House hunting in the age of Covid
August 23, 2020 12:28 PM Subscribe
The pandemic has taught us that, as much as we love the city, we really need outdoor space and that's not going to be affordable for us in NYC. However, we aren't sure how to go about looking at homes given the virus (and some snowflake-y details inside):
* Our biggest question is how to handle hiring a buyer's agent. There are two places we're thinking about moving to: one, in the Westchester suburbs; the other, a college town a few states away where we have friends. Presumably, we would have to have different agents in each state, but do we mention to them that there's a 50% shot we won't wind up buying with them?
* We are most interested in moving next spring, when we're closer to the end of our current lease. But we have a good relationship with our landlord and could break the lease if we found the right space. We've seen some cute houses that we really like; is it worth getting a prequalification or preapproval now if we will need another early next year?
* I get the sense that the way this normally works is that you show up to open houses to have a better sense of what we're looking for before you start looking at specific homes with an agent. However, there aren't very many open houses being listed these days. Will we get decent service from an agent while we're in such an early phase? (We have a car and can get to showings in either location.)
Thanks!
* Our biggest question is how to handle hiring a buyer's agent. There are two places we're thinking about moving to: one, in the Westchester suburbs; the other, a college town a few states away where we have friends. Presumably, we would have to have different agents in each state, but do we mention to them that there's a 50% shot we won't wind up buying with them?
* We are most interested in moving next spring, when we're closer to the end of our current lease. But we have a good relationship with our landlord and could break the lease if we found the right space. We've seen some cute houses that we really like; is it worth getting a prequalification or preapproval now if we will need another early next year?
* I get the sense that the way this normally works is that you show up to open houses to have a better sense of what we're looking for before you start looking at specific homes with an agent. However, there aren't very many open houses being listed these days. Will we get decent service from an agent while we're in such an early phase? (We have a car and can get to showings in either location.)
Thanks!
Best answer: My experience is that your particular agent matters a whole lot in the type of experience you have, and what their expectations are. Some agents are happy to work with you at a very early stage when your sense of what you're looking for (or, indeed, where you're even looking) is very inchoate; other agents aren't willing to spend all that much time with you unless you're ready to buy now. Also, different agents are more or less proactive about contacting you with potentially suitable listings (versus you doing the legwork and you contacting them when you see something that you might be interested in). You might have better luck with Redfin rather than a convention real estate agent, assuming you're willing to do the legwork: because Redfin agents who do the showings are paid for their time rather than if they make a sale, you'd be able to go to some listings without feeling early pressure to commit. Also, I also don't think you need a pre-qualification letter at this stage (just to go to open houses or showings), unless you're actually interested in making an offer now (others can correct me if I'm wrong).
If I were in your shoes, I'd spend a few weekends in both potential locations and try to get a sense of which would be a better fit for you. (Obviously you will likely need to wait a few months or until the pandemic lessens.) Go to some open houses, walk around neighborhoods that might be potential candidates for you to live in, go to church or the grocery store or out for drinks or wherever you'd typically go. You'll have to decide between the two locations at some point, and I think that house-hunting will be easier if you decide on the location first. A college town and NYC suburbs are pretty different in feel and I bet you'll find yourself gravitating to one or the other. The housing stock available in your price range in each location might be a factor in your decision too, which is why I think that attending open houses are especially important. I've said this before on this forum, but I'd avoid the temptation to try to make your decision without actual boots on the ground. We bought a house in a location with which we were unfamiliar, and not only do I dislike the town but I also hated the specific neighborhood, which I couldn't have known before actually being here. I really think your ideal scenario would be to move to whichever place you ultimately decide on, rent something (a house, even) in the neighborhood you think you'd prefer, and house-hunt at your leisure while you actually live there. Then you can really see if the location (both the general location, and the particular neighborhood) is for you before you pull such an expensive trigger.
posted by ClaireBear at 2:40 PM on August 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
If I were in your shoes, I'd spend a few weekends in both potential locations and try to get a sense of which would be a better fit for you. (Obviously you will likely need to wait a few months or until the pandemic lessens.) Go to some open houses, walk around neighborhoods that might be potential candidates for you to live in, go to church or the grocery store or out for drinks or wherever you'd typically go. You'll have to decide between the two locations at some point, and I think that house-hunting will be easier if you decide on the location first. A college town and NYC suburbs are pretty different in feel and I bet you'll find yourself gravitating to one or the other. The housing stock available in your price range in each location might be a factor in your decision too, which is why I think that attending open houses are especially important. I've said this before on this forum, but I'd avoid the temptation to try to make your decision without actual boots on the ground. We bought a house in a location with which we were unfamiliar, and not only do I dislike the town but I also hated the specific neighborhood, which I couldn't have known before actually being here. I really think your ideal scenario would be to move to whichever place you ultimately decide on, rent something (a house, even) in the neighborhood you think you'd prefer, and house-hunt at your leisure while you actually live there. Then you can really see if the location (both the general location, and the particular neighborhood) is for you before you pull such an expensive trigger.
posted by ClaireBear at 2:40 PM on August 23, 2020 [5 favorites]
I also wanted to put in a little plug for Philly: since you're in NYC and like it, but are looking for more outdoor space, I think it might be a great fit. I know personally that I'm a city person and wouldn't be happy permanently living in the suburbs; I could handle a college town but it wouldn't be ideal. I'd just try to think about whether this is true for you too as you think about where to move to. Tons of New Yorkers (especially from Brooklyn) are moving to Philly right now. Philly sits in wonderful sweet spot between urban amenities, price, and space. Even downtown, there are many rowhouses (rather than apartments), so you could have your own yard, and you'd own the whole building: it's very different from apartment living. A short train ride away could get you larger houses on large and leafy lots (the northwest suburbs of Philly backing up to Fairmount Park and Wissahickon Valley Park - Chestnut Hill would be one of the ritzier ones, but also Mt Airy, Germantown, etc.). The advantage of all of this is that you have both space (indoor and out) and all the amenities of one one of the largest cities in the country - outdoor cafes, hospitals, easy transportation back to NYC and to the rest of the East Coast, etc. Over the last ten years, the city has become very beautiful and has invested a lot in its parks. And property values there are rapidly appreciating, so it's a great time to buy.
If you're interested in finding out more, feel free to tell me a preferred price range (MeMail if you prefer) and a few more specifics about what your preferences are (historic or newer houses, how much yard, how far a train ride are you happy with being from downtown), and I'd be happy to show you what you could get in that price range in Philly. I'm not a realtor but I have real estate investments in Philly and am very familiar with the market.
posted by ClaireBear at 2:57 PM on August 23, 2020
If you're interested in finding out more, feel free to tell me a preferred price range (MeMail if you prefer) and a few more specifics about what your preferences are (historic or newer houses, how much yard, how far a train ride are you happy with being from downtown), and I'd be happy to show you what you could get in that price range in Philly. I'm not a realtor but I have real estate investments in Philly and am very familiar with the market.
posted by ClaireBear at 2:57 PM on August 23, 2020
Best answer: Westchester is lovely but it is not cheap. Please bear in mind what the property taxes will run you when calculating what you can afford. Especially if you want to be anywhere near a train station.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:54 PM on August 23, 2020
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:54 PM on August 23, 2020
I am in Westchester. If you want an agent recommendation, feel free to memail me. Most would be patient and understanding that you are starting now to look, are looking in more than one place and are not even sure what you want6 other than out of the city so you can get some outdoor space. I would add that most agents in Westchester are very busy. lots of families moving up here and out of the city.
In terms of outdoor space in Westchester, Norther westchester usually has bigger lots. Taxes are important as noted above.
Generally speaking for a house in a school district that is considered "good", taxes, depending on the house can run from $2,000 to $4,000 per month.
The other thing to consider is renting a house in a town you are considering before buying.
posted by AugustWest at 6:03 PM on August 23, 2020
In terms of outdoor space in Westchester, Norther westchester usually has bigger lots. Taxes are important as noted above.
Generally speaking for a house in a school district that is considered "good", taxes, depending on the house can run from $2,000 to $4,000 per month.
The other thing to consider is renting a house in a town you are considering before buying.
posted by AugustWest at 6:03 PM on August 23, 2020
My wife and I didn't do to any openhouses when we were house shopping. They are not required.
If you want to get a better feel for what you want before you work with an agent, perhaps look at the virtual tours of houses in each area that are in your price range. That should at least give you a general feel for what the common styles are and get you thinking about anything you really like or don't like.
You might also drive around and look at the outsides of some houses in your price range to see what the neighborhoods look like and if they are a place you might like to live. This will also give you some more specific parameters to talk to the agent about.
I agree with ClaireBear that deciding on a location and then finding an agent may be the better idea.
posted by nalyd at 8:09 PM on August 23, 2020
If you want to get a better feel for what you want before you work with an agent, perhaps look at the virtual tours of houses in each area that are in your price range. That should at least give you a general feel for what the common styles are and get you thinking about anything you really like or don't like.
You might also drive around and look at the outsides of some houses in your price range to see what the neighborhoods look like and if they are a place you might like to live. This will also give you some more specific parameters to talk to the agent about.
I agree with ClaireBear that deciding on a location and then finding an agent may be the better idea.
posted by nalyd at 8:09 PM on August 23, 2020
If you want to move next spring, start looking now. The market has been busy, I think, with the pandemic and low mortgage rates. These things can go slowly, and it’s better to look at more houses rather than fewer. Many of your questions can be answered by a good buyer’s agent. Yes, tell them you’re not exactly sure if you’ll be moving there.
posted by bluedaisy at 8:36 PM on August 23, 2020
posted by bluedaisy at 8:36 PM on August 23, 2020
In many places, they don't do traditional open houses right now - you (or usually your agent) call ahead and make an appointment so that there is only one buyer (and family) and one agent in the house at a time.
At the same time, almost everyone seems to be doing complete photo tours, include arial views from a drone so you can get some idea of what the houses in your price range look like.
Also, given your time parameters, I would think that starting to look in late October or November would be ideal. There won't be as much inventory but there also usually far fewer buyers in the November - January time frame. (This can vary depending on the specific market) If you don't find what you want, no problem, you can wait until more houses come on the market in the spring since you are in no hurry.
In the meanwhile, think about how you are going to decide between the two regions. For me, getting a second choice house in the region that is better match is better than an ideal house in a region that doesn't fit. But maybe for you, if you find the perfect house that will be enough to make either place the perfect region. So, knowing HOW you want to decide and what information you need first will help you get the right order.
posted by metahawk at 11:23 PM on August 23, 2020
At the same time, almost everyone seems to be doing complete photo tours, include arial views from a drone so you can get some idea of what the houses in your price range look like.
Also, given your time parameters, I would think that starting to look in late October or November would be ideal. There won't be as much inventory but there also usually far fewer buyers in the November - January time frame. (This can vary depending on the specific market) If you don't find what you want, no problem, you can wait until more houses come on the market in the spring since you are in no hurry.
In the meanwhile, think about how you are going to decide between the two regions. For me, getting a second choice house in the region that is better match is better than an ideal house in a region that doesn't fit. But maybe for you, if you find the perfect house that will be enough to make either place the perfect region. So, knowing HOW you want to decide and what information you need first will help you get the right order.
posted by metahawk at 11:23 PM on August 23, 2020
We've just gone through the whole buying-a-house-in-a-pandemic thing and it's a lot. Like, a LOT. First of all, the market is BRUTAL right now. Houses are selling within hours of being listed, sometimes even before they're listed. Most sellers are getting multiple offers and won't even consider looking at those without pre-approval. Our pre-approval was good for 6 months, I think. So I would advise you to first nail down the area you want to move to and then start talking to a lender to see what your options are. Interest rates are ridiculously low right now so it's probably in your best interest to lock one down before things change, if and only if your pre-approval will have an expiration date that's amenable to your timeframe.
posted by cooker girl at 6:05 AM on August 24, 2020
posted by cooker girl at 6:05 AM on August 24, 2020
Yeah I recently bought and the brutality of the market can not be overstated.
You NEED to get pre-approved. You are being rude and wasting people's time if you are not pre-approved.
You will absolutely need a real estate agent. And once you are ready, you will need to actually be ready to place an offer on a moment's notice.
Any house that is halfway decent will sell in days, with multiple offers. Be prepared to offer significantly over asking price. Like, $25k-50k over asking. So budget that in - whatever the asking price is, add X amount to it.
Buying a house right now SUCKS. It's terrifying, you have to make HUGE life decisions in minutes, and you're almost guaranteed to get outbid at the last second. It's a major emotional rollercoaster. In the end it's worth it, but the process is absolutely awful. Be prepared. Good luck.
posted by weed donkey at 9:59 AM on August 24, 2020
You NEED to get pre-approved. You are being rude and wasting people's time if you are not pre-approved.
You will absolutely need a real estate agent. And once you are ready, you will need to actually be ready to place an offer on a moment's notice.
Any house that is halfway decent will sell in days, with multiple offers. Be prepared to offer significantly over asking price. Like, $25k-50k over asking. So budget that in - whatever the asking price is, add X amount to it.
Buying a house right now SUCKS. It's terrifying, you have to make HUGE life decisions in minutes, and you're almost guaranteed to get outbid at the last second. It's a major emotional rollercoaster. In the end it's worth it, but the process is absolutely awful. Be prepared. Good luck.
posted by weed donkey at 9:59 AM on August 24, 2020
We live in a Redfin-served area, and found their business model extremely helpful for pandemic house hunting. Instead of just having one agent, they have a pool of agents any of whom can open a door for you (and then a main agent who handles offers and such). This was helpful because the market is super-hot, so being able to see houses with little delay and in nearly arbitrary locations was extra valuable. (the number of agents is limited, so we still had some trouble, but much less than we did with a traditional agent.).
Redfin had no issue that we toured 100+ homes before buying, many of them using virtual tours where an agent was there on FaceTime or Zoom without us. Redfin never pressured us even slightly to slow down our tours.
Some of the houses we looked at required pre-approvals or proof of cash just to tour. They all needed pre-approvals if we were going to be able to move fast enough to make an offer. You should get a pre-approval.
Pre-inspections are helpful if you're willing to spend a couple hundred dollars, per bid, to be able to waive the inspection contingencies. Most sellers were amenable to this, though it was heartbreaking to pay for a pre-inspection just to find out that we were blown out of the water by a 10% over asking all cash no contingencies offer.
When getting an agent there's no need to agree to long-term or broad geographic exclusivity. We were open with our agents that we were looking in multiple geographies and needed different agents depending on where we bought. This didn't cause a problem for us. We had a traditional full service agent who was helping us look in a geography that Redfin didn't cover. She just didn't get to make a sale in the end, which was a risk that she knew she was taking.
posted by whisk(e)y neat at 11:17 AM on August 24, 2020
Redfin had no issue that we toured 100+ homes before buying, many of them using virtual tours where an agent was there on FaceTime or Zoom without us. Redfin never pressured us even slightly to slow down our tours.
Some of the houses we looked at required pre-approvals or proof of cash just to tour. They all needed pre-approvals if we were going to be able to move fast enough to make an offer. You should get a pre-approval.
Pre-inspections are helpful if you're willing to spend a couple hundred dollars, per bid, to be able to waive the inspection contingencies. Most sellers were amenable to this, though it was heartbreaking to pay for a pre-inspection just to find out that we were blown out of the water by a 10% over asking all cash no contingencies offer.
When getting an agent there's no need to agree to long-term or broad geographic exclusivity. We were open with our agents that we were looking in multiple geographies and needed different agents depending on where we bought. This didn't cause a problem for us. We had a traditional full service agent who was helping us look in a geography that Redfin didn't cover. She just didn't get to make a sale in the end, which was a risk that she knew she was taking.
posted by whisk(e)y neat at 11:17 AM on August 24, 2020
Response by poster: Hi all--thank you for all of your great advice. After reviewing the two markets (with an eye towards the total property taxes, which aren't really well presented on Zillow) we've made the decision to focus on just one of the markets and move forward with an agent there. Thanks!
posted by thecaddy at 3:32 PM on September 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by thecaddy at 3:32 PM on September 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
I recently helped friends in Brooklyn buy a house in New England. They woudl include me in the emails with an agent in the area, and I may arrangements to view the houses (masked and distanced), took photos and videos, and sent to them to my friends, and discussed the pros and cons via Signal or phone.
What I learned is that houses are FLYING off the market in my area and I had no idea. Apparently many people have the same idea, and are flocking to more rural places (many of which don't have broadband, BTW).
I looked at a few places for them, and all had multiple interested parties, and for places I wouldn't touch were under contract immediately after I looked.
They did find a place, and hope to close soon in a few weeks. We were able to put them in touch with attorneys, inspectors, etc, too. And their place is not far from us, so we'll have (mefite) friends closer. Fingers crossed.
So, you are not alone, and you may find yourself in a bidding war or priced out of the house you like, and end up settling. Beware.
2) "I get the sense that the way this normally works is that you show up to open houses ... "
In our state, many many people do For Sale By Owner (FSBO), and so you may not find them listed in Zillow, and other online listings. Even before the pandemic, I have never heard of an open house in our rural area in New England. When we lived in Washington DC, open houses were de rigueur. In fact, the way we deduced that the housing market was in going to be in trouble was when it took more than 1 open house to sell our place in DC.
Anyway, without knowing specific areas, it will be hard to answer these questions. Perhaps share as much detail as you feel comfortable?
Feel free to MeMail me if you have more questions about rural New England, and I can be more open about my location and perhaps answer questions if the area appeals to you.
Good luck.
posted by Hey, Zeus! at 1:11 PM on August 23, 2020 [2 favorites]