The best way to walk (typically after removing shoes) into an open house is to enter with the knowledge and understanding of what it is you are looking for in a potential house.
Our mind frame:
Coming from duplex living, we knew we needed a yard. Assuming that our (now three year old) boys will some day not refuse to use the "potty", we thought it best to shoot for two bathrooms. Due to our overwhelming obsession with all HGTV/DIY Network shows, we hoped for a house we could do mundane fixings on to not only leave our imprint, but to also bank on added value and on the market turning around.
Our experience, DAY ONE:
1. House with Chinese characters on the garage door. Not bad. Price very favorable due to the past owner passing away inside of the house (in our eyes a plus, morbid I know.). The living area was all contained upstars; three bedrooms, two bathrooms, very out-dated (HGTV plus). Downstairs had a huge basement/indoor "back yard" as my dad called it. Meager cement back yard. Not bad, but we weren't jumping for joy exactly. This is the house that has since sold and my dad swears we should have jumped on.
2. House with... well... who knows. All that we saw of this house was an eager realtor, who was waiting outside when we arrived. Interesting, considering it was 50 degrees outside (excruciatingly cold for San Francisco Bay Area). As she urged us up the steps into the "open" house, we were met by four men sitting around a hot pot BBQ. They aggressively explained that they would not be moving and would not allow any people into the house, no matter what. Apparently the owner of the home was attempting to foreclose, while also collecting rent from these people living in the house. This took a new spin on short sale karma that we never imagined. We happily turned around and left before the brawl began and named the day's work a success.
We did not realize on day one how necessary it would be to act fast. Afterall, these short sales can take months to make it to fruition. Somehow we weren't prepared for the course we would have to follow throughout the coming year....
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