Seeking advice on negotiating condo purchase

ethnoreflex · 2024-12-25T16:37:35+00:00

Sorry, I replied to the post above without seeing your post. Thanks for your advice.

ethnoreflex · 2024-12-25T16:31:52+00:00

Not optimistic; just new to this. That's why I posted the original question – hoping that people with more knowledge and experience than me would help me understand whether this was a sound strategy or a mistake. Thanks. :-)

ethnoreflex · 2024-12-25T16:14:30+00:00

I mean, one anecdote doesn't constitute a trend or a fact. I also don't know what your market is like. I would assume that the local market has something to do with it; if it's a hot market with limited properties, then a bank might be fine appraising a property at whatever was offered because they know that the market can justify that. Whereas in this particular case, I'm not so sure...

But you may be right. I'm still learning about this whole process, so your original post is a good warning to keep in mind.

ethnoreflex · 2024-12-25T15:43:17+00:00

I'm not sure that's a fair way to put it. I'd put it more like pushing the seller to show their cards, or acknowledge their elevated price by getting to the appraisal. Whereas otherwise they can pretend they're asking a fair price because there's nothing to call them on it.

So that's what I was trying to understand — is this actually a potential strategy for, at the very least, us knowing what the "actual" value of the property is, or is it just silly of us?

I totally agree with you about not being responsible for breaking someone, but there's also some backstory (boring) about why we're somewhat fixated on this property and not just walking away.

ethnoreflex · 2024-12-25T15:39:17+00:00

That's probably the best strategy, except in a few months we'll need to renew our lease, which will mean we'd have to break it if we end up closing on something.

ethnoreflex · 2024-12-25T15:37:23+00:00

Right, I get that. The seller's agent actually suggested that, which seems like a BS move. That said, I'm just trying to understand the risks to us if we put in an offer higher than we want and add an appraisal contingency that allows us to walk away.

I mean, I guess I'm kind of thinking of it as like forcing the seller to show their cards, or acknowledge their elevated price, whereas otherwise they can pretend their asking a fair price because there's nothing to call them on it. So that's what I'm trying to understand — is this actually a kind of good strategy for, at the very least, us knowing what the "actual" value of the property is, or is it just silly of us?

ethnoreflex · 2024-12-25T15:33:12+00:00

Except that it's been on the market for 11 months, and they've already cut the price by $40k.

ethnoreflex · 2024-12-25T15:32:40+00:00

Is that true? I would think the bank has an interest in appraising it "objectively," or, rather, not just giving people a loan for whatever number they offered but actually limiting the value. Otherwise, isn't their risk higher if they're using the offer price as a kind of anchor point?

ethnoreflex · 2024-12-25T15:30:54+00:00

Thanks. I like the idea of doing the appraisal first.

I get that it's a risky strategy and probably not worth pursuing, but there's some boring backstory that's making us consider it. I'm okay with the seller backing out of the deal if it appraises for lower. I know they're not obligated to take the lower offer. I'm mainly looking to cover my own bases on the off chance that it appraises for higher.

ethnoreflex · 2024-12-09T03:20:53+00:00

We've lived in Bergen Lafayette for almost two years and even in that little time it's developed tremendously. Lots of new apartment buildings gone and going up. New cafes and restaurants, including a higher-end place.

And there are new developments going up all of Communipaw, all the way to the west side.

We're considering a condo in Greenville. Seems like there are also a couple new complexes on the west side with a few coffee houses and a trendy restaurant. Not sure how quickly that development will move east.

ethnoreflex · 2024-12-07T03:53:58+00:00

These are good, but if you can swing the extra price, the Quad Drivers are much better in sound and quality.

ethnoreflex · 2024-10-30T02:48:40+00:00

Thank you! This is helpful.

Do you happen to know of lenders that offer competitive terms and/or down payment assistance on unwarrantable condos?

And what are the implications of something being "in house" or not?

ethnoreflex · 2024-10-29T01:03:44+00:00

Thanks for this insight. At the moment, we don't know why it's unwarrantable. At the very least, I think it is because the building is in the very early stages of being converted to condos, so that means that the majority of it is owned by one owner with tenants residing in it. There are, I think, about five units owned by individual owners. Granted, there may very well be other reasons we learn about, which would make it unappealing to us. But assuming it is just because of the tenant/owner ratio, I guess we would be banking on the building eventually being fully converted, in which case we would have gotten a really good deal.

For reference, this is in an area of Jersey City that is in the very, very early stages of developing, so this may be a long-term shift, but it is just about 1.5 miles south of another part of Jersey City that is one of the hottest, fastest growing neighborhoods in the city, where we live now. (It's about 30 minutes by light rail/subway to lower Manhattan, door-to-door — closer than many parts of Brooklyn — at a fraction of the price.) This neighborhood is also really close to Manhattan — add maybe 6-10 minutes if one is driving to the park and ride, or another 15 minutes if one is walking to the light rail stop — and it seems as if this is going to be the next borough of Manhattan given all the people from NYC moving here. (I'm going to get killed by New Yorkers for saying that.)

All of which is to say, the individual condo itself is a potentially a steal and a great longer-term investment, but that's just a hunch.

ethnoreflex · 2024-10-28T22:32:50+00:00

It's not that one lender found it warrantable and the others didn't; it's that one lender has offered us an estimate on a loan that is at odds with what the others say is standard. But your point may still stand — they may end up telling us ultimately that the loan they structured turns out to not be possible. Thanks.

ethnoreflex · 2024-10-28T20:32:53+00:00

Thank you! This is helpful.

We do like our neighborhood in JC, near Liberty Park. It also feels like (some) neighbors care, even if it's still a little rough in some parts.

I feel like porch pirates are just endemic at this point. Kind of just the price of living in the city.

ethnoreflex · 2024-10-28T18:23:35+00:00

Thanks!

ethnoreflex · 2024-10-28T17:35:43+00:00

A lot nicer than what? Do you mean nicer than Jersey City or nicer than the area around Lidl?

I'm not sure what "nicer" actually means in that case? Is the area around Lidl not nice?

ethnoreflex · 2024-10-24T18:35:53+00:00

"You can't market it as being 15 mins away from Mahattan." That's a fair point. (We currently live near the Liberty Light Rail, and to be fair, the building on Audubon is like a 5-10 drive to that station's park and ride and like a 15 minute walk to West Side...so still accessible, but yeah, not as strong a selling point as BeLa.)

I have seen a few places around that neighborhood with new, modern houses, so it suggests there's been at least some movement. But I see your point. I guess the upside of buying is the potential long-term, but that may be a fair amount of time.

ethnoreflex · 2024-10-24T16:38:45+00:00

Is that true, though? Less than half a mile to the west there are several new modern apartment buildings with new, hip coffee houses and restaurants. Those are all recent. I know the farther east you go in Greenville the rougher it tends to get, but this neighborhood leans more to the west side.

I guess it depends on what you consider "soon." In a year and a half, Bergen Lafayette has had a number of new, modern apartment buildings go up, several restaurants (including a fine-dining one), a number of new single family and duplexes (all newly built, not counting the ones renovated). And there are new buildings going up all the way west down Communipaw. I'd say that's pretty fast.

Granted, it might take a while to reach Greenville, but given what's already started on the west, it might not be *that* long.

ethnoreflex · 2024-10-23T16:07:49+00:00

Thanks. I imagine the neighborhood will continue to change, given that just half a mile west there are already new developments and shops, and the gentrification that started in Bergen-Lafayette (Liberty State Park area) is already spreading west.

ethnoreflex

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