Are you considering buying a home in the South Hill of Spokane but wondering what to expect?
In this blog post, I’m going to share with you 5 tips for buying a home in the South Hill in the current competitive market so you can ditch the stress and instead feel confident in your home buying journey. And be sure to read until the end for the one thing I recommend you NEVER do when buying a home in the South Hill.
My name is Emily Silcock and I’m a Realtor that specializes in helping people move to Spokane.
Here are my top 5 tips for buying a home in the South Hill of Spokane:
1. Act Quickly
As of the date of this video in early 2022, housing inventory in the South Hill (and really all of Spokane) is extremely limited.
So when a home comes on the market that you’re interested in, you’ll want to see it as soon as possible. Even homes that say they have an offer review date can accept offers early, so you want to be one of the first people to see the home.
If you do end up liking the home, you’ll also need to quickly decide if you want to write an offer. Home showings right now are typically limited to 30 minutes, so this can feel like a bit of a whirlwind when making such a large financial decision.
2. Expect To Pay Over List Price
Because of the low supply of homes and large number of buyers, homes in the South Hill are typically getting multiple offers and are selling at an average of 3% over the list price but we’ve seen as high as 22% over in the South Hill in the last couple of months.
If you’re getting a loan, you’ll want to get pre-approved by a lender so you know your max budget, and then I recommend looking at homes about $25,000-50,000 under that max budget to make sure you have enough wiggle room without putting yourself in a bad financial situation.
3. Keep Some Cash On Hand
One way to make your offer more competitive is to offer what’s called appraisal gap coverage. Since the market is moving so fast in Spokane and prices are climbing quickly, sometimes the value appraised by the lender comes back lower than the price the buyer is willing to pay for the home.
When this happens, the buyer and seller go back into negotiations where the seller can lower the price to the appraised value, the buyer can bring the extra cash to cover the difference, or they can meet somewhere in the middle. If the buyer and seller can’t come to terms, the contract can be canceled.
So to make your offer stronger and help you compete with cash buyers who don’t have to worry about an appraisal, you can include an appraisal gap coverage of say, $25,000, which essentially says if the appraisal comes in low, you, the buyer, are willing to bring up to $25,000 extra toward your down payment.
4. Be Realistic
What you need to know about South Hill homes is that you’re unlikely to get it all. You’ll love the neighborhoods and the charm, but South Hill homes can be lacking in functional things like garages, updates, open floor plans, dedicated driveways, flat backyards, large lots and storage.
You’ll never find the perfect home, so decide ahead of time what you’re willing to sacrifice and what you’re not.
5. ALWAYS Do A Home Inspection!
Sure, waiving a home inspection can definitely make your offer stronger, but I don’t recommend doing this unless you’re a contractor, your spouse is a contractor or you have loads of money lying around that you don’t mind spending on very unsexy things.
It’s your duty as a buyer to do your due diligence and know what you’re buying, especially with these older South Hill homes that can have problems with everything from the plumbing, to the electrical, to the foundation, to name a few.
You should also expect that your inspector will come back with a laundry list of “issues” the home has and the seller won’t want to offer many repairs or concessions.
Don’t let this freak you out! Just go in expecting that with the charm of an older South Hill home comes some issues, but a good inspector and Realtor can help you parse through the inspection report to determine what you should actually care about and what could really cost you serious money, so you can make the right decision for your family.
Alright those are my top 5 tips for buying a home in the South Hill of Spokane. If you have any questions about buying a home in the South Hill or anything else, please leave me a comment or schedule a free consultation. I’d love to be a resource as you plan your move to Spokane!
