I have got the house bug. That is bad enough in and of itself, but hubby and I are in no position really to get one, and I work at a mortgage company, so I work all freaking evening with people who already have their house!
So I decided I would call a local realtor to see about FHA, and also just to kind of get a rough idea of what I was getting myself into. Talk about discouraging! The guy kept saying “Well, in the X and Y area, your looking at about $70,000 just for the 10 acres you want. And in this area, the acres never come with a small house, usually ones 2400 sq. ft. and above.” I kept saying “We are just fine with living out in the boonies!” and he kept going back to X & Y area! (For OKC dopers, the Yukon & Mustang area). So finally, he gets around to telling me, and I’m paraphrasing now, “You have a snowballs chance in hell of finding what you want in X & Y area, but I’ll run a sheet for you with everything available listed on it and drop it in the mail for you.” :mad: Argh!! Don’t discourage me like that! Don’t keep telling me about an area I’m not interested in! :mad:
So now, I don’t feel like calling another realtor (that’s the only one I’ve called so far) and I’m feeling really lost. I have always wanted a little 2 or 3 bedroom house on about 10 acres, out in the middle of freaking nowhere, with horses, and doggies galore. I finally convinced hubby that yes, he wants this too ( ) and then this schmuck tells me what I want isn’t possible BECAUSE HE WON’T LOOK IN THE RIGHT AREA!
Wow, I didn’t intend for this to be so full of vitriol…
I loved my realestate guy. but he was totally useless in the finding a house department. I found the mls listings online, and I knew about new listings before he did.
Ditch that guy and just find another one. We went through a few agents until we found ours…unlike the promises made by others, she really did work for us.
Maybe the guy you were talking to didn’t think he could make enough money on the transaction or something. I can’t think why else he’d so stubbornly stick to an area you’re not interested in.
Do check out the MLS listings as Magayuk suggested. You can sort of scope out the prices in your desired area, and have an idea of what you’ll need to borrow. We found it helps to motivate real estate agents if you have some sort of pre-approval, which means you’re serious about buying. Then when you find a place you want to see, you call the agent on the MLS listing and no further time is wasted over “misunderstandings” about the area you’re interested in.
Unless, when you said you’re “not in a position to buy”, that you’ve already looked around and can’t get approved for anything. In that case, maybe you won’t really want to torture yourself by looking at listings. Just start paying off debt and saving everything you can. Before you know it, you will be “in a position” to buy.
I’m speaking from experience as a self-employed person whom no bank wanted to touch for a mortgage. Now in my fifth year as a home owner AND we own a large recreational property too.
We aren’t in a position to buy right now because we don’t really have any money saved up. I go to school full time, and only work part time (and it looks as if I will be laid off soon). My husband words full time and a part time job, and also goes to school.
Thanks for the online idea, I will definitly check it out!
Find another realtor. It’s a pain, but why waste your time with someone who won’t listen to you? Unless you are being completely unreasonable in what you’re looking for, you should be able to find an agent who will focus on what you want and not push you into a place just so s/he can get a sale. Remember: agents work for you, not the other way 'round.
) and then this schmuck tells me what I want isn’t possible BECAUSE HE WON’T LOOK IN THE RIGHT AREA!