am i wrong?

we keep going to open houses to see what is out there. we havent gotten preapproved yet bc im trying to pay off my car and some cc's before putting ourselves into more debt. I keep telling realtors this but they still want to take us to look at houses. I feel like its a waste of their time since we arent in a place to put in a bid. wwyd?

Re: am i wrong?

Look. Look. Look. Look. Look.

Oh, and if I didnt say it, look.

This will give you an idea of whats out there, and what you like and DONT like before you buy. I think it was critical for me and DH to look beofre we were ready to REALLY look. Gave us a great idea of what was on the market in our price range, and what we REALLY wanted in a house.

Plus, you WILL buy, It might be 2 years, but youll buy. Its a good way to feel out real estate agents.

Just keep being honest with them.

But YES, LOOK. YES, be honest. YES keep a list of your likes/dislikes. YES, keep in mind the agents you like.

Message edited 1/22/2012 5:06:34 PM.

Re: am i wrong?

If you really are not in the position to buy for awhile I would keep going to open houses to see what's out there, to get an idea of types of houses you like and areas but I would not go with an agent yet bc you have no intentions of putting an offer in even if your agent found you your dream house so I think you would just be wasting there time.

Re: am i wrong?

I don't think you're wrong at all. I would be very leery of an agent who was pushing you to look at houses if you are not preapproved yet and not in a position to buy right now.

I am always happy to meet with any potential buyer to discuss the process and answer questions. Such consultations can be very informative for the buyer, and can help me develop a relationship with someone who will buy in the future, and start to get to know them. But I don't take anyone out to look at houses who isn't preapproved. I feel like that is a waste of time for everyone involved -- me, the buyer, and the seller.

A lot of agents work open houses to try to find new buyer cilents, and most of the time, the people who come to open houses are resistant to working with an agent. So they may try to be breaking past that resistance -- they may think that if they get an appointment with you, they can convince you to buy now and get you preapproved. Buti fyou're truly not ready, you should wait and just continue educating yourself by looking online and going to open houses.

One thing DH and I did when we were only casually looking via open houses was to create an email account just for our house hunt. Then, we would only give that email address out at open houses we went to, not a phone number, and all of the realtor communications would flow into that one dedicated email account. Since you wlil probably want to work with an agent in the future, it may be a good way to keep the lines of communication open in a way that's not invasive or inconvenient for you.

The only thing I would say is that if there's any way for you to get qualified to buy now, it may be worth it because the interest rates are SO low, and who knows where they'll be in 6 months or a year? Even a point or two makes a big difference in your potential monthly payment.

Let me know if I can help you by answering questions, or setting you up on Listingbook, while you are in your casual search phase.

Re: am i wrong?

We are not ready to buy yet but we keep going to open houses whenever we have the time. It is showing us the communities we are thinking about and helping us narrow down areas. It also shows us what is out there. The more houses I see, the more specific I get in my mind about what I want. I don't want to settle on my next house because that is the one we will probably live in for most of our lives. So I am looking right now with no intention of putting in a bid anytime soon. We still have to get our house on the market and sell!

Re: am i wrong?

I would keep going to open houses to get an idea of what's out there but also to get an idea of what you and DH both want in a home.

Over the summer DH and I went to open houses knowing that we weren't ready to put an offer down on a house. It made looking a lot easier going in with that mindset. We knew that even if it was the PERFECT house we psychologically weren't in the place to buy yet.

I'd take Christine's advice with the listingbook account. Even though you may go on mls, once a house is in contract it seems to be removed and it's hard to follow the listing price vs. the actual selling price. Listing book gives you the advantage to see when it was listed, what price adjustments were made, as well as giving you an idea of what montly payments would be on a particular property.

When DH and I were ready to buy a house we were better educated about what a house lists for and what a "realistic" selling price might look like.