Ahhhhhh, the parade of responsibility continues! Laura and I are looking at moving from our trusty duplex into a real, honest-to-goodness, no-shared-walls house. Well, while she's occupied by wedding stuff, I'm actually doing most of the looking. And by looking, I mean glancing at a place and then saying, "They want how much?!" while hyperventilating.
In case you've never looked, houses == expensive. The only way to get a deal is to find a house in which someone was murdered, or a plot that's located above an Indian burial ground. Does anyone know of a real estate site where I can specify those as parameters in my searches? I've got to think there's a Google maps mash-up for this somewhere.
Pretty much anything besides a firebombed crackhouse costs a pretty penny in Austin. Not only is the typical house more money than I've ever seen before, but it's also probably more money than I've made throughout my lifetime. Despite this, I gather that banks will just lend me this money without it being too big a deal?
I still think the financing is a big joke. The real estate agent shows you any crappy, old house and then says, "So, you've now seen this lovely 900 square foot shed, perched on a cliff atop a buffalo-mating reserve. I think I could get you guys into this place for... uh, $200,000? Let's do $200,000."
And then the bank says, "You want $180,000 for a house? Why don't you just take $190,000? Just go to Portugal with the rest or something." It's collective insanity! This industry is winking and nodding its way to bankruptcy!
I'm already worked up and I've yet to speak to a real estate agent or a mortgage professional. The key to any negotiation is to get good and worked-up far, far in advance. That way, you immediately play your lunatic card and crazify your way to big savings.
Posted by Cody at January 14, 2008 8:18 PM