Anyone who recently sold real estate in the Augusta area

Submitted by Revan995 t3_ygmik2 in Maine

My wife and I are considering selling our home (3 bed, 2 bath) in greater Augusta and we are curious what the market is like nowadays. We constantly see the news but that doesn't always give the best first-hand experience that you all might have gone through. Not to mention every area is different. So we have a few questions.

How long was it listed before it sold? Did you end up selling for what you wanted? How difficult was it to find another home? Did you go contingent? What was it like? Any other advice?

We would greatly appreciate any wisdom you all have!

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FITM-K t1_iu9b1ap wrote

I wish people could all agree not to sell homes to these fucking corporations.

I know it's hard to turn down a full-cash, above-asking-price offer but sooner or later we're ALL going to be renting at insane prices because corporations are buying up all of the housing.

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startbox95 t1_iua6545 wrote

I sold my house in Brunswick last year to a young, Maine couple. I probably could have waited a bit and gotten more money, but it made me really happy knowing they were local and would really appreciate the home like I had.

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FITM-K t1_iua6yrr wrote

Hell yes, that's awesome. I'm currently in the first home I've ever owned, but if/when we ever move I'm hoping to do the same thing – sell it to a young couple like we were who are looking for their first home. Like you say, I'd want to know I'm selling it to someone who's going to live in it and appreciate it, not to some corporate bureaucrat who's going to turn around and try to rent it for triple what a mortgage payment on it would be.

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Live-Breath9799 t1_iubx36x wrote

First, I'm not supporting these corporations in any way. Do they use shell companies or hired people to buy the property where it goes back to them on the paperwork so people are not aware they are selling to a Blackrock or other corporation?

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FITM-K t1_iudb1qy wrote

It's possible, but I would guess not. They usually pay cash and above asking price; if someone offers that you should pretty much know it's either a corporation or some Chinese or Russian billionaire or something

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Greenleaf737 t1_iuj0fx7 wrote

I was talking to a realtor friend the other day in my busy tourist town, and he says it's mostly investors, and everyone knows. So it's not like the seller has no idea, most people just care about the $$.

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pab_guy t1_iu9onqi wrote

Advice to anyone selling a home anywhere:

  1. Your real estate agent wants to close the deal and move on. They don't care about getting you the best price, they care about getting their commission and moving on.
  2. When a realtor sells their OWN home, they are on the market for 90 days longer than when they sell someone else's home (traditionally anyway, hot markets can obviously change things). Think about that. They know the right buyer will eventually come along and don't compromise.
  3. Realtors live in a rent-seeking industry that extracts far more value than they provide. Use disruptors like RedFin or list on your own to save at least a couple percent.

And if you do use a realtor, take their proposed list price and add 10%.

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kauaime t1_iu9qnie wrote

Exactly. We recently sold our place in the woods, realtor said top dollar would be 275k, we told him to list at 299k. Sold for 299k.

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gracelandcat t1_iu9zg4i wrote

I'd like to add, if you do use a realtor, don't use the same one the buyers are using (if they have one). It's impossible to work for both parties' best interests simultaneously.

If your house is on the market for 3 weeks and you don't have any offers, it's priced too high.

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Expensive_Break210 t1_iu99dpj wrote

I’m not selling but buying somewhat nearby in Farmington. I was out bid this month on a house because they paid 25% over asking price and all in cash. Listing to close in less than 3 weeks. An actual realtor could help more but if your house is very nice and is desirable it will sell very very quickly still.

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Revan995 OP t1_iu9amgg wrote

That helps a lot! We are actually considering buying in the Farmington / New Portland area. Good to keep that in mind, thank you for the warning!

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9wild9 t1_iu9lfdx wrote

Sounds like the home was priced low. % over asking doesn’t tell the whole story.

I could have a house worth $500K and list it for $400K and then go WOW I can’t bELieVe I got an offer for $100K oVeR asKing!

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Expensive_Break210 t1_iuaj9fw wrote

this is true but the place was definitely sold over it’s fair market value, in cash, with waived contingencies. 25% is not the norm for the area.

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odmcgirt t1_iu9c16j wrote

Market is still hot, houses are staying on the market for longer (more than a week) but prices are still up, going quickly (historically speaking) and buyers continue to compete with one another to make attractive bids (waiving inspections, significant cash down, short review periods).

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9wild9 t1_iu9l5nv wrote

Are you aware of how interest rates have risen? We are looking at 7.5-8% at the moment and not going down anytime soon. Unless you plan to pay for your new house mostly in cash, I would be very hesitant to sell at this point in time.

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Revan995 OP t1_iu9lyk7 wrote

That's our exact fear. We were quoted at around 6.5% during pre-approval (which isn't much better). Meanwhile, we're paying 3.7% right now, so it has to be something we absolutely love for it to be worth it in our minds.

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9wild9 t1_iu9mi9e wrote

You won’t be getting 6.5% right now. Rates have risen like crazy the last 3 months.

Just be prepared for your mortgage payment to increase significantly if you try and buy/sell right now. Unless you’re selling a house for $400K and buying a new one for $200K or something.

The buy and sell combo worked pretty well during 2020/2021. Prices were high but interest rates were at historic lows so you could “upgrade” and come out even for the most part. But 2022 is a completely different ball game.

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GeeFLEXX t1_iua4q5i wrote

Jumbo loans with 35%+ down are 5.83% right now. Not great but certainly not 8%.

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9wild9 t1_iua642y wrote

So rich people? 😂

Not many “Mainers” are putting down 35% on a jumbo.

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mainlydank t1_iuazn65 wrote

anyones whos selling right now could feasibly do this, obviously no new home buyers can

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GeeFLEXX t1_iuaps4s wrote

With 20% down it’s 5.96%. That’s about $130K down for the cheapest jumbo loan, and many people selling their current house today will have that in equity.

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funky_kaleidoscope t1_iuat8mn wrote

Look into an adjustable rate mortgage. Depending on your credit score and down payment, you could be looking at a much lower initial rate for the first few years and then when fixed rates settle down again, you can refinance into a low fixed rate.

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Delicious_Rabbit4425 t1_iu9fo18 wrote

What’s your plan after you sell your house? Rentals are super limited and super expensive these days. You most likely would end up spending more on it than what your mortgage is currently.

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Revan995 OP t1_iu9ggem wrote

We are planning on going contingent for a place further north, somewhere between Farmington and Kingfield. Definitely don't want to rent.

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Tbagmoo t1_iu9iz1l wrote

What does "going contingent" mean, if you don't mind taking the time to explain it to me?

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Vtguy802812 t1_iu9jcze wrote

The sale of their house is contingent of them finding another house in x many days.

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Tbagmoo t1_iu9jmkn wrote

Interesting. I didn't know that was an option. And if they don't find a house they want to buy, the sale falls through completely? That would be frustrating if you were the buyer I bet.

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Vtguy802812 t1_iu9k68h wrote

Yup, just part of the game. Typically having a contingency like that would make the house less appealing to buyers, but in today’s market who knows.

You also see contingencies when people who own a house and are looking to buy a new house, they will make the offer on the new house contingent on selling their old house.

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Tbagmoo t1_iu9keoz wrote

Thanks for taking the time to explain it

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Revan995 OP t1_iu9jh6z wrote

Basically it's shorthand for "I'll buy your house, but only if I manage to sell mine at the same time". Very common for those of us who can't manage to swing two mortgages at once. It's risky though, because someone can swoop in, pay cash and steal it out from under you. Legally.

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Tbagmoo t1_iu9jvfu wrote

Interesting. Thank you

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9wild9 t1_iu9l0x0 wrote

Contingent offers have been very rare the last couple years because of how competitive the market has been. As a seller, there’s no reason to accept a contingent offer if you have multiple offers with no such clause.

Since the market is slowing down a bit (due to sky high interest rates) contingent offers may become more common.

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iceflame1211 t1_iu9nem3 wrote

I think you're going to have a very tough time buying right now. The seller of your potential new home may not even consider a contingency offer with how hot the market is. Anyone selling a decent home in Maine right now can find a buyer with either cash, or fully financed and not contingent on their home being sold.

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funky_kaleidoscope t1_iuattan wrote

Have you looked into getting a bridge loan?

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Revan995 OP t1_iuau4b5 wrote

We have not. Don't know much about them tbh. Will have to do some research.

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funky_kaleidoscope t1_iucu44b wrote

That might help you in putting offers down. It’s basically a short term loan to help you cover the temporary period of carrying two mortgages while your previous home is listed.

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Zookeeper_Toot t1_iud44er wrote

If you have a Redfin agent in your area I can’t recommend them enough. They charge 1% and are salaried employees, they only hire experienced realtors, not to piss off and get the realtor mob on my back but I loved everything about Redfins selling and it saved us a substantial amount of money.

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Revan995 OP t1_iud47v8 wrote

I will look into that. Thanks for the recommendation!

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IHadADreamIWasAMeme t1_iubfv39 wrote

Psychopaths are still out there trying to sell their $450k home for $850k, but there are far less buyers out there because interest rates are through the roof. I don't think they got the message that they may have missed the boat because more buyers are sitting on the sidelines because of interest rates.

I've started seeing more prices drops, and far fewer homes listed for sale over the past month.

Unless you have a ton of cash available for a huge down payment or you can afford to buy a new house outright, I can't imaging buying a house right now even if you can get more for the one you are selling. Can't imagine taking out a mortgage @ anything above like 4%, never mind the 6% or so its at now.

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bkmark18 t1_iud1hq5 wrote

My wife and I are in the mist of purchasing our first home in Augusta. Late 20s former military and love the town. I can tell you from a buyers perspective. 3b 2b 1750 sq ft sold at asking of 230k. According to our realtor and the amount of homes we looked at. We almost always went in at asking price and negotiated closing cost and major repairs. For us the buyers took on a full roof replacement of $7500 and covered 5k in closing. Only X factor would be the appraisal - many times we seen a home , went in at asking and appraisal comes back 50k lower it’s not happening.

We used the VA loan so maybe that makes a difference vs other buys but hope this helps. Buyers we engaged with were more willing to fix what was needed to sell to us rather then as is / or were willing to go a little below asking id say 5-15k

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Revan995 OP t1_iud2zcb wrote

Interesting, it kinda makes me think the market is slowing down a bit, so sellers sitting on their listing longer than they were hoping for are willing to make consessions to help the sale go through. Which is good news since we're buying, but on the other hand we might not get as much for our current place. Thanks for the comment!

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serverwiz525 t1_iubp8z2 wrote

I recommend Maura Gammons the Masiello Group. The greater Augusta area is still strong and competitive for buyers. (Still a sellers market).

The more rural areas of Maine have definitely slowed down, but anything along the lines of Augusta, Bangor, Waterville are still strong.

Sell while you can, you'll probably still get over asking. Most homes in this area are.

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GetMeEveryone t1_iuaew35 wrote

Hi there. If you private message me I can put you in contact with my fiance who will send you a complete market report for your neighborhood. Showing days on market, what it listed for vs what it sold for, etc. She can also just chat with you about time lines for listing as the market is currently changing.

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