# Didn't realize it would be this hard



## Lauri (Sep 20, 2008)

Closed on my house on 10/10/14.

Still haven't found the next one to move to. 

I thought being a cash buyer was going to be to my advantage and make the home of my dreams magically appear. 

Silly me:hammer:


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## CraterCove (Jan 24, 2011)

I'm sorry to hear you are having trouble finding a new home. It's terrible being in limbo, I know I've been there before!

Good luck, I hope you find if not the perfect home, the one you can make into your perfect home.


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## Gray Wolf (Jan 25, 2013)

Gosh. Why didn't you holler sooner?

Just buy plane ticket to Wenatchee WA. We'll meet you at airport.

Bring your checkbook.

The web site for your dream home is:

offgrid150.simpl.com

Have a good flight.

Don


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

The difference is usually just a difference of opinion by the seller and the buyer about the value of a piece of property. Once you get that worked out then things get easy.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I never like to just buy. I like to let it work itself out. Seems those times I got in a hurry was when things weren't perfect. Patience is good at this time. Hope you have the time and place to let it all come together....James


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

If you are pre-approved, it's not really any different than a cash buyer.. No matter if you buy with cash, or get a loan, the seller still gets cash (or check) in hand for the full amount... Everything else still moves at pretty much the same speed cash or loan... title, inspection, closing... 

No real big advantage being a cash buyer...


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## myheaven (Apr 14, 2006)

just drive over the water and come buy my lovely littleish homestead. Not huge but not small.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Lauri, I fell your pain! LOL!!

We've been looking for a place to put down roots for a couple of years now. It's not as easy as it would seem.

Oh, there are lots of places for sale. I can't recall all of the ones we've looked at but there are a boatload of them that are just plain stupid in the way they're laid out. For instance, there will be a place advertised as 10 acres that will be 150 feet wide by what seems like a half mile long. Totally stupid to my thinking. Or there will be a nice house on 20 acres that seems like it ought to be nice and private only to find out that there is another house on another property 50 feet from your house. AARRGGHHH!!! Why do people do that crap? Or someone will tell you about their acreage in the country where they have carved out an acre or so and are selling the acreage behind and on both sides of it, just enough that they'll always be right in the center of your view. NO!! 

Then there are always properties that are not what we're looking for. Lots of "mansions on a postage stamp" for sale. And a few estates that we'd have to win the lottery to afford. 

Of course, if you want ground that you can use as tillable soil, it'll have no privacy whatsoever. Or, if you find privacy, it'll be totally wooded and no tillable soil at all.

And then there are the few that actually sound good, and even might pass the satellite view test of no neighbors directly on top of you where you find that there is something that just doesn't work... like wanting a nice large garden plot and it happens to be 20 acres of rock outcroppings. 

And if you happen to find a property that really does seem like it would work, the owners have had it for sale for half a decade and are still stuck on that price from before the real estate prices saw the bottom drop out and they're not budging off of that price that's $30k - $50k higher than anyone other than a sucker would pay.

So yes indeed, I understand what you're going through!

Good luck!


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## mrs whodunit (Feb 3, 2012)

simi-steading said:


> If you are pre-approved, it's not really any different than a cash buyer.. No matter if you buy with cash, or get a loan, the seller still gets cash (or check) in hand for the full amount... Everything else still moves at pretty much the same speed cash or loan... title, inspection, closing...
> 
> No real big advantage being a cash buyer...



I would have to differ.

There was a house in a town nearby that many people looked at and wanted to buy. They all had to have financing, some I know where pre-approved.

After years on the market somebody waltzed in with cash and landed the house at a great price. Cash talked and very loudly at that


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## FarmerKat (Jul 3, 2014)

mrs whodunit said:


> I would have to differ.
> 
> There was a house in a town nearby that many people looked at and wanted to buy. They all had to have financing, some I know where pre-approved.
> 
> After years on the market somebody waltzed in with cash and landed the house at a great price. Cash talked and very loudly at that


I agree. While both types of buyers have the funds available, the bank still has to approve the sale. Even if a buyer is pre-approved, they will want to an appraisal to match the selling price. If the property does not appraise and the seller is not willing to lower the price (or the buyer does not have extra cash to pay the difference above what the bank is willing to finance), it is not a done deal. Cash buyer more than likely will be deciding based on "what is this property worth to them" not on a bank calculation. Banks may also require inspections and repairs prior to sale that the buyer may not care about. 

But to the OP ... patience is key, I am sure you will find your place soon.


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## Jlynnp (Sep 9, 2014)

Lauri said:


> Closed on my house on 10/10/14.
> 
> Still haven't found the next one to move to.
> 
> ...


Where are you looking to buy?


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## CraterCove (Jan 24, 2011)

Jlynnp said:


> Where are you looking to buy?


And what are you looking for? Maybe someone here knows of something.


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## stillhere (May 28, 2007)

We just started looking at locations and it is hard. Many times advertising is very deceiving and time is an issue as well as keeping stress to a minimum. I think cash deals help closing.
Sending you luck in finding your homestead.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

Yes, advertising can be very deceptive. Even pictures can be. One thing I have found that has saved me a lot of driving is GoogleMaps satellite views. If I can find the property on there, I can often find property lines and can see quite a bit of info that might not be forthcoming in an ad... like being downwind from a cluster of chicken houses or being right on top of a neighbor or there being too much or not enough woods or open land. It's not 100%, and it doesn't always get the address just right but it has been helpful. Occasionally, it can even give a street view though there are a lot of places out in the boonies where their little street cameras haven't gone to take pictures yet.


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## DAVID In Wisconsin (Dec 3, 2002)

I wish you luck in your hunt! Cash makes things a lot easier and often cheaper as now days sellers know anything can kill a financed deal. Buyers also usually love the fast closing an all cash deal brings. When I make an offer on a house I usually ask for 7 day closing and buyers respond very favorably even when my offer is not the biggest.


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## V-NH (Jan 1, 2014)

I agree that it is extremely difficult to find a decent place for homesteading. The only suitable place in a 20 mile radius around my place of employment recently sold. The interesting part was that I put an offer in on it for their asking price. They said no. It then sold 3 months later for 30k less than their asking price. So weird!

My wife and I are currently in a 3 bed, 1 bath, 1,600 sq ft log home on one acre. We're currently doing some major home improvements (second bathroom, huge master closet, granite countertops) in hopes of raising its value by 20 or 30k so we can sell it in the next couple years. We really want to live in a 4 bed, 2 bath (or 1.5), 2000 sq ft home on at least 10 acres. The problem is that I have been actively looking since before we bought this house and have only seen one home meeting that criteria actually go on the market within a reasonable price range. Not interested in a $750,000 home


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## Lauri (Sep 20, 2008)

Gray Wolf.......................thank you, but I am short about $12.



Kidding aside, lovely home you have!





I am looking to buy in MI, eastern Jackson or Northern Lenawee county to be specific.

Want a small home with enough acres for the animals. 

Thank you all for your kind words and sympathies.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Find a temporary place, put your stuff in storage, and take your time. You are in a good spot now that your place is sold - many folks buying are not that lucky. And if you have cash, you have even more possibilities. Be patient!


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## Lauri (Sep 20, 2008)

4 months later..................
still can't find a place.



and the prices are going up. 


crud.


pitty party over.


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