My experience in house-selling in the US is that it takes months. Same with house-buying. Seller gets a realtor, appraisal, and maybe an inspection. Buyer makes an offer. Maybe buyer is pre-approved for a mortgage, but maybe not. Seller makes a counter-offer. Buyer and seller agree on a price, then buyer starts hassling with the mortgage lender, who drags it out a month or so before saying "Nope, can't do it" and the buyer has to go to a different lender.
What would happen if there were lots more buyers than sellers? You'd be in Bergen. The average time on the market for apartments in Bergen this year is 16 days! Seller gets a realtor and appraisal. Realtor prints up glossy brochures and holds a 1 hour or less open house. Buyers flood in. They write their names and phone numbers on a list. Many fill out the offer form, which is legally binding, putting in a bid on the home. The next day at noon, bidding can officially begin, but the buyer must have a signed first bid in with the realtor before being able to bid. Realtor calls or texts everyone on the list at noon, telling them the highest bid and the number of minutes that they have to top that bid or lose out. Bidding goes back and forth until the last bidder standing. The seller accepts the bid, which is almost always higher than the asking or the appraised price. The place is sold the day after the open house.
I've bid on three apartments so far. First one, I bid 10% lower than the asking price, and surprisingly was the only bid. So the seller took it off the market! No counter-offer even. It's supposed to come back on the market after July's vacation lull. Wild.
Second one, there were two of us bidding against each other. We went back and forth 13 times in 1-1/2 hours before I let the other guy win. Like any auction, I had my upper limit set before we started, and I stuck with it, even in the heat of battle.
Third one, several started bidding but there were only two of us for the last hour or two. The other bidder topped my last bid by 5000 kr so I told the realtor (a lawyer in this case), "I lose." She said, "Not necessarily." I was floored! Now they tell me, the seller can reject the highest bid. Another twist. But it turned out that I did lose.
Buyers must have a loan pre-approved. The loan officer needs your last three pay slips, your last year's income tax statement, and your passport. Even to put in a bid, you have to give the name and phone number of your loan agent. If the seller accepts your bid, you are legally bound to buy. There's no "cooling off" period like in the States. Closing is practically instantaneous. When you have a pre-approval, it is apparently as good as done. Perhaps the bank could turn down your loan if there was a huge common debt on the apartment. Common debt is the loan on the whole building, which is being paid off by all the apartment owners. Your bid is still binding, so you should tell your loan agent the listing number before going too far in the bidding.
This is so completely upside-down compared to the US realty business that I just had to blog about it. Crossing fingers that I find a good place that I can win...
What would happen if there were lots more buyers than sellers? You'd be in Bergen. The average time on the market for apartments in Bergen this year is 16 days! Seller gets a realtor and appraisal. Realtor prints up glossy brochures and holds a 1 hour or less open house. Buyers flood in. They write their names and phone numbers on a list. Many fill out the offer form, which is legally binding, putting in a bid on the home. The next day at noon, bidding can officially begin, but the buyer must have a signed first bid in with the realtor before being able to bid. Realtor calls or texts everyone on the list at noon, telling them the highest bid and the number of minutes that they have to top that bid or lose out. Bidding goes back and forth until the last bidder standing. The seller accepts the bid, which is almost always higher than the asking or the appraised price. The place is sold the day after the open house.
I've bid on three apartments so far. First one, I bid 10% lower than the asking price, and surprisingly was the only bid. So the seller took it off the market! No counter-offer even. It's supposed to come back on the market after July's vacation lull. Wild.
Second one, there were two of us bidding against each other. We went back and forth 13 times in 1-1/2 hours before I let the other guy win. Like any auction, I had my upper limit set before we started, and I stuck with it, even in the heat of battle.
Third one, several started bidding but there were only two of us for the last hour or two. The other bidder topped my last bid by 5000 kr so I told the realtor (a lawyer in this case), "I lose." She said, "Not necessarily." I was floored! Now they tell me, the seller can reject the highest bid. Another twist. But it turned out that I did lose.
Buyers must have a loan pre-approved. The loan officer needs your last three pay slips, your last year's income tax statement, and your passport. Even to put in a bid, you have to give the name and phone number of your loan agent. If the seller accepts your bid, you are legally bound to buy. There's no "cooling off" period like in the States. Closing is practically instantaneous. When you have a pre-approval, it is apparently as good as done. Perhaps the bank could turn down your loan if there was a huge common debt on the apartment. Common debt is the loan on the whole building, which is being paid off by all the apartment owners. Your bid is still binding, so you should tell your loan agent the listing number before going too far in the bidding.
This is so completely upside-down compared to the US realty business that I just had to blog about it. Crossing fingers that I find a good place that I can win...
That sounds like the traditional bid situation in Scotland, although it becoming more like England these days. So much easier than the English system which is somewhat similar to the US but without the high realtor's fees. No wonder people want to be a realtor in the US with their customary charge of 6% Of now, the economy is in the ditch, not so many want to sell houses. Good luck with your apartment searching.
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