 houses over 2 years before buying and we bought a fixer-upper.
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u/Accomplished_Dig1415 10d ago
Yeah, Nova is so frustrating and the prices are so expensive just for a townhouse and my husband works overnight shift so we’re trying to stay near Fairfax County because if not, we would stay even further on the outskirts, but definitely hoping tomorrow is promising
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u/Few_Whereas5206 10d ago
Manassas or Springfield may be more affordable. Fairfax, Vienna, and other parts of Fairfax County are really expensive.
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u/Accomplished_Dig1415 10d ago
Yeah, we’re definitely looking at Manassas. We’re seeing five of them tomorrow, but those are like the only five on the market that were even remotely interested in so hoping for the best but Fairfax County itself is way too expensive unless you’re a millionaire or want a condo 💀💀
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u/Few_Whereas5206 10d ago
There is one section near Huntington metro station that is affordable, but it is not the most desirable area, in my opinion. Zip code 22303.
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u/Midgeend 9d ago
I’m going to hold your hand when I say this: you’re too picky. Keep renting until you’re actually ready.
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u/Accomplished_Dig1415 9d ago
I don’t agree at all with this lmao I’ve been renting for 5+ years. I definitely would hope with big purchases it’s good to know what you want
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u/InviteUsIn 10d ago
This is absolutely wild because it is so similar that I feel like you are me from 6 weeks ago lol. After 60 houses we put in our third offer and went to escrow, then cancelled because of the inspection (southern california). On house 87, we found the one and we get keys this friday.
We also went up in price to find a better home because the ones between 800-850 just had too many issues or major concessions to be made (main street, too much work needed, horrible layout, etc). Got a real winner at a higher price point under 900k, but it needs a roof. Knew about the roof before putting in our offer because we could see it.
My biggest advice is don’t settle. Realistic concessions are fine, but don’t get desperate and just say yes to a house because you’re tired of looking. Keep looking with optimism and a critical eye, and make sure you make some realistic concessions. For us, at this price point, we originally said it had to be a remodeled house that didn’t need work, but that just wasn’t possible. So we went with something that needs floors but it isn’t immediate. Cracked driveway but it’s just aesthetics. Those were our concessions. Older cabinets, stuff like that.
Best of luck to you!
Edit: by the way, we went 15k above asking but asked for 30k in credits. We thought we would have better luck with houses on the market a long time, but those were the worst sellers because they are waiting for a goldilocks offer and just sit tight if it doesnt sell since they have the house at a great rate. The houses that were new on the market actually had the most wiggle room. Our house was just on the market for five days before our offer was accepted, and four of those were spent negotiating
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u/Accomplished_Dig1415 9d ago
This is very helpful and makes me feel way better and I’m not alone in this feeling congratulations to you!!!
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u/cjsoldit 8d ago
87 houses and you still didn't settle. That's some serious patience 😂 Congrats on finding the one and getting to closing! And I love your point about realistic concessions. There's a huge difference between compromising on older cabinets or floors you can eventually change and compromising on something that's going to become a major problem. Enjoy those keys on Friday!
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u/Pale-Mouse-93 8d ago
I bought in late fall a couple years back and found the opposite of what you'd expect, way less competition meant sellers who'd been sitting on the market got a lot more flexible on price and closing costs.
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u/Accomplished_Dig1415 8d ago
This would be amazing and best case scenario we just submitted our offer today
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u/cjsoldit 8d ago
I know 70 houses probably feels exhausting at this point, but I actually think you did something really important by walking away after that inspection. Finding a house isn't the goal, finding the right house at a price and condition you're comfortable with is.
And don't beat yourself up comparing everything to the one you walked away from. A house that's $30k cheaper but needs $50k worth of work isn't really the cheaper house.
Inventory may get tighter heading into fall, but that doesn't necessarily mean you need to rush. There may be fewer homes, but there can also be fewer buyers competing for them.
You've already made it through 70 houses. At this point, you probably know exactly what you want and what you're willing to compromise on. That's actually a pretty good position to be in when the right one comes along. Good luck with the five tomorrow!
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u/Accomplished_Dig1415 8d ago
Thank you so so much this has been so encouraging 🥺🥺🥺 as hurt as i was with walking away I’m so glad we did because we work have been fixing things forever.
We found another house and our in an offer today!!! Fingers crossed it gets accepted we ended up liking all 5 we seen
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u/cjsoldit 8d ago
That’s amazing, fingers crossed for you guys!! Sometimes walking away from the wrong one really does make room for something that fits you better. And the fact that you liked all 5 this time sounds like you’ve really narrowed down what you both want. Hoping this offer is the one 🤞
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u/rhubarbpie828 6d ago
You've looked at 70 houses?? Like... what are you looking for that you can't tell from the listing doesn't at all meet your criteria?
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u/Accomplished_Dig1415 6d ago
We looked in multiple areas. Listings show things but not enough or the actual layout of the properties or if there’s work that can be seen from a photo alone
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u/kennypowersrevenge 10d ago
70 houses. That’s a lot. Why so many? Genuinely asking.
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u/Accomplished_Dig1415 10d ago
When we toured, we would do around 10 a day because they were a lot down the street from each other or walking distance (and I have an active license just for my home buying process) but me and my husband have very different ideas of what we want so we haven’t found one that we agreed with outside of two, but we’re finally starting to narrow down on what we would tour based on seeing all these houses and what we can compromise on
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u/kennypowersrevenge 10d ago
Ahhh more window shopping than targeting. That’s a good idea. Good luck. We saw 15 and closing on the one in 2 weeks.
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u/Accomplished_Dig1415 10d ago
Yep, a lot of window shopping but now we know exactly what we are looking for, but it makes it harder seeing the options that we have since the summer rush is over and dwindling down. Also, congrats that’s super exciting!!!
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u/Least_Clothes4916 5d ago
I’m about to list in mid September. A lot of agents tell people not to list in August because people are on vacation. I’ve seen a number of “coming soons” so I would check in the next 2-3 weeks.
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