Last fall, frustration with the search for something in his price range pushed Dobin to the sidelines, until now. During that time, he has been improving the three-bedroom Wynnewood house he and his wife bought in 2001 for $237,000 - to sell it quickly.
"This has opened another challenge, of getting responses from many of these contractors and home-improvement companies," he said. "These guys really need help in Customer Service 101."
Meanwhile, list prices are falling, statistically, at least. Ken Shuman of Trulia.com, the real estate search engine, said that prices had been lowered on 22 percent of all current listings in the eight-county Philadelphia region - 8 percent for houses under $1 million, 11 percent for those above.
Most properties Dobin has been walking through lately have been bank-owned (foreclosures) or short sales, in which the lender is willing to take less than the balance owed on the mortgage. Both can be problematic for buyers, with lenders often unwilling to provide their identities to those interested in short sales.
"There are some good opportunities out there," Dobin acknowledged. "At the same time, it is a mixed bag in this area, with pricing and valuation all over the place. So we wait for the right combination."
Dobin hasn't counted the number of houses he has seen in the range of $600,000 to $1 million, but the details of the transactions' attempts are vivid.
"We looked at a nice home that was sold to a bank in a bankruptcy," he said. "It was on an awkward lot and close to a busy road, so we bid well under asking" (15 percent to 20 percent below).
The lender said no and relisted the house with another agent at 10 percent below the original asking price - Dobin doesn't recall what that was. The house sold in a few weeks.
Then, the couple bid on what Dobin describes as a "nice, almost-new home" in the Great Valley area. Another bank was involved; again, Dobin offered 15 percent under the asking price, "stretching us toward our upper price limit."
"The owners had relocated, but were still involved in the transaction," Dobin said, and "were insulted by our offer, saying they would rather hold onto the house for two years than sell it to us."
"Nerves certainly play a role" in the home-buying process, he said.
For now, Dobin and his family are content to remain in their house, save money, and watch for the right opportunity.
"Fortunately, we do not have a fixed timeline and can take our time."
Contact real estate writer Alan J. Heavens at 215-854-2472 or aheavens@phillynews.com.
Inquirer real estate writer Alan J. Heavens is the author of "Remodeling on the Money" (Kaplan Publishing). His home-improvement columns appear Fridays in Home & Design.
