How We Got Our Low Offer Accepted In THIS Housing Market

albuquerque new mexico first time homebuyer frugal living housing market how to get your low offer accepted how we got our low offer accepted in this housing market living within your means millenial simple living simple living with kt Mar 26, 2022

How We Got Our Low Offer Accepted In THIS Housing Market

I feel like we don’t hear enough stories of low offers getting accepted these days, so I’m going to share mine. 

You Can Also Watch The YouTube Video Where I Share "How We Got Our Low Offer Accepted In THIS Housing Market

Why We Decided To Purchase A House In This Housing Market?

My husband and I moved during the aftermath of the pandemic, housing prices were high and so were rentals. We had come from Florida where we had moved just a few months prior from Jacksonville to Orlando and the price that we paid for rent nearly doubled in those cities.

The Orlando apartment was larger and in a very convenient location and we could afford the rent so it wasn’t something that I was concerned about. The move to New Mexico was something else though. My husband was offered a relocation package and the position would be an increase from the apparently low wages that Florida companies are providing. So, when we saw the higher rent prices in the areas we were looking at we weren't put off by paying the money.

However, a favorite millennial past time is looking at homes on Zillow you can’t afford and my husband and I basically made that our part time job. Not because we were looking to move but because it was a nice piece of escapism. “Hey honey, come look at this $500,000 house in New Mexico, this would be $2 million in Florida”.

It was interesting to see the difference but then we started looking in our own price range because we’re not ready for either a $500k house or a 2 million dollar house yet. In December, we had narrowed down zip codes and towns we like and did some general research into what we need to put down to qualify for a house.

My husband was getting so excited, he was ready to look at houses. I wasn’t trying to rain on his parade, but from what I know about the process, if we contact a realtor, we need to get pre approved and if we get a favorable rate that puts a clock on when we should buy a house to use that rate. That was a process and something we sorted out over a few conversations together but it ended with the realization that we were ready to buy a house and would like the closing date to be 60 days out. 

The Housing Market In Albuquerque, New Mexico

The local market is hot, but not California hot- where people are putting in offers way over asking price. When we would see a house available, it would be pending in 1-3 days, but even before it was officially pending there would be at least one offer on the house but the time we wanted to see it.

My husband did not want to fight for a house. I remember going to look at a house and the realtor told us that there was already an offer on the house. It was really in the sweet spot of our budget, great cute house, a nice fire pit, and my husband barely gave it the time of day. For that house, we possibly could have put in the asking price, maybe a little bit more to be competitive and still in our budget but my husband was like “no thank you” and I don’t blame him. It was much more stress free the way we went about it. 

And that brings us to the type of home we were looking for. Of course there were the standard things we wanted like a reasonable distance from my husbands work, convenient to things on the city, nice neighborhood which could go two ways, either we get a house in a particular part of the city or we live a little bit outside the city which comes with its pros and cons. 

Homes in the zip code we wanted. When it came to homes in the zip code, they were either at the top of the budget or they needed some fixing up. I was fine with either but the competition was truly tight. If we knew before seeing a house that there was an offer, we either wouldn’t go or it was just to pass the time and we already knew that we would not put in an offer.

We were much more interested in the fixer uppers. There was one we actually put in an offer for and the sellers were hard headed. They slapped paint on the walls but the home was dark, carpets old, kitchen dirty and old and it was priced like the updated turnkey homes. It was laughable. We put in a low offer and they came back with barely a reduction. We replied by asking our realtor to see another house.

The sellers actually came back to us to try and offer a credit at closing instead of reducing the price, but we just turned away from that. That’s how it was in the zip code, cut throat.

However, the other option, find an area that is still valued well but less desirable to buyers. That would be out in the country where we put in out low offer that was accepted.

So, Why Did We Give A Low Offer

The main thing was that the home was on the market for a while and other homes in this area outside the city sit on the market for weeks. It’s not that there’s something wrong with the homes but rather that the area, not being in the city is not as desirable to the masses. 

Another factor that made us comfortable giving a low offer was that we had time and wiggle room. By time, I mean there was no outside pressure to snatch this house up because it had already been sitting for a month. And by wiggle room, I mean that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take and while we could afford the full asking price why not exercise the wiggle room that negotiating creates? 

And How Did It Play Out.

It felt risky to me honestly but my husband was set on the offer in his mind and we went with it. The next day, the realtor texted me that he wanted to give me a call, I thought he was going to share some information about a counter offer and instead he said, they accepted the offer As Is. I was so happy. He said it so calmly so it didn’t even register what he had said at first. Looking back, we could have tried offering less, or that’s what I was thinking but truly I was just happy. I think we got very favorable terms for this market because we looked for the places where opportunities would be, (and that's the key).

The stories of buying a turnkey property and the seller pays your closing costs and washes your car are gone for now. I think it played out very well and I am in love with our home. I can see us living a simple and intentional life out here on our 1 acre of land. 

Let me know, are you thinking of purchasing a house in this market or are there certain market triggers you’re looking out for? Let me just say, whether you're ready or waiting, you should get your ducks in order now. Check your full credit score, look into different mortgage programs, map out how long you’ll need to save a down payment and reach out to a professional when you need to. 

Conclusion

That’s what I wanted to share today. Thank you so much for stopping by and reading. I hope you can take away from tips and tricks from my experience and if you have any questions about the homebuying process, leave me a comment. 

You should check out my FREE 5-Day Mind & Money Series in the description below. Its a series of posts and videos that will be delivered to your email daily to help get your mindset in line with your money goals. Whether that be saving up for a big purchase or paying off debt, getting your mindset fueled up to reach those goals will be a gamechanger.

Thanks for reading and as always remember to make the decisions that support the life you want.

 

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