My neighbor gave me an advice after I told him I keep getting outbid. He basically told me to offer 50% down payment in the offer but once it's accepted I can just tell my lender that I got 10% and it'll be ok?

Apparently he bought his Brooklyn 3 family by offering 50% cash on a 1.2mil but only put 10% lol. What???

I bought my first house 4 years ago. I am military and move about every 4 years. I’m moving soon and was planning on renting it out for a few years then selling it or potentially renting it long term. Currently, it rents for about $400-500 less than the mortgage (including property management fee). I bought it with a 0% down VA loan at the peak Covid prices so it’s lost about $25k in value and consequently I’ve only payed about $28k off the principal since then.

I had it all set up to rent out and my neighbor approached me about purchasing it for their elderly father. It would be an all cash offer with no realtors. The idea is intriguing to me since I really do not want to be a landlord and could get out of this somewhat poor financial decision. think it’s worth roughly $320-$330k and I owe about $330k. I estimate it’ll be $5-6k in costs for me to close/pay off my loan plus if it sells for lower than I owe.

How do I go about negotiating the price? I was planning on renting and can cover the small monthly loss, but I would prefer to sell it the price is right. It seems mutually beneficial to both parties

Found a very nice house in a suburb of Akron Ohio. I noticed it showed on redfin that there is flooding in the side yard. It looks like a French drain was recently installed along the driveway. The basement is finished with carpet. It looks like there was quite a bit of landscaping done to keep water flowing away from the house towards the new drain. We love the house but we're not sure if we want to deal with this kind of headache.

Even if the new changes mitigate some of the flooding, I feel like we won't really know until a year in when we have a torrential downpour.

My mother died earlier this year, and I inherited her house. I want to sell it. It's a small house (816 sq ft) on a double lot (8.2 acres) in rural Florida. The house is on one lot, and the adjoining lot is uncleared woods. Although it’s registered as a single property, the lots have separate addresses. Each also has its own city water hookup, though one has never been turned on.

Would the land be more valuable if I sold both lots separately, or as one?

https://www.savagechickens.com/2026/09/time-to-buy.html

We always make it a point to leave 20 or so minutes early since I strongly prefer to avoid bumping into potential buyers face to face, so I see all of this on our security cameras. It drives me nuts and without a professional there to watch their client, it makes me feel violated. Everything is always locked, but I’ve watched them try to get inside before too. I don’t think any of them have any actual insidious intentions, but obviously there’s no way I could know that for sure and it’s wild to me that anyone could think this is okay. As a buyer myself, I don’t even feel comfortable approaching a property let alone getting out of my vehicle to actually walk around the exterior without my agent present. Why are people like this?! 😭

I have been renovating my kitchen, and most of the main floor for that matter, over the last few years making it look nice. I took good care in doing high quality work on the drywall, paint, trim work, flooring, etc. My counter tops are cheap laminate particle board ones you would get at any home improvement store but they arent the nicest looking, dated color, and pretty beat up ( Picture of kitchen from last year when it was clean. New flooring is done and trim around cupboards is done https://imgur.com/a/okgEnQi ) If I replaced the counters I wouldnt get anything fancy, basically a direct replacement of the same materials but different style and new to freshen it up. Its quite a small counter space, so I dont imagine it would be super expensive. I could easily install it myself as well im sure. Would it be worth replacing it for resale value or to try to improve appeal? Im not going to be refinishing and painting the cupboards at all.

My elderly mother inherited some land 40+ years ago, and now it may be time to sell it, if it can be promoted and priced correctly. The land has been in the family for almost a century, and has always been used as farmland (circa 125 acres), but has real potential for recreational land use, as it has water frontage on a secondary navigable river, as well as formerly connected Oxbow lake, which is also used recreationally for fishing and boating which adjoins a 25,000 acre national wildlife refuge a couple of miles down. It has about 3500 ft of water frontage combined between the river and the lake. Now for the negative stuff, it is located in an extremely rural part of northeastern Louisiana, it is in Floodzone AE with most of the land 2-5 feet below BFE so would require any structures to be elevated, and any waterfront access along the river would have to involve Corp of Engineers building permission, as well there are extra requirements for septic systems.

We listed the property about 6 weeks ago, for what we thought was a fairly high price, close to double the local going rate for farmland, and within 9 days received a full asking price offer, then with closing coming up in a couple of weeks the buyer backed out last week after deciding access road construction would cost more than he thought it was worth. Which has us wondering if we underpriced the land, to complicate matters more we received a second offer on it the next day after the initial buyer backed out for about 60% of asking price.

There really are not any good comps out there, there is some other riverfront land, but it is a lot lower and wetter, there are also some lots for sale along the same oxbow lake, but are a MUCH smaller tracts (only about 3 acres in total divided into circa 0.50 lots , as well as a 1.7 acre lot also along a pubic road all priced at about 4 times our per acre listing price),

We are not desperate to sell, we don't want to over price it and have it just sit on the market, but at the same time don't want to give it away.

Any thoughts or suggestions on how we should proceed, how to value such a unique property with water frontage on 2 different bodies of water, etc.

I found a plot whose owner is willing to sell it for around $5k because of liquidity needs and the amount of time/money involved in resolving the property's current legal/land-status issues.

The interesting and potentially problematic part is the forest map classification.

The valuation report describes the land as forestry/forest land, with the forest map not yet fully finalized and ratified. Apparently, older aerial photography shows the land with a different, non-forest appearance, while more recent imagery/inspection shows it as forested.

So there may be a possibility of challenging the classification, but it would require time, lawyers, foresters, historical aerial-photo analysis, and potentially court proceedings. My very rough, completely unqualified estimate is maybe a 50% chance of successfully changing the classification.

At the moment, this makes the land extremely illiquid.

But if the classification can eventually be changed, the economics could be completely different. Given the location, size and surrounding land values, I could potentially be looking at a property worth hundreds of thousands or potentially much more, depending on what ultimately becomes legally possible.

The other outcome is obviously much simpler: the classification cannot be changed, the land remains essentially unusable, and I've burned $5–10k on a piece of land I may have to hold indefinitely.

I'm deliberately not paying for due diligence upfront. At this entry price, I don't particularly want to circulate the exact property details beforehand to people with much more capital or expertise who might simply take the opportunity themselves. So I'd rather keep it secret and take the gamble, then spend money on a lawyer, engineer and forester to investigate the possibilities.

So I'm treating this purely as a speculative long-term bet, not as a normal real-estate investment.

Would you take the gamble, knowing that the downside could be losing essentially all of it, but the upside could potentially be very large?

I recently purchased in the DFW area. As realtors you all are probably the most educated individual that can answer this question. We saw that massive value run up during the pandemic. How can homes just keep increasing in value? At some point don't we just reach a point where no one can afford a home? Even at 2% appreciation it would look extremely crazy in 10 years. Where is the ceiling if salaries are not keeping up? I'm worried that I won't even be able to sell when I do because if we just keep appreciating then eventually you just run out of buyers. I'm hoping no one is offended by this question. I'm just really trying to understand how this is possible

This seems to be very common and I think it's very misleading!!! I have shown several listings expecting the home to be a certain size, then when we get there, it's obvious the square footage was exaggerated! I have to look at the history or tax records to get accurate square footage because many agents want to exaggerate the actual above grade square footage! Even with finished basements, there is still a designation for above grade and below grade finished space. And so many are just lumping it all together in above grade and it's frustrating. Like once we see the property, we won't realize that the house isn't actually 3500 sq ft when it's really 2200 sq ft!!! Just venting lol

For example, I saw a house listed that has a large flat backyard on nearly 1/2 acre with a forest preserve in the back. The house has has only one neighbor and has lots of privacy. The house is in your typical subdivision and not in some area where this is the norm.

Now how much of a premium does intangibles like this bring? Like compared to a house with similar sq foot a few blocks over but is in a smaller lot and doesn't have the same intangibles? Do buyers put a hefty premium on this?

And I know it goes down to comps but it's kind of difficult finding comps.

Fellow realtors,
How often do you send an email out to your sphere / past clients? What service do you use to do so? Any tips or tricks you can provide to a new(ish) realtor just starting an email campaign?

Is this common for a seller to sell a home where the buyer is assuming their existing mortgage and paying them the equity in cash? How hard is it to switch the seller for the buyer on an existing mortgage?

I have a client asking me about this and I am at a loss.

A relative is wanting to transfer their house to me. They owe no money on besides a USDA Rural Housing Service single-family housing loan. The repayment is around $15,000. It acquires no interest. If she transfers, it has to be repaid. She cannot pay off the loan. I’m really uneducated on what exactly this loan is. But if I were to pay off this 15,000 should we have any problems with transferring the house over to me? Thank you for your help.

I know the SF market is hot, so you don't have to enlighten me on the obvious. But what are tactics to make sellers seriously put my offer to the top of their list?

My spouse and I are moving there for a job. The employment contract includes things like realtor fees and closing costs with us able to select from a list of realtors. We are still a couple of weeks out from pulling the trigger on selecting the realtor.

We're selling our current house and if the house isn't sold by the time we are ready to put in a bid, we have enough from our opening deposit from our brokerage account (no withdrawal fee) to pay in cash, or at least put down a large down payment (50%).

We have very good credit (at the cusp of excellent) and are working on finding the right lender, then getting a pre-approval letter from them.

I've been keeping my eyes on houses that fit our criteria and seeing what they sell for. On average houses we like go pending in about 18 days and sell between 30%-50% over list price, depending on location and house condition.

We're fairly comfortable to make strong bids, but what are current market techniques to be sure we get the house we want? Are people waiving contingencies, appraisals, or inspection?

We'll ask all these things to our realtor when we select them, I just wanted to get some insight from this group in the meantime. Thanks.

We are looking at a house that was built in the mid-90s, but the current owners have updated the inside with fresh paint/carpets/LVP flooring. The house itself is only about 1500 sq ft (2 stories) with 600 finished sq ft in the basement. The property sits on 1.9 acres. About 0.5 of the acres is flat functional grassy space and then the rest is wooded area. The house is listed at $465k and our lender thinks we need to offer $505k to be competitive. Our agent told me she’d get back to me on value. Just this month, a home right down the street sold for $410k, was listed at $389k so did go for over asking. The house is only on 0.5 acres but has 1800 finished square feet on the main level, plus a smaller finished basement.

I am curious how to go about coming up with a competitive offer. Is land worth more than home square footage, in a general sense?

For context, the house that we are under contract about 3000 ft.² and the only recent comes for same number of rooms and bathrooms in the area are much bigger at around 5000 ft.²

There are not many recently sold homes in the area.

Will they have to look back more than 6 months to find comparable homes or will they use the houses that are much bigger as comparable homes?

What are realtor fees looking like in Texas currently? Are we still paying both buyer/selling agents as the home seller? What are typical rates? What's fair vs disrespectful?

I'm so beyond tired of looking at homes online, then seeing them in person, and they look NOTHING like what the online photos are.

These are wasting everyone's time. Agents, if you can't learn to to, or don't want to fork over for professional photos, find another line of work.

Trying to sell an inherited property, and the highly recommended agent insists on using these cartooninshly fake generated images.

It's within the budget. It's a 1/1 condo in a medium sized city in Florida and a huge, desirable tourist destination. HOA fees are reasonable by south Florida standards. Recent comps in the building all come in right around that price point.

Didn't think I'd ever drop so much on a condo. My questions are as follows:

• Think this would be a good investment if I decide to sell 10 years from now?
• Are there any major pitfalls from buying property smack in the middle of a huge nightlife/tourist area?
• Am I crazy for paying so much, for so little space? Price per sq-ft comes out to ~$600

edit: I am single and have no desire to settle down.

In 2017 I inherited outright a family vacation property in the 'lakes region' of southern Maine. I am the 3rd generation owner. The property consists of 4 lots, two on the water and two 'back lots' on the other side of a 1 lane dirt and gravel road.

The two waterfront lots each have a seasonal use only cabin. The back lots are mostly wooded. Total acreage is a bit over 1 acre, with 275ft of water front. One of the cabins has been mostly a rental for many years. The rental cabin has been used for the entire season for the last 6 years by a single tenant--and it works really well. I've given them a break on the rent in return for maintenance labor.

Anyway, the tenant has offered to buy that cabin, the lot that it's on, and the connected back lot.

Here are some details, and some questions:

1. The deeds are all in good shape after probate was completed in late 2017.
2. Each cabin has it's own septic system, and they are both working fine--and have been regularly serviced for a long time. We were careful, years ago, to make sure the septic tanks are on the platted lots.
3. The cabins DO share a common drilled deep well, installed in 2016. Suggestions on how to deal with the water. Obviously something in writing in either the sale contract or on the deed(s). Including shared financial responsibility if/when there is a problem? Or put in something along the lines of, in addition to the above, 'buyer is required to install their own well within 5 years'?
4. Before a sale decision is made, I do want to include our adult children (30's and 40's) in the conversation, as part of a bigger discussion about the future disposition of the estate. Good or bad idea?
5. The town reassessed all properties a couple of years ago. Recent sales are running on the order of assessed valuation plus 10-15%, which gives me an idea of where to go.
6. At the price I'm thinking, I'll have a capital gain of $300,000-$330,000. Suggestions on managing both capital gains taxes (ouch) and avoiding Medicare B IRMAA. My wife and I are both 68, so in 5 years RMD will kick on on the IRA's.

Thoughts? Ideas? Pitfalls? I know conversations with both a good Real estate Lawyer in Maine, and a CPA are both in the future.

I'm moving to a new town. I'm ... 90% sure I want to live there.

I was planning to rent for a year or two before buying, but the rental market is a little nuts. Very much a landlord's market. Weirdly, the condo market is a buyer's market. (Or not so weirdly considering the HOA fees average like $800/month.)

I found a condo offered at $240k. I can afford that easily, even with with added 800. However, I worry about buying and then regretting the move. My possibly-stupid question is, can I suggest a deal where, like, I pay 20% down now, move in, don't pay a cent for 24 months, and then after that point either pay the owners teh balance or just say thanks and we both move on?

They'd have made $2k/month in 'rent'. So no real harm done to them, except they'd be stuck with the hassle of putting it on the market again (and owning it for those two years). And my risk is lower cause if I'm like, 'nope, hate it here,' I'm just out rent-equivalent, too. But if I do like it, I can pony up the 80% and I'll have effectively lived there for free for two years.

Does that make sense? Thoughts, advice?

I've been selling my townhome for 6 months now with our agent, and overall she's been good to work with. We listed at $515k per her advice, and have had to steadily drop the price over the last 6 months. 0 offers, maybe 4-5 showings per month. She's followed up with people that tour it and has talked to other agents, and will pass on recent feedback to us. So overall she's not doing a bad job at all. Location is Dallas, TX - Lower Greenville neighborhood, it's the middle unit of a townhome of 5 units, but since we don't have a yard it's considered a Condo.

But it feels like this is a side-job for her - every price drop has been because we asked her if we should drop the price and she says sure (or wait a couple of weeks, fair). Changing the order of the pictures and the description because we asked. Just everything that happens is initiated by us. Really overall I think we're just frustrated that our place hasn't sold or even gotten an offer in 6 months, and I don't think it's our agent's fault but changing agents doesn't cost us as much as a huge renovation would, or dropping the price another $25k.

If we do move on, how do we go about that - should we offer to "make her whole" and pay her cost of the photographer? She paid for pictures twice (before and after move out), we paid for getting it deep-cleaned. I don't think she's paid anything else except any MLS/Zillow fees. She's with an agency so I could message the agency as well.

Thoughts? Looking for outside opinions here