Following in the footsteps of IPO...listing my condo Quail Hill condo for sale

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
[quote author="CalGal" date=1223448075]When a buyer presents their pre-approval letter to the seller, can the amount be adjusted below the max amount?

USC, could your buyer have provided a letter stating she was only approved to $605 (or some other number below her max)?

Obviously it was to her disadvantage for you (the seller) to know she could afford more.

Does anyone know how the pre-approval letter works?

Thanks.



P.S. Congrats, USC!</blockquote>


CalGal, it must be your year... first the Celts and now the Sox again knocking out our SoCal teams.



A big difference between the ascending (market through 2006) and the current descending market (2006 through ???) is the use of the preapproval process. Previously, if you could finance $500K, sellers could expect that the buyers would stretch and reach for that number. A seller-driven market.



Now, however, just because you can afford $1M, doesn't mean as a buyer, you are willing to pay that much. It just shows that the buyer is more financially secure.



The buyers are in the driver's seat now, but many sellers are still digging in their purses thinking they still have the keys...
 
[quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1223449591][quote author="CalGal" date=1223448075]When a buyer presents their pre-approval letter to the seller, can the amount be adjusted below the max amount?

USC, could your buyer have provided a letter stating she was only approved to $605 (or some other number below her max)?

Obviously it was to her disadvantage for you (the seller) to know she could afford more.

Does anyone know how the pre-approval letter works?

Thanks.



P.S. Congrats, USC!</blockquote>


CalGal, it must be your year... first the Celts and now the Sox again knocking out our SoCal teams.



A big difference between the ascending (market through 2006) and the current descending market (2006 through ???) is the use of the preapproval process. Previously, if you could finance $500K, sellers could expect that the buyers would stretch and reach for that number. A seller-driven market.



Now, however, just because you can afford $1M, doesn't mean as a buyer, you are willing to pay that much. It just shows that the buyer is more financially secure.



The buyers are in the driver's seat now, but many sellers are still digging in their purses thinking they still have the keys...</blockquote>
I just got back from lunch with a friend. She chose to bet against the Red Sox and lost. Ahh, I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch on her dime. :lol:
 
[quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1223353498][quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1223353159]Congrats trojanman. The buyer got a nice property that you took good care of, and you did well to get out....</blockquote>


After all costs (including the costs of the materials for the upgrades and closing costs), I did come out ahead with about a ~$10k gain on sale so I'm a happy camper.







Edit - I just noticed there are two additional of my floor plans for sale which makes 6 out of 32 with the lowest priced unit being $629k going up to $699k. I hope they aren't too upset at my sales price. hehe</blockquote>
Would you have the $10K gain if you are not selling your own house?
 
[quote author="WestparkRenter" date=1223454339][quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1223353498][quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1223353159]Congrats trojanman. The buyer got a nice property that you took good care of, and you did well to get out....</blockquote>


After all costs (including the costs of the materials for the upgrades and closing costs), I did come out ahead with about a ~$10k gain on sale so I'm a happy camper.







Edit - I just noticed there are two additional of my floor plans for sale which makes 6 out of 32 with the lowest priced unit being $629k going up to $699k. I hope they aren't too upset at my sales price. hehe</blockquote>
Would you have the $10K gain if you are not selling your own house?</blockquote>
Nope, I'd have to pay $15k-$18k for the sell side commission which I didn't have to pay since I sold my own property. I'd still walk away with net proceeds from the sale, but I would have had a small loss on sale for tax purposes. Essentially I got all my equity back, all the costs of the upgrades back, and the ~$10k gain.
 
[quote author="CalGal" date=1223450300][quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1223449591][quote author="CalGal" date=1223448075]When a buyer presents their pre-approval letter to the seller, can the amount be adjusted below the max amount?

USC, could your buyer have provided a letter stating she was only approved to $605 (or some other number below her max)?

Obviously it was to her disadvantage for you (the seller) to know she could afford more.

Does anyone know how the pre-approval letter works?

Thanks.



P.S. Congrats, USC!</blockquote>


CalGal, it must be your year... first the Celts and now the Sox again knocking out our SoCal teams.



A big difference between the ascending (market through 2006) and the current descending market (2006 through ???) is the use of the preapproval process. Previously, if you could finance $500K, sellers could expect that the buyers would stretch and reach for that number. A seller-driven market.



Now, however, just because you can afford $1M, doesn't mean as a buyer, you are willing to pay that much. It just shows that the buyer is more financially secure.



The buyers are in the driver's seat now, but many sellers are still digging in their purses thinking they still have the keys...</blockquote>
I just got back from lunch with a friend. She chose to bet against the Red Sox and lost. Ahh, I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch on her dime. :lol:</blockquote>
I had my dad bet Boston to win the series for $100 to win $130 in Vegas just in case. I'd be out a $100 if the Angels would have won, but I'd be happy. Now I'm upset with some extra pocket change. haha
 
[quote author="CalGal" date=1223448075]When a buyer presents their pre-approval letter to the seller, can the amount be adjusted below the max amount?

USC, could your buyer have provided a letter stating she was only approved to $605 (or some other number below her max)?

Obviously it was to her disadvantage for you (the seller) to know she could afford more.

Does anyone know how the pre-approval letter works?

Thanks.



P.S. Congrats, USC!</blockquote>
Thanks CalGal. You know, I'm sure the buyer could have asked that the lender put a lower amount on the approval letter but just may not have. The reality is that I was shootin for a sales price of $620k to $630k so I decided to go for the $620k. The other concern I had was if the property was going to appraise at anything higher than $620k so I didn't want to be greedy. Why potentially screw myself out of a sale just because I want to squeeze the buyer for another $5k on the sales price...the downside of that was greater than the upside in my opinion.
 
I learned something new, that you can ask as part of the sales contract to have the deposit wired into your account after contingencies are removed. Is this a standard practice these days? It would have been helpful for our peace of mind when we sold our second house a few years ago. The sale went ahead but we had a few tense days towards close of escrow -- if the deposit money was already wired into our account after the 17 day contingency period we could have worried less since we could just put the house up for sale again at a lower price for a faster sale.
 
[quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1223454754][quote author="WestparkRenter" date=1223454339][quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1223353498][quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1223353159]Congrats trojanman. The buyer got a nice property that you took good care of, and you did well to get out....</blockquote>


After all costs (including the costs of the materials for the upgrades and closing costs), I did come out ahead with about a ~$10k gain on sale so I'm a happy camper.







Edit - I just noticed there are two additional of my floor plans for sale which makes 6 out of 32 with the lowest priced unit being $629k going up to $699k. I hope they aren't too upset at my sales price. hehe</blockquote>
Would you have the $10K gain if you are not selling your own house?</blockquote>
Nope, I'd have to pay $15k-$18k for the sell side commission which I didn't have to pay since I sold my own property. I'd still walk away with net proceeds from the sale, but I would have had a small loss on sale for tax purposes. Essentially I got all my equity back, all the costs of the upgrades back, and the ~$10k gain.</blockquote>


So how much did you pump in to upgrades. Seems like around $30K right?
 
SC, your buyer's loan went through at the time the banks and stock markets started collapsing, other than the PMI issue, did the "credit crunch" affect the buyer's ability to get the loan in any way?
 
[quote author="fumbling" date=1223458023]I learned something new, that you can ask as part of the sales contract to have the deposit wired into your account after contingencies are removed. Is this a standard practice these days? It would have been helpful for our peace of mind when we sold our second house a few years ago. The sale went ahead but we had a few tense days towards close of escrow -- if the deposit money was already wired into our account after the 17 day contingency period we could have worried less since we could just put the house up for sale again at a lower price for a faster sale.</blockquote>
I don't think it's typical that buyers wire the earnest deposit money to the seller once all contingencies have been removed, but since I allowed the buyer to move in before closing I wanted to get the money as a sign of good faith.
 
[quote author="ipoplaya" date=1223465975][quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1223454754][quote author="WestparkRenter" date=1223454339][quote author="usctrojanman29" date=1223353498][quote author="IrvineRealtor" date=1223353159]Congrats trojanman. The buyer got a nice property that you took good care of, and you did well to get out....</blockquote>


After all costs (including the costs of the materials for the upgrades and closing costs), I did come out ahead with about a ~$10k gain on sale so I'm a happy camper.







Edit - I just noticed there are two additional of my floor plans for sale which makes 6 out of 32 with the lowest priced unit being $629k going up to $699k. I hope they aren't too upset at my sales price. hehe</blockquote>
Would you have the $10K gain if you are not selling your own house?</blockquote>
Nope, I'd have to pay $15k-$18k for the sell side commission which I didn't have to pay since I sold my own property. I'd still walk away with net proceeds from the sale, but I would have had a small loss on sale for tax purposes. Essentially I got all my equity back, all the costs of the upgrades back, and the ~$10k gain.</blockquote>


So how much did you pump in to upgrades. Seems like around $30K right?</blockquote>
About $28k in raw material costs...the flooring (tiles and hardwood) cost about $10k, granite countertops were $5k, shutters were $3k, and the rest was about $10k. It's the labor that make up 60-70% of the cost of upgrades. I did however pay for a roundtrip ticket to Europe for my dad as thanks (my dad used to work in construction and is a great handyman). It took us 3-4 months of working together to get everything done (I was a full-time MBA student at the time).
 
[quote author="fumbling" date=1223470402]SC, your buyer's loan went through at the time the banks and stock markets started collapsing, other than the PMI issue, did the "credit crunch" affect the buyer's ability to get the loan in any way?</blockquote>
Well, since the loan was a conforming Fannie loan the buyer didn't have any issues with the credit crunch and stock market. However, the loan did take about a week longer to fund because the lender took their time double checking everything, including having me initial on one page of a document that I missed.
 
I just have to say congrats to USC. Nice call on selling your place when you did. I hope that it works out very well for you, eh I know it will, I know the foreclosure stats. I am also glad to hear everything went smoothly and you saved on the commission dept. I am also glad to see the majority of the posts in this thread were positive, aside from the decorating criticisms, as it shows we are not all that evil and that we can be wrong with our criticisms.



Good job, and I can't wait for you to post your next deal on taking advantage of the opportunities that are out there.
 
<strong>but since I allowed the buyer to move in before closing I wanted to get the money as a sign of good faith. </strong>



I've always heard that's a no no. Glad it all worked out for you.
 
Hey SC. Were there still new units in your former complex at the end of 2005? 55 Duet shows closed on 10/17 at a price of $625K. Only purchase price for it I can find is $614K in Nov 2005. That seems too low and too late to me...
 
[quote author="ipoplaya" date=1224640351]Hey SC. Were there still new units in your former complex at the end of 2005? 55 Duet shows closed on 10/17 at a price of $625K. Only purchase price for it I can find is $614K in Nov 2005. That seems too low and too late to me...</blockquote>
Yeah, they kept selling through 2006 (the models). I believe the peak price paid for my unit was around $670k (the listing for $699k sold for $661k) in 2Q06. There was a resale of my unit back that closed back in Jan. 2007 for $715k (had minimal upgrades).



Damn, I figured I could have gotten $625k but I didn't want to be too greedy. Oh well, I feel fortunate enough that I got out when I did for the price I did.
 
I happened to be in the area near 55 Duet. The seller is having an 'estate sale' - basically selling alot of her furniture. She mentioned that she put in over $100k in upgrades. I have to admit that her floors and her counters were very nice.
 
[quote author="cantaloop" date=1224760999]I happened to be in the area near 55 Duet. The seller is having an 'estate sale' - basically selling alot of her furniture. She mentioned that she put in over $100k in upgrades. I have to admit that her floors and her counters were very nice.</blockquote>
I wouldn't doubt it, from the pictures I can tell that they spent some $$$ on the upgrades. That was the best looking unit next to mine, all the other ones are inferior compares to ours.
 
Interesting thing happened to me earlier this morning....I bumped into the buyer of my condo at Albertsons over here in QH. So I asked her how she was enjoying her new condo and she said she loves it. She mentioned to me that she is in the process of refinancing her 5.75% mortgage to a 5% mortgage which will save her a good chunk of change.
 
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