Bless Me Father For I Have Sinned

You got that part all backwards. . .but thats okay.

What the asking price is is meaningless. That's why it's called a buyers market. Unfortunatly, more than just your Hearth mates know you a motivated buyer. I'd suggest shopping around, and not using a buyer's broker. Like attorneys (and Assessors) we all go to lunch/bed with one another after we fight in court. Keep your need for a house to yourself and re-start your search. Highly likely these bluffers in Broadalbin will be holdin' that for a while at that price.

OK... I guess I don't get the assessment formulas. I thought they took the market value and multiplied it by whatever factor is used. Isn't it $110K x .90 = $99K? Oh, well....

I don't understand how the appraisals and estimates work, either. How do we even find suitable comps without using the realtors? Who do we go with to see the home, the listing agent? I'm confused. Most of the homes around here are listed with a realtor. The few "for sale by owner" sellers we've dealt with seemed very motivated to sell, but were even less willing to move on the price. They seem like the type who want every last buck out of their palace, but are sticking firm to their low purchase offers on the homes they want to move to.

Yeah, it's great to get a good deal, but most of these sellers seem like the guy who goes into the car dealership and negotiates the very best cash offer and then says, "So..... how much can you give me for my car?" Ain't a car salesman yet that's fallen for that one.


In the meantime, how do we find the real market value of thus home? Too bad there's not a meter that you can just stick the prongs in the side of the house to tell you it's current MC (monetary content).

Im not saying you have to go with a FSBO, but keep yer yap shut about your impending need to move. The listing agent is THE OTHER GUYS friend. If you use a buyers agent, he/she is also a sellers agent for some places. Plus he/she works around these other agents day in/day out.

If you need comps, talk to Peter at the County. If you want me to do it for you, let me know. The Assessor should be able to get comps for you too, depend on his PC savy ;-)

Remember one thing about the sales comparison approach . . . it tells you about missed opportunities. It fills you in about history. But you want today and future. Neither are as good as things were 6 months ago.

As far as the 'formula' goes . . . the Town determined market value as of July 1 2006. They put that number on at 100% MV for the 2007 assessment roll. Since then they have not reappraised it. Since 7/1/06 the market went up substantially, then back down. so the old assessment $100k represents 90% of current 7/1/2010 (not a typo) value. Thus $100k divided by .90 = $111k. And remember, the valuation date of the current roll is now 16 months old!! So if the market has come down - it has - the market value is even less.

But don't get too hung up on the Assessment and formulas. It's simple. Market value is 'most probable price, with both buyer and seller acting in self interest, neither being compelled to act. . .' Right now, you are under duress, because you need a place to sleep. This makes you willing to pay too much.

So.......

We put in our best offer. $159,900 with a $7000 seller's contribution toward the closing costs. Our mortgage broker estimated our closing costs to be about $8000-$8500, so we will only be out of pocket about $1500 at closing, plus the inspection, appraisal, and attorney's fees.

And................................

They accepted our offer. YAY!

We can now go to our landlord and show him the accepted purchase contract and tell him we will need to hang tight here until we can close. Of course, this deal is contingent on the owners coming under contract for a home they want (is anything ever easy?), but their agent said they are delighted and are going out tomorrow in the snowstorm to get another look at the place they want to buy. Hopefully we will both move rapidly toward closing and we can be in the new place around the first of the year. We weren't the only ones highly motivated here. They said they wanted to be out before the snow flies. Already a little late for both of us on that one.


Thanks to all for the great advice... even if it did bugger up the analysis of my comprehensive PT wood burning experiment. %-P


Kathleen for reminding me to allow enough room to roll the closing costs into the mortgage.

Jimbo (ISDB) for explaining the tax computations (we've since talked to the assessor, but your knowledge helped us ask the right questions).

Solar for giving his insight as a buyer/seller.

And especially...

Jags for reminding me that there are many ways to value something, and that an appraisal is just a measure of it's monetary value, not its value to our lives. Hard to get away from the "best price possible" mentality that always governed my business purchases. We almost pulled the trigger on a home that was a much better deal, but it was a place I would be about 50% as happy to own as this place. I needed a wakeup slap on this issue as well, Jags. ;-)


And thanks to all who have followed this thing for the last month or so and extended their support. Many of you invited me to move to your area, and although many of these places are tempting to move to, reality decrees that we move there only in the virtual world. Nice to see what a great family this place has become to me, and to be able to cry on a few shoulders without being ridiculed for it.

So now I....

- Have to go plan that deck
- Need to find a nice tractor to mow all that green stuff
- Deserve a big glass of 16 year-old Lagavulin and nice Honduran cigar

The first two projects can wait, I'm off to do the third right now. :coolsmile:

Congrats, and burn up the rest of that PT while it's snowing, nobody will notice.

Woohoo! That's awesome. What a pretty, neat, clean little home! Hope it will give you a trouble-free clean slate where you can make many happy new memories!

This has been an interesting thread, I appreciated reading all of Jimbo's well-informed viewpoints too, it's good to hear those assessments of what's really going on behind the scenes in this kind of system. I'm not buying anytime soon, but your points would be well-taken if I was. (hey can you advise me on refinancing?!)

Yeah, we have our fingers, toes... even our eyes crossed. Bottom line is we're out of time anyway, so we'll be putting stuff into storage and staying with friends and family until we close. If it gets delayed or falls apart entirely, we'll just start over again at that point, but at least our stuff will be secure. It could be fun hanging out with friends. We've had so many offers we're starting to takes bids.


My favorite nephew just closed on a house with an income apartment and he said we could stay there. My DIL's aunt and uncle are begging us to stay with them, even offered their dry basement for storage "for as long as you need it". My oldest boy has friends with an extra room we can stay at. And nobody will accept a penny from us, either. All they want is for me to do the cooking. Pays to be a great cook, eh?


It's amazing the response we've gotten from folks when they learned of our plight. Everyone is so furious with the way we were handled that they just want to try to make it up to us somehow. And we're gonna let them. ;-)


In the meantime we're packing our s*** as fast as we can. Amazing what pack rats we've been. We'll have a huge "everything must go" sale the last two weeks, then fill a dumpster or two with the unsold remains...

... and then probably start hitting the yard sales again in the spring. :shut:

It does indeed look like a sweet place. I'll keep all my crossables crossed for you as well, but if this one doesn't work, here's hoping you'll be able to flex with it and take advantage of all the help being offered. Moving, purging your stuff, and taking on a mortgage are all major life events and can have your stress-o-meter redlined if you're not careful.

Keep us informed . . .

The copper is what makes it pretty, I have no clue as to what else makes it termite and fungus proof. http://guidezone.e-guiding.com/bvfmagic.htm is a site that tells you what you can put in the fire to make it pretty. The Boy Scouts do it.

Excellent news BK . . . I will be even more pleased when you move in and take those first few photos of your new place.

We just went thru that with the house we are in here in Albany. Albany taxes on "market value" We where going to grieve our taxes then the neighbors both the house next door for more than we paid for less house. And then another comp. house sold for more so then our grievence went out the door.
But anyhow those circles you were talking about I call them the olympic rings. You can actually get dizzy going thru all of them.
We though about buying out that way but, I'm thinking retirement soon and wanted to be able to walk to everything. I got relatives that live where you have to drive to everything and now can't. Just did not want that route.
Cograds on the house, I was going to suggest asking them to pick up closing cost, good move. and your right AMD is messing with values.